The Antonine University (UA) has earned its Institutional Certification from the Swiss Agency of Accreditation and Quality Assurance (AAQ) on September 29, 2017, following the evaluation of its services in the areas of quality assurance system; governance; education; research; recruitment and staff development; as well as internal and external communication.

Following this achievement despite the newness of its quality system, and following the standards of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), UA formally publishes its quality assurance policy and reviews it periodically.

In January 2017, UA implemented its first policy, and its current revision remains a working document that, with the consultations of all stakeholders, will periodically revise and improve. This policy ensures that quality management at UA is a collective commitment that is governed by a threefold requirement: ambition, realism, and loyalty to UA’s mission and values.

More importantly, this policy aims to define the action of the Office of Strategic Initiatives and Quality Assurance, according to the following terms:

• Management of self-evaluation processes, as well as institutional and program accreditation, while ensuring the implementation of the AAQ experts’ recommendations .
• Nurturing a culture of continuous improvement among all UA stakeholders.
  
  

Definitions

• Quality
  Quality is a polysemic term that has as many definitions as authors . However, the known relatedness between its various typologies favors a definition that is centered on coherence and perceived as an adaptation to the intended objective or fitness for the purpose . Normally, it consists of the ability to fulfill a predetermined mission or function and to achieve pre-set goals for the institution or program .
• Quality Assurance
  Quality assurance is an assessment tool designed to evaluate the adherence of the higher education establishments to pursuing quality and a process by which that quality could be improved. It requires both an internal-, and external-assessment that are specific to instill the necessary culture of evaluation and regulation to improve quality .
• Quality Management
  The ensemble of management activities that determine the quality policy, objectives, and responsibilities and implement them by various means such as quality planning, quality control, quality assurance, and quality improvement within the framework of the quality system .
• Accreditation
  It is a process leading to a judgment, certification, or official recognition of the compliance of a program or establishment with specific and predefined quality standards, whether these are minimum standards or standards of excellence .
  
  

Reference Frameworks
In the absence of a Lebanese benchmark for quality assurance in higher education, and in anticipation of the establishment of the Lebanese Quality Assurance Agency , UA aligns itself with the "Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG)" . Particularly regarding teaching and learning, as well as the standards defined by AAQ and the Universities Association of Lebanon. The analysis of the official texts related to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and Bologna Process identifies three distinct terms:

• quality assessment revolving on quality measurement;
• quality assurance focused on quality guarantee; and
• quality management driven by the objective of quality attainment.
  
  

At this stage of the evolution of our quality assurance system, we favored the quality assurance via external evaluation, both institutional and programmatic accreditations, as well as quality management, in particular the so-called Total Quality Management (TQM), as a tool for internal dissemination of the culture of continuous improvement. Initially designed for the industry, this model is now widely adopted in higher education institutions following proper adaptation. This model is now a comprehensive approach that requires the contribution of all stakeholders and aims to achieve, in the long term, sustainable benefits for both the institution and society .

Principles
The quality assurance concept adopted by UA is based on the following five principles:

• Continuous improvement
  Divided to two aspects, the purpose of quality assurance is accountability and improvement. At this stage in the evolution of the UA quality assurance system, the focus is on continuous improvement, with the aim of promoting performances and optimizing the chances of future successes, rather than judging previous achievements or failures . Our quality assurance system is less focused on the evaluation (summative) than on the advice, support, and assistance that may arise .
• Assumption of responsibility and respect for autonomy
  Accountability is non-existent. It is understood as a shared moral duty, pushing stakeholders to assume their responsibilities and recognize that they contribute to the operational quality of their university, given that they are empowered to change things if needed . In brief, it is an empowering approach, which promotes reflectivity, in external evaluation and continuous improvement processes. The goal is to grow together with the stakeholders and not in their place. Their positive acceptance is therefore the “sine qua non” condition for the success of any quality approach.
• Promotion of own specificities
  Our continuous improvement efforts are always undertaken while respecting the specificities of our social and institutional contexts, as well as those of the various stakeholders of UA. It is about accounting for priorities, resources, and the university environment in any improvement plan while respecting their optimal rhythms by adopting small solid steps rather than abrupt changes. Because quality criteria can be limiting at times, UA embraces a creative and cohesive plan into its governance that is faithful to the specificities of its mission and context .
• Centrality of student experience
  The relevance and effectiveness of quality assurance mechanisms are measured by their impact on student experience. The latter encompasses the programs, the teaching and the general educational environment including the itinerary of students, their success, well-being, and preparation for a successful socio-professional integration .
• Efficiency and transparency of processes
  Because quality assurance is only a means, we ensure optimal consistency and articulation of the processes to avoid burdensome bureaucracy and potential deviations of quality improvement policies . Similarly, the transparency of the objectives of evaluations and their uses is equally crucial. The entities being evaluated will, therefore, be informed that assessments are used to identify areas for improvement and best practices suitable for generalization.
  
