Professional development and quality in higher education institutions of the 21st century

THE issue of quality in higher education in Australia, as elsewhere, remains problematic. This is not surprising given that past and current approaches at both the institutional and sectoral levels have tended to focus on the assurance, assessment, monitoring, and reporting of quality rather than on the improvement of quality itself. Quality is not something that needs simply to be monitored and measured. Rather, it must be actively managed with a view to continuous improvement and development. This paper describes a model for continuous improvement of quality in higher education and the central role that professional development plays in such a process.