A study of improvements for higher education evaluation system in Taiwan

Abstract

　　在知識經濟發展的21世紀，高等教育的需求是世界性的趨勢。台灣在過去20年中，高等教育有急速的膨脹，因此高等教育的品質管制也成為重要的議題。高等教育評鑑中心 (HEEACT) 目前在台灣針對各類別的系所進行評鑑，其他非政府機構例如中華工程教育學會 IEET) ，以及國際機構AACSB也在台灣進行教育認證，目前教育部正擬定有關高等教育評鑑的國家政策。 　　國際化的衝擊，也是促進高等教育評鑑或認證的驅動力量。高等教育評鑑不僅提昇教學品質，也促進專業人員的國際流動性。在過去數年之中，對於高教評鑑中心執行之結果，各方有許多不同的觀點、爭議以及抱怨。本研究的目的，在於選擇高教評鑑相關之主要議題，收集專家學者的意見，並且討論受訪者對於這些議題具有共識或不同意見的結果。 　　本研究採取深度訪談的研究方法，獲取專家們對於高等教育評鑑或認證的看法。本研究共有15位專家學者參與訪談，由訪談結果顯示，受訪者在三分之一的議題方面具有較明顯的共識。本研究將訪談結果整理分析，並與文獻上所取得的資料相互對應比較。本研究結果對於政府制訂未來高等教育品質管制的政策提供有用的資料。The demand of higher education is a worldwide trend in the knowledge based economy of the 21st century. Taiwan has a rapid higher education expansion during the past two decades, and the quality control is becoming a highly concerned issue. The Higher Education Evaluation & Accreditation Council (HEEACT) is conducting general evaluations for higher education programs in Taiwan. Non-governmental commissions like the Institute of Engineering Education Taiwan (IEET) and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) are also conducting accreditations in Taiwan. A national policy for the effective evaluation of higher education is currently formulating by the Ministry of Education. The impact of globalization is another driving force for the evaluation and accreditation of higher education programs. Higher education evaluation and accreditation not only enhance the teaching quality, but also promote professional mobility. During the last several years, there were different opinions, arguments and complains for the evaluation conducted by HEEACT. The aim of this study was to select major issues of higher education evaluation, to find out opinions from related experts, and to discuss the differences and similarities of interview results. This research applied the in-depth interview method to collect the comments for higher education evaluation and accreditation in Taiwan. Fifteen professionals and administration leaders have been interviewed. The interviewees showed consensus on one third of the interview questions. Their opinions on various interview topics have been recorded, analyzed, and compared with literature evidences. The results of this study provide useful information to the future policy and improvement