  

Domains and Engagements
Our quality policy covers all activities, particularly the following areas:

• Governance, UA makes sure to:
  - Publish its quality assurance strategy, review it periodically, and ensure that the provisions corresponding to its processes are known to staff and students [ESG 1.1 | AAQ 1.1 – 6.1].
  - Involve all members of the University, particularly students, in the quality assurance processes, by clearly determining the responsibilities of the various actors [ESG 1.1 | AAQ 1.3].
  - Include quality assurance as an integral component of its strategic and consecutive development plans [ESG 1.1 | AAQ 2.1].
  - Undertake periodical external evaluations, at both institutional and program levels [ESG 1.10].
  - Base its decisions related to research, study offerings, resource allocation, recruitment and staff promotion on relevant and up-to-date quantitative and qualitative information [ESG 1.7 –AAQ 2.2].
• Teaching, UA makes sure to:
  - Provide student-centered teaching by granting students an active role in learning and its development [ESG 1.3].
  - Apply the above approach to the assessment of student learning outcomes [ESG 1.3].
  - Assess teaching, program offerings, attained results in the teaching domain, and the evaluation procedures of student services, periodically [ESG 1.3 – 1.9 | AAQ 3.1 – 3.2].
  - Promote international networking in education [AAQ 3.3].
• Research, UA makes sure to:
  - Define, supervise and continuously improve the tools of quality processes related to research activities, knowledge and technology transfer to society, as well as research knowledge transfer to teaching [AAQ 4.1 – 4.2].
  - Support international networking in research [AAQ 4.3].
• Human resources, UA makes sure to:
  - Define, respect, and publish the mechanisms for qualification of its staff (recruitment, promotion, and continuing education) [ESG 1.5 | AAQ 5.1].
  - Assess the performance of its staff in the areas of teaching, research and administration, periodically [AAQ 5.2].
  - Encourage and assess gender equality in all its areas of action [ESG | AAQ 5.4].
  - Strive for the integral human development of its students, teachers, and employees , and for their well-being by ensuring the harmony between the aptitudes, needs and aspirations of everyone, and the requirements of the academic environment.
  - Prohibit and sanction any form of harassment or intolerance among its members [ESG 1.1].
  - Welcome and support students and employees with disabilities and / or special needs to the extent of its possibilities and theirs [ESG 1.1].
• Communication, UA makes sure to:
  - Provide transparent feedback on the procedures and results of quality assurance measurements to concerned groups, and inform stakeholders about the developments of the quality assurance system [AAQ 6.2].
  - Publish regularly objective information on programs of study and diplomas [ESG 1.8 | AAQ 6.3].
  - Communicate with the community in a credible, responsible, inclusive, and gender-neutral manner [ESG 1.8 | AAQ 5.4].
  
  

Institutional Priorities

• Disseminate the culture of quality through communication and training.
• Involve all internal and external partners in quality processes and strategic initiatives through the promotion of a reflective approach.
• Reinforce the principle of student-centered education by implementing the learning outcomes evaluation in a fair, reliable and acceptable manner regarding knowledge, knowledge and interpersonal skills.
• Support student, faculty and staff in their continuous improvement efforts while respecting their autonomy and UA values.
• Promote the sharing of good practices among the different units.
• Foster structural work and strategic thinking in order to guarantee the necessary continuity and sustainability for the effectiveness of projects.

Governance
The implementation of the quality assurance policy is the responsibility of the Executive Vice-Rector, via the Office of Strategic Initiatives and Quality Assurance. Where the office is leading the initiative, it designs methodologies, and manages their implementation and monitoring. The office is a partner, especially in program accreditations, where it provides logistical, administrative, and methodological support.

Approval and Revisions
UA Administrative Council approved this policy on February 4, 2020, on a proposal from the Office of Strategic Initiatives and Quality Assurance. The UA Administrative Council will review this policy in 2023.

