Investigating the Experiences of Faculty Members and Administrators with Quality Assurance and Accountability in Higher Education in Ontario
Abstract
The main objective of this qualitative case study was to explore the professional experience of six faculty members and three administrators in higher education during a time of increasing quality assurance and accountability policies so to gain a deeper understanding of how neoliberalism is changing their work experience as academics in Ontario, Canada. I have presented the research findings by employing policy sociology as both theory and methodology using the method of the qualitative case study. This form of qualitative inquiry provided an opportunity to explore how each interviewee navigated the current context of neoliberalism within their respective roles in the university.
The findings from this study revealed that a critical analysis of policies regarding quality assurance and accountability in higher education must begin to take into consideration an account of the local and personal professional context that at present are eclipsed by neoliberal accountability discourses regarding what is valued as quality in higher education. This case study documented, analyzed, and critically engaged with how policies of quality assurance and accountability have created an increased sense of surveillance and performativity. The findings also suggest how the rise of datafication in the work of faculty members and administrators has placed higher education in Ontario, Canada on the slippery slope of performance based funding that has become increasingly standardized due to neoliberalism.
This dissertation critiques standardized neoliberal policies regarding what counts as quality assurance and accountability in higher education. Thus, this study holds significant implications for government and higher education institutions regarding quality assurance and accountability policies that promote performance based assessments and funding such as the recent Strategic Mandate Agreement in Ontario, Canada.