The Construction Of External Quality Assurance System In Higher Vocational Education

The construction of external quality assurance system of the higher vocational education is a grand proposition.This study analyzed the construction of external quality assurance system from the demand aspect of higher vocational education development,established analysis framework for "effectiveness" and "adaptability",and discussed the issues about the external quality assurance system for the effectiveness and the adaptability of the development of higher vocational education.In the beginning of 21st century,the higher vocational education has been rapidly expanded,and promoted the massification process of higher education in our country.To achieve high quality development of higher vocational education,it is necessary to establish external quality assurance mechanism.External quality assurance is a social force apart from government and higher institutes,which can interfere the trend of development of higher education actively,controlling and ensuring the quality of higher institutes.Its main functions reflected on the "effectiveness" and "adaptability" of quality assurance.The "effectiveness" is the function of external quality assurance in promoting development and improving quality in different stages of the development of higher vocational education;the"adaptability" is the continuous improvement and promotion of the self-construction of external quality assurance system to meet the future needs of the development of higher vocational education.The two aspects constitute the analysis framework of"the relationship between the development of higher vocational education and external quality assurance","the construction of provincial external quality assurance system",and "the external quality assurance strategies adapting to the development of modern higher vocational education".The development of higher vocational education is a process from "quantitative change" to qualitative change" in different stages.The establishment of external quality assurance system exerts a key influence on coordinating the development of"scale and quality" in higher vocational education.Primarily,the establishment of external quality assurance system puts forward the specific requirements for the basic conditions and management norms of higher vocational colleges,promotes the attention and investment of local governments and industries to higher vocational education,and improves the construction of the infrastructure of higher vocational colleges.Furthermore,it promotes the establishment of teaching and learning centered status in higher vocational colleges,further strengthens the process management of talents cultivation via the professional and curricula evaluation etc.Eventually,it strengthens the closer relationship between higher vocational colleges and local industries,deepens the reform of talent training mode of"industry-education integration”,and enables the high-skilled talents trained by higher vocational colleges to better improve their ability of service and the level of human resources security.There are three classical models of the external quality assurance system of higher vocational education in China,i.e.,government-led,market-led,and academy-led.Our external quality assurance system of higher vocational education is government-led and "state and local-level-managed".It adopted the quality assurance operational mode of combination of "national overall planning" and"local-led",The construction of provincial external quality assurance system determines the effectiveness of external quality assurance,but the construction of external quality assurance system at provincial level in China has not been fully planned.Due to the insufficient attention and investment,it influenced the balance development of the regional higher vocational education.The factors that restricts the external quality assurance system construction also includes the underdevelopment of the "third party" institution at different areas;the process of function change and the decentralization power of the local government are relatively conservative,which influenced the participation enthusiasm of the public extensively.Our new goal of constructing "modern higher vocational education system"brought the new requirements for the "adaptability" of external quality assurance.The construction of the system of external quality assurance should adapt to the external needs of industries and society outside the education system,should strengthen the independence and professional construction of the third-party agencies,and should set up the operation mechanism of "multi-value joint-construction","extensive participation of industries and society".Additionally,it should meet the internal needs of education system,construct an external quality assurance system which can coordinate with other level vocational education,promote the development of teachers and students,as well as enhance the self-independence quality consciousness in higher education.The principle purpose of raising the issues of "effectiveness" and "adaptability"of external quality assurance is to promote the development of higher vocational education.To construct the system of external quality assurance from perspective of development of modern higher vocational education,it should speed up the opening and cooperation of external quality assurance,expand the opening of cross-board quality assurance,and enhance the horizontal cooperation between industries.Moreover,it should future implement the separating mechanism of "management,operation,and evaluation",as well as strengthen the construction of "independence"and"specialization" of third-party evaluation institutions.In addition,it should explore more professional accreditation programs based on the improvement of college evaluation,as well as enhance the flexibility of external quality assurance.Finally,the local external quality assurance construction should also be strengthened since it can greatly enable the development of higher vocational education to serve the local.All of those measures are importance ways to construct the system of external quality assurance of "Chinese characteristics".