References

• Bogue, E.G. (1998). Quality assurance in higher education: the evolution of systems and design ideals. New Directions for Institutional Research, 99, p. 7-18.
• Brookes, M. & Becket, N. (2007). Quality Management in Higher Education: A review of international issues and practice. The International Journal for Quality and Standards, 1, p. 1-37.
• Dubet, F (1994). « Dimensions et figures de l'expérience étudiante dans l'université de masse ». In Revue française de sociologie, 35-4, p. 511-532.
• Erasmus+ Liban & Higher Education Reform Experts, Developing Internal Quality Assurance, preparatory document for the conference dated October 5, 2015, http://erasmusplus lebanon.org/sites/default/files/documents/reader_IQA_final_en.pdf.
• European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (2015). “Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area”, https://enqa.eu/wpcontent/uploads/2015/11/ESG_2015.pdf.
• Fédération nationale des enseignantes et enseignants du Québec (2011). Avis de la FNEEQ sur l’assurance qualité, https://fneeq.qc.ca/wp-content/uploads/Final-Conseil-Sup-Education-2011-12-15.pdf.
• François (2016). Statut du dicastère pour le service du développement humain intégral, Rome, http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/fr/motu_proprio/documents/papa-francesco_20160817_statuto-dicastero-servizio-sviluppo-umano-integrale.html.
• Harvey, L. (2008). Les initiatives canadiennes d’assurance de la qualité vues dans le contexte international. Prepared for the conference about CMEC quality assurance held in Quebec on May 27 and 28, 2008, Toronto, Council of Ministers of Education (Canada), 42 p.
• Henaff, Nolwen (2006). Enseignement supérieur : la qualité de l’éducation et son évaluation. Extracted from the presentation made at the seventh regional conference of rectors of universities, members of the Francophone University Agency In Asia-pacific, held in Ho Chi Minh, in Vietnam, in 2006, http://www.vn.refer.org/confrasie/conf7/docs/nolwen_henaff_fr.pdf.
• ISAQ mission and organizational chart: https://www.ua.edu.lb/french/lua-en-bref/mission-and-vission.
• Law 285 on the regulation of higher education, promulgated by the Lebanese Parliament, dated April 30, 2014.
• Martin, M. et Stella A. (2007). Assurance qualité externe dans l’enseignement supérieur : les options. Principes de la planification de l’éducation 85, Paris : UNESCO, Institut international de planification de l’éducation, 123p.
• McNay, I. (2007). ‘‘Research Assessment; Researcher Autonomy’’. Autonomy in Social Science Research (International Perspectives on Higher Education Research, vol. 4, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Bingley, p. 183-216, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1479-3628(06)04009-3.
• McNay, I (2007). « Valeurs, principes et intégrité : normes universitaires et professionnelles dans l'enseignement supérieur au Royaume-Uni ». Politiques et gestion de l'enseignement supérieur, vol. 19, n°3, p. 45-71, https://www.cairn.info/revue-politiques-et-gestion-de-l-enseignement-superieur-2007-3-page-45.htm.
• Quebec's Office of the French Language (2003), in reference to the French standardization authority, 1994: http://gdt.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/Resultat.aspx.
• Papanthymou, A. & Darra, M. (2017). « Quality Management in Higher Education: Review and Perspectives ». Higher Education Studies, vol. 7, No. 3, Canadian Center of Science and Education.
• Paul VI (1967). Encyc. Letter Populorum Progressio: ENCYCLICAL ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF PEOPLES,https://www.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_26031967_populorum.html
• Rowland, S. (2002). ‘Overcoming Fragmentation in Professional Life: The Challenge for Academic Development’. Higher Education Quarterly, vol. 56, Issue 1, p. 52-64.
• Senèze, N. (2017). Le pape explique « le développement humain intégral ». La Croix, Rome, https://www.la-croix.com/Urbi-et-Orbi/Vatican/Le-pape-explique-developpement-humain-integral-2017-04-04-1200837149.
• Shattock, M. (2004). Managing Successful Universities. Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, vol 8. Open University Press.
• Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) (2015). Brussels, Belgium, https://enqa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ESG_2015.pdf.
• Superior Council of Education in Quebec (2012). L’assurance qualité à l’enseignement universitaire : une conception à promouvoir et à mettre en œuvre, Government of Quebec, http://enjeux-universitaires.ca/NV/numeros/no-64-20-mars-2018/eu64_r2.pdf.
• Tremblay, K. & Kis, V. (2008). ‘Assuring and Improving Quality’, Tertiary Education for the Knowledge Society. OECD Thematic Review of Tertiary Education: Synthesis Report, vol. 2, p. 7-72.
• World Health Organization (WHO) (1946). Constitution of WHO was adopted by World Health Conference, held in New York from 19 June till 22 July, 1946, http://origin.who.int/about/mission/en/.

