Quality in Higher Education: Building Practices of Learning in the Colleges of India

Abstract

The education given by the technical colleges is the essential aspect of development of any society. The colleges give the vocational skills to the students to prepare them for the future life. The technical education is necessary to create the knowledge and the soft wealth for the nation. The knowledge economy can only sustain if the people are trained to the changing needs of the business to respond to the techno- local needs of the business environment. The progress of the country depends on the quality of people trained in the colleges to build the technical maturity to connect to higher forums of knowledge. The aim of the paper is to build the strategic for developing the quality technical education in the colleges.

Key words development, quality, education, student satisfaction

Introduction

The global scenario is changing with the impact of education and knowledge. The industry is requiring more specialized people to solve the business and economic problems of the county. The knowledge generated by the colleges builds the social and economicimpact of education on the society. The students are the future generations of the country and so they have be groomed in such a way that they respond to the ethics of the market in a positive way. The quality of life is crystalized by the amount of empowerment people have so as to manage their skills and competencies to build the success development of their expressions to earn money and grow in a better way. The impact of education on human life relates to the following areas:

- Professional development
- Social development
- Skills and competencies development
- Technical skills cultivated
- Talent management
- Personal empowered
- Confidence in oneself

The value of quality education for the students

The colleges h ave to give the education that can deliver value and satisfaction to the students. The student chooses between different offerings on the basis of which is perceived to deliver the most value. The value can be defined as the ratio of what the student gets and what he gives.

Figure- 1: The value given to the student by quality education

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Literature review

According to Srikanthan and Dalrymple (2002, 2003,and 2004) – The quality of education depends on the methods to develop a university of learning and the strategies developed for achieving a responsive university.In teaching and research,the students are participants and the focus is on their learning. The implementation of 2002 model focuseson philosophiesand approaches to student learning and methods of engenderinga dynamiccollaboration around student learning.it basically recommends a move from the ritual of teaching tofocus onstudent learning, academic productivity and organizationperformance... the radical change is by using student learning as the centralcriterion.

According to Pires da Rosa et al. (2001, 2003) - the model of quality education relates to the empiricalresearch supporting self-analysisand acting asa source for quality improvement and leadingstrategic development. The quality managementis associatedwith evaluation activities coveringteaching and research. This has to beregarded positive by the students and the participates

According to Badri and Abdulla - (2004), - the quality of education is concerned with concerned with teaching, research and services to develop a more explicit approach to faculty rewards/awards. This basic model includes criteria for:

- Diversification
- coursedevelopment
- material production
- student evaluation
- course files
- teaching portfolio andcontributions to conferences and workshops

Quality planning for education in colleges and development of standard couches

The marketing plan can be built by focusing on the goals and objectives of the colleges. The internal strength is built in relation to the external environment. The marketing will give birth to the right courses and will develop the connections to the local contacts. The design of the courses will be according to the socio- cultural norms of the specific target areas to make the economy more empowered. This college education has to be planned by reorganizing abilities to give the education at optimum cost to the to reach the large masses of people .The final results have to be analyzed in terms of satisfaction built up for the students and the empowerment achieved.

Figure -2 Education planning and management in colleges

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The business mission can be translated into the programs according to the goals and objectives of the firm. The overall verification can be done by better implementation and control process of any college and institution. The effectiveness of the strategy can be enhanced by the accurate planning of resources for the maximum satisfaction of the student development and satisfaction.

Figure -3 the factors impacting the development of quality education in colleges

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The environment impacting the quality of education in colleges

The colleges and the educational institutes are important for the country and environment has the immediate impact on building and expanding the quality of education to people

Figure -4 the macro-environment impacting the college education

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The quality development OD education to impact the student growth

The colleges are important and the touch of technology can help them to grow in a better way by the focus on the following areas:

- Modernization -T he impact of technology has changed the landscape of education and development where the connectivity and communication has become important to support the development and growth of the society. The computers and internet technology have become important to foster the leap to the national and international research institutes were the faculties and mentors can meet to give the best options to the students.

- Technological needs - The technological needs of the colleges are changing in the era of modernizations. The educational growth requires the support of computers and connectivity to sustain in this fast paced market to cater to high levels of the knowledge demand.

