Outcome-Based Quality Assessment Framework for Higher Education

Abstract: This research paper proposes a quality framework for higher education that evaluates the performance of institutions on the basis of performance of outgoing students. Literature was surveyed to evaluate existing quality frameworks and develop a framework that provides insights on an unexplored dimension of quality. In order to implement and test the framework, cloud-based big data technology, BigQuery, was used with R to perform analytics. It was found that how the students fair after passing out of a course is the outcome of educational process. This aspect can also be used as a quality metric for performance evaluation and management of educational organizations. However, it has not been taken into account in existing research. The lack of an integrated data collection system and rich datasets for educational intelligence applications, are some of the limitations that plague this area of research. Educational organizations are responsible for the performance of their students even after they complete their course. The inclusion of this dimension to quality assessment shall allow evaluation of educational institutions on these grounds. Assurance of this quality dimension shall boost enrolments in postgraduate and research degrees. Moreover, educational institutions will be motivated to groom students for placements or higher studies.