Objectives:

Students as learners are at the heart of the higher education. As beneficiaries of higher education, students should take a significant role in contributing to quality enhancement as active participants in shaping higher education collaborating with faculty and staff.

In Japan, student’s role in quality assurance has not been given sufficient attention to, nor seriously attempted to introduce until recently. In European countries, meanwhile, students have been taking significant roles in planning and practices of quality assurance and enhancement underpinned by the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance (ESG) which is provided by the European Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) as the explicit stipulations in favor of student engagement in quality assurance.

Inviting former students from Europe who have involved in review/evaluation processes with quality assurance agencies as a student reviewer, this forum will introduce student engagement in quality assurance in Europe to help understanding its concept with historical backgrounds and principles. We will discuss prospects for the future quality assurance and enhancement in Japan sharing experiences of attempts with students for quality improvement in Japanese institutions.

Speakers and facilitators will be experts in quality assurance including student engagement in European countries and Japan. Followed by keynote presentations, four breakout sessions will be provided for further discussion among participants.