Quality Status of Higher Education: SEM Approach for Standardization of Tool

Quality education prepares a student for the future competitive market. Hence, periodic assessment in the form of micro-level scrutiny is required in an education system for necessary updates as per market match for better output and outcomes. Based upon previous research approaches; and Formal and Collegial Model of Education Management theory, this study has identified six major dimensions for the assessment of quality status of higher education. These six dimensions are curricular aspect, teaching- learning, evaluation, research and extension; infrastructure and learning resources; and organization and management. Among the bag of stakeholders, faculty and management are considered to be responsible for contributing quality in an education system. Faculty and management are producers while student and society are consumers. In this study, two questionnaires are prepared comprising of factors affecting quality status of higher education with respect to faculty and management separately. The aim of Faculty Assessment Questionnaire and Management Assessment Questionnaire (FAQMAQ) is to assess the present status of various factors affecting the quality in institutes of higher education. The tool so developed was standardized in five steps i.e. item generation, content adequacy assessment, questionnaire administration, factor analysis and internal consistency assessment. The standardization process depends upon expert’s advice, Edward ‘t- test’, confirmatory factor analysis, Cronbach alpha and Karl Pearson coefficient for its validity and reliability. The FAQMAQ is considered to be a promising tool obtained after a rigorous standardization process which can give a feedback to the faculty members, management/state and educational planners, who all are interlinked and ultimately responsible for maintaining quality in an educational institution.

Keywords – Educational management, Quality of higher education, Construct validity, Structural equation modelling, Confirmatory factorial analysis