There have been many critiques around the concept of how to accelerate the quality of education in higher education all over the world. Manuals have been published and tutorial-workshops have been conducted, scholars get exchanged their beliefs and insights in international conferences. Yet, there are still “untapped” fields of education that we can explore day by day, especially when things get global and we nurture global citizenship. By thinking out of the box, using high-tech and enlarging our networks, we can solve the quality issues and raise quality awareness in our Higher Ed field. Through offering the next strategies, I would like to define into more thorough details. The research results have been concluded in this article, which was fashioned in response to Bukhara State University rector’s request.
- The questionnaire
Even though it is not quite breakthrough, the heads that administrate the systems should make some efforts to adjust news into education too. Action research has always enriched the scientific data and has been solid basis for furnishing up new researches and solving issues under question. In this step, at least one thousand scientific-pedagogy personnel, at least five thousand students should be surveyed according to this questionnaire. The topics under question could be presented and responses could be elicited about burdening issues, such as: the contentment level of university conditions, student services quality, curriculum and its appropriateness to the overall goal of bringing up effective personnel, the quality of classes (necessity of quality instructing and enhancing methodology rather than multiplying the paper work), burdening questions and unsatisfied demands, transparency, assessment, academic justice, and other student-centered or related issues that are hot on top. As the result of the questionnaire, the university processes and the quality of overall education, weaknesses, achievements, biases, experiences and other issues will be addressed with high tactics, advices, experience exchanging, in- depth knowledge of the field and other reliable resources. The ways how to renew them, revise them, establish, control and administer them will be planned according to the time frame, whether it’s long-term or short-term. The option of staying anonymous or revealing the identity will be given in advanced surveys; also they will be motivated approach in right and objective ways. Results of survey will be learned by the temporary commission of the university and will be collected, compiled, reviewed statistically, will be disputed in scientific meetings, and the outcomes will be delivered to the real life. Survey expenses will be funded either by university budget or will be raised through grand raising activities. The possibility of downloading the survey from the university online blackboard and uploading would be great facility. Online fill-up also would reduce paperwork which is usually mounted in front of scholars. The assumed time for the survey can last from one week up to months, according to the university‘s available educational system.
- Internet and University Board of Trustees’ advising meetings
The commission that consists of 2–3 people will be founded to study the ideas, insights, offers, demands, complains and other issues that has been retrieved from the hard copy sources and online websites of the university. The problems and their statistic results will be displayed through visually attractiveaids, presentations, documentaries, short-movies and will be disputed in the universities’ meetings. The solutions and techniques will be implemented by the way of voting and the leading people in charge of the delivery would administer and control it. Time to apply it to reality again depends on the speed of the delivery personnel. The initiative youth, talented student who shows the interest and tendency to develop new methods to the process will be given opportunity to attend the disputes in order to generate the innovative ideas.
- Comparative learning
In this step, the temporary commission will research on the advanced practices of foreign universities, students’ opinions, failure and achievements of their curriculum, their working methodologies; they learn these data and compare with the data that has been elicited from own research about the local university. Also it is possible to research and collaboratively imply that comparison results within them.
- Clarifying and generating talented students
The talented students will be clarified through different talent-shows, contests and facilities and amenities will be provided. The students will be paired with mentors. Their abilities and skills will be assessed accordingly. They will be directed to different state-level test and grand prix. In order to provide transparency and equality the contests will be announced and these contests can be enlightened in university online portal. The contests will be organized in the highest degree, video-taped and displayed on TV shows. The objectivity will be controlled and motivated. Awarding students will be supplied from the university budget and out-of-budget assets.