- Skill Development & up-gradation- The colleges need to develop the creative and innovative skills of students so as to respond to the changes. The students need to be trained in order to increase the talents and competencies to foster faster growth

- Adequate & affordable assistance in finance - The banking facility is essential to get the cash support in order to sustain the education access in the market. The loans and the other types of financial aid canhelp the students to take admissions in the colleges.

- Managing the optimum cost - The education has to be given at reasonable cost because the savings from administrative cost can go to the student development.

- Maximum potential for employment generation - Since this education is connected to the local fabric so the employment has to be generated by developing the skills required in particular economy.

Advantages of quality education in colleges

The colleges are the backbone of any economy and they help in the prosperity and growth of the of the local regions. The basic advantages of:

- Professional power enhanced
- Growth and development of the economic aspects of giving solutions to the business
- Lower transaction cost
- More flexibility to respond to the global markets
- Innovation – often possible in small flexible units
- Closeness to students to build better interaction and exchange

Figure -5 Impact of education on the students and the society

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Impact of Information & Communication Technologies

The basic impacts of ICT’s are

- Enhances the exchange of information
- Huge data tans feed
- Sharing of knowledge
- Better access to knowledge portals
- Exposure to the recent research and development
- Wider Market Access
- Technological innovations
- Skill up gradation
- Wider exposure to the opportunities

Roadblocks in college education Development

- Problem of Information Poverty
- Handling of Information – ability to gather, process, store & distribute information
- Information base is small
- Colleges have limited capacities
- Complex policy Environment
- Lack of resources

Quality dimensions of education for the technical colleges

- Infrastructure facilities and the community support
- Classroom Environment and quality faculty
- Curriculum and Teaching
- Learning Materials
- Classroom Practicesand
- Processes
- Teaching and learning time
- Learner’s assessment and supervision

The strategic inputs to manage the quality education in the colleges

- The strategic inputs to enhance the quality development of education in the colleges requirea regulatoryframework to ensurequality and publicaccountabilityinthefaceofextraordinaryexpansionofthesector,especially in private non- aided colleges.

- Ensuring affordability and merit based access.
- Increasinginstitutionalautonomy,inparticulardevelopingthecapacityof boardsofgovernorsandinstitutional leaderstoassumegreaterresponsibility fordelegatedauthority,and institutingnew mechanismsforqualityassurance and accountability.
- Reforming standardsandcurriculatomeetglobalexpectations forgraduates’ knowledge andskills, andincreasingrelevancetoregional, nationaland global labour market demands.
- Strengthening links with industry and employers.
- Strengthening the technological infrastructure.
- Developing qualified faculty
- Providing the institutional support for training

Conclusion

Education is import to develop the social fabric of trust and faith in any society. Educationenhances the skills and competencies of the students to respond to the employment needs of the economy. The quality educationrequires the support of technology and internet to get access to the large portals of knowledge. The faculty has to be developed to give the quality inputs to the students. The design of education courses has to be according to the government regulatory framework. The quality education in colleges can build the talented people with international standards to give solutions to the business.

References

1. Badri, M. andAbdulla, M. (2004) Awards of Excellence in Institutions of HigherEducation: anAHP approach. International Journal of Educational Management, 18(4), 224-242. doi:10.1108/09513540410538813
2. Pires da Rosa, M., Saraiva, P. and Diz,H. (2003) Excellence in Portuguese Higher Education Institutions. Total Quality Management, 14(2), 189-197.
3. Srikanthan, G.and Dalrymple, J. (2002)DevelopingaHolistic Model for Quality in Higher Education. Quality inHigher Education, 8(3), 216-224. doi:10.1080/1353832022000031656
4. Srikanthan, G.and Dalrymple, J. (2003)DevelopingAlternative Perspectives forQuality in Higher Education. International Journal of Educational Management, 17(3) 126-136. doi:10.1108/09513540310467804
5. Srikanthan, G.and Dalrymple, J. (2004)A Synthesisofa Quality Management Model for Education in Universities. International Journal of Educational Management, 18(4), 266-279. doi:10.1108/09513540410538859