Quality Assurance
FIE periodically conducts both internal and external reviews to focus our quality assurance efforts. In past years, external reviews have included one by Denmark International Studies (DIS), a peer organization; and one by the international programs director of an FIE partner institution.
Two significant external quality assurance reviews took place in 2006, by the Forum for Education Abroad and the British Accreditation Council. Those reviews are detailed below.
Forum on Education Abroad
The Forum on Education Abroad established a pilot quality improvement program in 2006 based on their published “Standards of Good Practice for Education Abroad,” and FIE was pleased to be the only UK entity to participate in the review.
FIE was reviewed in all Standards categories including areas such as Ethics and Integrity, Academic Framework, Organizational and Program Resources, and Student Learning and Development. We are pleased to say that FIE met the standards of quality expected by the Forum on Education Abroad.
For more information on the Forum on Education Abroad Standards, please visit their Web site.
BAC Accreditation Council
In 2006, FIE sought formal UK accreditation through the British Accreditation Council (BAC). BAC is an independent accrediting body in the UK and is a UK government recommended agency. Areas of self-evaluation and inspection included Health and Safety, Management and Staffing, Student Welfare, Management of Quality, and Teaching and Learning. Following the extensive review process, FIE was awarded full accreditation. FIE’s program was described as follows:
“BAC’s inspectors reported on a good or excellent standard of provision in all the areas assessed during the inspection. They considered that the Foundation was housed in very good quality accommodation and that the senior management team, teaching, and administrative staff were highly committed to their work and well qualified. The learning resources were generally of a high quality. Teaching was of a good quality, with some sessions being excellent, and the students responded enthusiastically as very willing participants.”
For more information on the British Accreditation Council, please visit their Web site.