- Networking and exchanging practices
University administrators who work in international relations section will get connected and establish partnerships with foreign universities, educational agencies, educational services. They will clarify educational sources and could research for volunteers who would like to do some internships or full-time free teaching jobs in the universities by contracting. Also university administrators can connect with all cultural centers of the region and departments, to organize various cultural exchanges or holidays; brochures that were designed for those cultural exchanges will be placed in the entrance halls. At that point, universities can also parent with companies, factories, agencies and consultancy centers, government departments and other organizations for a long-term. Specialists could be invited to lecture sometimes, or partnership can serve as the great source for graduators to get employed; to complete effectively their reflective practice phase and to enrich their capstone works. Renowned professionals can be invited to make partnership contacts or run them. Nurturing partnership ties can be monitored by rector, vice-rectors or any responsible attached people. Partnerships could last for a long and consistently. When working with foreign universities, breakthroughs in spheres and innovative techniques can be applied to reality.
- Innovations, innovative technique and patenting them
It would great step towards development of the education in higher education to open the innovations center and that maintaining different innovative ideas, news and implementing those ideas into reality. The center’s main purpose will be to provide resources for talented students facilities, academic advice and aid, internet access, specialists as mentors, so that students could implement their innovations and trial them. The center’s administers also would help in obtaining patents and author’s rights to students.
- Reflective practice phase
As the university will have the partnership contracts, many internship placements and practice jobs will be made available for the current and upcoming graduators. Talented students with special rating points and model behavior can be chosen to fund financially and support them to successfully find the practice site. At the same time, the factories or work sites can fully or partially pay to the labor of interns either to student or to the university. It can raise competitiveness or refresh impressions about the higher education in the region.
- Extracurricular courses
The extracurricular courses can be organized relevant to each sphere or faculty within universities. At the end of the semester courses can be ended up with result-displaying videos and competitions; also these videos can be transferred and shown through local TV channels.
- Setting up job fairs
One or two months before graduating, the job fairs can be organized for students. The primarily aim of job fairs are to help to graduators to find and settle up in new job sites. Various companies, organizations will be invited and their representatives will visually market their institutions and give in-depth information, so the graduators could match their needs, knowledge, skills and capacity to those job positions. Students will attend there following dress code and brining resumes/CVs. Face to face interviews will increase the chance to get employed and get successful from the early steps.
- International Affairs
The International Relations departments of universities will partner with foreign universities, in order to market local programs to foreigners and bring influx of students inwards, they would design website portal for students, and create them space to share invaluable experiences there. The real photos, videos about their (local and foreign students) irreplaceable lives would boost up interest to programs. Social websites and blogging would be great places to start. Presentations and face to face meetings also would count towards this aim. Brochures could be published displaying the existing programs.
- Screening textbooks
The textbooks should be screened in order to update the programs. Textbooks of prestigious foreign universities abroad, or their parts related to the curriculum can be taken and used or translated and used during the learning process. The translation process can be divided into foreign language teaching instructors and motivated through financial aids.
- Advisors’ service
If budget allows, every student will be attached to one instructor or professor during their study period. These professors are called “advisors”. Advisor’s duty will be not only to guide students academically, but also to consult them whenever they are confused on making decisions both professionally and personally; they assist in narrowing down the study concentration and choosing the right direction in the working phase. Advisors get extra payments, or names will be put forward for the bonus awards’ nominee. Their work efficiency or quality will be graded by students by electing hidden. Two hours a week or so advisors will be available to assigned students, and students will come to get advices only if they have confusion or issues. This process is optional and students do not need to spend hours in advisor’s reception if they are moving forward smoothly. Choice of advisors: advisors will choose students that they are comfortable with; or the concentration topic or purposes matches theirs.
- Electron Blackboards
In the universities, the electron blackboards can be established. Online, students can check up their assignments, marks, can share information and feedbacks about their subjects here. Table of study schedule, presence, marks, and debates on newly written papers of their peers can be shared and elicited on that blackboard. Each group can enter only his group portal. This improves student’s independence and reduces the academic staff’s activities responsibility; raises the quality of education. Over time, the number of dismissed students will decrease. It is also called “Moodle” in the USA.