This initiative is called AQUA 2020 (Quality Assurance at Antonine University, 2020).
For a summary review of these definitions, see: Con (2012). L’assurance qualité à l’enseignement universitaire : une conception à promouvoir et à mettre en œuvre, Government of Quebec, p. 9-10, http://enjeux-universitaires.ca/NV/numeros/no-64-20-mars-2018/eu64_r2.pdf.
See : Martin, M. et Stella, A. (2007). Assurance qualité externe dans l’enseignement supérieur : les options. Principes de la planification de l’éducation 85, Paris : UNESCO, Institut international de planification de l’éducation, 123 p.
See : Harvey, Lee (2008). Les initiatives canadiennes d’assurance de la qualité vues dans le contexte international. Prepared for the conference about CMEC quality assurance held in Quebec on May 27 and 28, 2008, Toronto, Council of Ministers of Education (Canada), 42 p.
See: Bogue, E.G. (1998). ‘Quality assurance in higher education: the evolution of systems and design ideals’. New Directions for Institutional Research, 99, p. 7-18.
See: Henaff, Nolwen (2006). Enseignement supérieur : la qualité de l’éducation et son évaluation, Extracted from the presentation made at the 7th regional conference of rectors of universities, members of the Francophone University Agency In Asia-pacific, held in Ho Chi Minh, in Vietnam, in 2006, http://www.vn.refer.org/confrasie/conf7/docs/nolwen_henaff_fr.pdf
See: Quebec's Office of the French Language (2003), in reference to the French standardization authority, 1994 : http://gdt.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/Resultat.aspx.
Martin & Stella (2007).
In accordance with article 37 of Law 285 on the regulation of higher education, promulgated by the Lebanese Parliament, dated April 30, 2014.
See: European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (2015) “Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area”, https://enqa.eu/wpcontent/uploads/2015/11/ESG_2015.pdf .
It allows to respond to the new roles of higher education institutions and to solve many of the problems they face. For more information: Becket et Brookes, 2007; Papanthymou et Darra, 2017.
Cf. Tremblay, K., & Kis, V. (2008). ‘Assuring and Improving Quality’, Tertiary Education for the Knowledge Society. OECD Thematic Review of Tertiary Education: Synthesis Report, vol. 2, p. 7-72.
On this point, our policy is aligned with the guidelines defined by the HERE team (Higher Education Reform Experts) in Lebanon: “Formative approach must be used in Lebanon rather than punitive in order to develop a culture of quality. The punitive approach pushes for compliance and transforms the whole process to a bureaucratic and administrative one which must be avoided. Formative approach leads to a better participation”. See: Erasmus+ Liban & Higher Education Reform Experts, Developing Internal Quality Assurance, preparatory document for the conference dated October 5, 2015, http://erasmusplus lebanon.org/sites/default/files/documents/reader_IQA_final_en.pdf.
The National Federation of Teachers of Quebec (FNEEQ) considers that the accountability is of great importance, but that the establishment of related mechanisms must be done with great insight and caution. It is suspicious of global trends in quality assurance, as it particularly sees it as the implementation of performance measurement incompatible with the world of education. In the wake of several studies published on this subject, it regards the quality assurance mechanisms of certain countries as significant abuses,
including the restrictive nature of quality criteria, the promotion of a culture of commercialization of higher education, the development of an accountability industry, and the standardization of practices generated by the use of lists of criteria. (For more information: « Avis de la FNEEQ sur l’assurance qualité », document submitted to the Superior Council of Education, December 2011, https://fneeq.qc.ca/wpcontent/uploads/Final-Conseil-Sup-Education-2011-12-15.pdf).
‘‘It is worth noting (…) that the blind application of best practices must be avoided, while a critical analysis of the different examples must be assessed in order to extract the good lessons learned that might help the development of a culture of quality in various institutions’’.
On this broad conception of the concept of student experience, see: Dubet, F. (1994). « Dimensions et figures de l'expérience étudiante dans l'université de masse ». Revue française de sociologie, vol. 35, no. 4, p. 511-591.
Shattock (2003) warns that quality improvement policies could have the opposite effect if the focus is put on the regulations and the organizational operating factors. Among the consequences of such an approach, Rowland (2004) cites the fragmentation of university life and the discouragement of academics obsessed with narrow measures of accountability, standardization and management control. As for Mcnay (2007), he specifies that this is a quality assurance with regard to the assessor rather than a quality creation policy for students and other stakeholders.
Launched by Pope Paul VI, in his encyclical "Populorum Progressio", the development integral human means "the man's complete development and the development of all mankind ". The commitment of UA for integral human development results in the promotion and protection of dignity of its students, teachers and employees, to whom it provides psychological, professional, and spiritual assistance when necessary.
World Organization for Health (WHO) considers well-being at work as “a state of mind characterized by satisfactory harmony between the skills, needs and aspirations of the worker on the one hand and on the other, the constraints and possibilities of the workplace.” UA emphasizes on the factors likely to influence the quality of life of its students, teachers and staff on campus, and to the extent possible, beyond.