Developing and validating a rubric-based approach to quality assurance in Turkish higher education

Area of Science:

• Higher Education Studies
• Quality Assurance in Education
• Educational Measurement and Evaluation

Background:

• Effective quality assurance (QA) in higher education necessitates methodologically sound evaluation tools aligned with international standards.
• A structured, transparent, and consistent assessment framework is crucial for institutional QA processes.
• The Turkish Higher Education Quality Council (THEQC) identified a need for a validated rubric to assess higher education QA.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a rubric-based approach for evaluating institutional quality assurance (QA) processes in Turkish higher education.
• To create a comprehensive evaluation tool encompassing leadership, learning, research, and societal service domains.
• To ensure the rubric is responsive to institutional needs and aligns with global QA benchmarks.

Main Methods:

• The rubric was developed iteratively, integrating expert feedback, international benchmarks, site visits, and prior research.
• It comprises 22 main criteria and 46 sub-criteria assessed on a five-point maturity scale.
• Validity and reliability were tested through content validity assessments (n=10 QA professionals), construct/criterion validity (n=252 evaluators across 57 institutions), and 360-degree feedback.

Main Results:

• The rubric demonstrated strong content validity (Lawshe coefficient = 1.00, p < .05) and high interrater consistency.
• Usability analyses confirmed the tool's effectiveness across diverse evaluator groups and institutional contexts.
• The developed rubric proved to be a robust and applicable instrument for QA evaluation.

Conclusions:

• The study successfully developed and validated a reliable and valid rubric for assessing higher education quality assurance.
• The rubric provides a structured framework to enhance and evaluate QA practices within the Turkish higher education system.
• This tool supports institutional self-improvement and accountability in higher education quality assurance.