The aim of this paper is to show the experience of a Higher Education Institution (HEI) in the quality assurance system design according to the AUDIT programme criteria by the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA) in Spain, and to indicate if the elements of this system fulfil the quality management dimensions.
To that end, firstly the paper shows the experience of a HEI in its quality management design based on the AUDIT programme criteria. Secondly, the paper identifies quality management dimensions according to the literature and it is analysed if the AUDIT programme criteria fulfil these quality management dimensions.
HEIs began to worry about quality and develop quality assurance systems, or formal assessment processes, on a periodical basis. In this context, formal bodies were set up to carry out periodical quality assessments or provide guides to develop quality assurance systems in HEIs. HEIs may use models based on quality awards, or models created specifically for academia. In Spain, at present, ANECA are promoting the development of quality assurance systems according to a programme (AUDIT) which is based on standards and guidelines for quality assurance in the European higher education area by European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA).
Findings show, firstly, that the system design means that a quality handbook and procedures must be drafted, written by the quality area manager and the quality manager in the faculty where the system will be implemented. This documentation could be approved by the faculty’s top manager and rector as a way to show a commitment towards quality. The paper shows all processes and procedures identified by this HEI. Secondly, results show that the most common quality management dimensions according to the literature (people management; information and analysis; customer focus; leadership; process management; supplier management; planning; and product design), in general, are fulfilled by the AUDIT programme criteria.
This means that the AUDIT programme is an alternative for HEIs in order to design quality assurance systems. HEIs’ managers may use the AUDIT programme in order to design quality management systems, considering that when the design has finished, it must be implemented. To that end, as in business, registers, indicators and whatever other documents to assure planning, control and improvement of quality are needed.