An IMHE Guide for Higher Education Institutions

Quality teaching in higher education matters for student learning outcomes. But fostering quality teaching presents higher education institutions with a range of challenges at a time when the higher education sector is coming under pressure from many different directions. Institutions need to ensure that the education they offer meets the expectations of students and the requirements of employers, both today and for the future. Yet higher education institutions are complex organisations where the institution-wide vision and strategy needs to be well-aligned with bottom-up practices and innovations in teaching and learning. Developing institutions as effective learning communities where excellent pedagogical practices are developed and shared also requires leadership, collaboration and ways to address tensions between innovators and those reluctant to change.

This Guide has been developed by the OECD’s Programme on Institutional Management of Higher Education (IMHE) to assist higher education institutions, university leaders and practitioners in fostering quality teaching. Provosts, vice-rectors of academic affairs, heads of teaching and learning improvement centres, deans and programme leaders, supporting staff, members of internal and external quality assurance bodies, and researchers may find inspirational content in this report.

Drawing upon case studies of institution-wide quality teaching policies conducted by the OECD, this Guide provides exposure to new approaches and practices and the corresponding policy levers likely to help improvement happen. Illustrations offer a unique opportunity for learning through international experiences and sharing insights with institutional leaders involved in quality teaching.

Fostering Quality Teaching in Higher Education: Policies and Practices