ARMAND FAGANEL Faculty of Management, University of Primorska, Koper, Slovenia
SUMMARY Tertiary education is a fast growing service industry and it is exposed to the globalization processes every day, everywhere. Service quality, emphasizing student satisfaction, is a newly-emerging field of concern. In order to attract students, serve their needs and keep them, higher education providers are actively involved in understanding students’ expectations and perceptions of service quality. Managing quality is therefore an important task of those institutions that give feedback on the dimensions of quality that need to be taken care of and offers the institutions possibility for significant competitive advantages in knowledge market. Additionally the Bologna process has focused on quality assurance systems and their recognition. Most countries have adopted some kind of an accreditation system, which has stood in good stead when the higher education systems have been in the whirlwind of change. QMS and other quality systems in HE, required by the accreditation bodies in view of programs accreditation are needed for the assurance of quality and management leadership. Some of the benefits of EFQM in HE: understanding and anticipating students needs and expectations; demonstrating visionary and inspirational leadership; involving staff; developing beneficial relationships.
SLAVKO DOLINŠEK Faculty of Management, University of Primorska, Koper Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN SLOVENIAN HIGHER EDUCATION
INTRODUCTION National system for quality assurance in higher education has to incorporate several elements, in order to harmonize with EU higher education system: forming of independent agency; internal evaluations on the level of institutions or programs; external evaluations from experts’ commissions; involvement of students in internal and external evaluations; publishing the results of evaluations; and international cooperation and networking of Agency.
Key words: higher education, quality system, Bologna process
Quality management systems in Higher Education have been developed for a number of years to improve the professional standards. Slovenian Higher Education is looking for a management concept that focuses the collective efforts of all managers and employers on satisfying customer expectations by continually improving activities.
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