Accountability in Higher Education Dr Ashwini Karwande Asst

Accountability in Higher Education Dr. Ashwini Karwande Asst. Professor Dept of Education

Mr. Devendra Fadnavis • 'Right to Service', which will include the right to avail it (services) in a stipulated time: people were being made to run from pillar to post for even basic services which are their right. No government official can deny services to the people and be made accountable. • Maharashtra plans e-files to bring more accountability • My govt. will restore accountability in money matters • CM calls for accountability in police force, asks for plan of action

What are the terms that come to your mind when you hear the word Accountability

Concept of Accountability • Accountability is to take complete responsibility by a person or an organisation for what he/she or the organisation did or failed to do (which was their duty) and must be able to give a satisfactory reason for it and the use of authority entrusted in them to carry out that responsibility. • It is to check whether a work was done or not • Accountability as a process is performed after the work is completed or is supposed to have been completed.

Concept of Accountability RESPONSIBILITY • A job or duty that a person is entrusted with in order to perform and complete them. AUTHORITY • The legal right to control. CONTROL • The contemporaneous mechanisms to check whether work is being done and done in the proper manner as specified on time is Control.

The Four Principles of Accountability Specify responsibility and authority Provide guidance and support Monitor and assess exercise of responsibility and authority Take appropriate action

1. SPECIFY RESPONSIBILITY AND AUTHORITY • The person receiving authority must be informed of: – programme results and resources, financial and human, allocated – How they are to be monitored and assessed – limits to their authority – organizational values, policies, rules and regulations, and the behavioural standards

2. PROVIDE GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT • • Regular and timely management information Training and development Access to senior managers Advice from financial and human resource management experts

3. RESPONSIBILITY AND AUTHORITY NEEDS TO BE MONITORED AND ASSESSED • Objective comparison of results against targets and standards, covering: – delivery of programmes, cost and quality – management of human and financial resources – decision-making: authority fully exercised but not exceeded – compliance with policies, values, rules and regulations, and behavioural standards.

4. TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION • Dealing with: – excellence – satisfactory performance – unsatisfactory execution of responsibility and authority as a result of carelessness or ignorance – unacceptable execution of responsibility and authority due to deliberate flouting of policies, rules and regulations, m or exceeding the limits of decision-making authority.

Accountability in Higher Education

Types of Accountability Macro Micro

Macro Accountability (Social Responsibility) • It refers to the responsibilities of the University system to the society represented by the students, parents and the Government • It is normally measured with respect to objectives • It is difficult to measure and achieve as it involves normative judgement and connotations

Macro Accountability…. Spelt out in terms of manpower. Courses to be offered and their relevance to meet the societal and national needs Objectives of the University Number of students admitted in each year, course wise, sex wise and caste wise Special facilities and opportunities to the weaker section of the society Industry and institution linkage Manpower needs as per the regional and national plans

Micro accountability • Is concerned with the responsibility and performance of each one of the functionaries within the system academics, administrators and the various bodies of the university like Senate, Management council, Board of studies, board of examinations….

Micro accountability Micro Accountability has forms Administrative Accountability Academic Accountability Financial Accountability

Administrative Accountability • Vice chancellor is both academic and administrative head of the university

Academic Accountability • Is concerned with the role and performance of university teachers in higher education

Financial Accountability • Is concerned with utilization, mobilisation, allocation and spending of money by the university

Lessenger (1973) views Accountability in three different ways 1. As responsibility for something to someone with predictable consequences for the desirable and undesirable performance of the responsibility 2. Accountability means the continuing assessment of the educational achievement of pupils in a school system, the relating of levels of achievement to the state and community’s goals and expectations to the parents’, teachers’, taxpayers’ and members of the community 3. As an accountable learning system which is composed of many accountable subsystems

Accountable Learning System Personal accountability Professional accountability System accountability Instructional system Management system Public support system

Characteristics of Accountability in Educational Accountability is Multi dimensional concept A goal directed activity A growth and development oriented concept A normative concept An evaluation process Context Input Process Product A compensation Rewards Punishments

Implications of Educational Accountability Setting of objectives Determining criteria for appraisal Determining the person/body to whom one is accountable. Determining appropriate rewards and punishments Formulating Appropriate Policies for enhancing intrinsic motivation of Teachers Establishing accountability at all levels

Meaning and Nature of Student Accountability • Student accountability as a term is a very difficult to define due to its broad use and having the different meanings to the different users of the term. • If accountability is, “the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s actions” then topics like student centered learning and student ownership for learning are either synonymous with the type of student accountability http: //www. westpoint. edu/cfe/Literature/Schoof_10. pdf

Aspect of learning/teaching Student-centered approach Conventional approaches Student body Caters to heterogeneous student population and individual student needs Caters to homogenous student population and lowest common denominator Mode of teaching Active – lectures more interactive, group work, getting the student to think, be creative, facilitates retention Passive – lectured at, little group work, student replicates what they have been told, lost from memory once regurgitated Responsibility Students more responsible Staff responsible for making for and in control of their the student learn, remains own learning, become more dependent on the teacher independent, personal accountability, an empowering process Motivation More motivating due to formulation of personal learning objectives and cycle of constructive feedback Less motivating due to working someone else’s agenda and little or no feedback

Introducing Student Accountability In The Classroom Explain the concept • What is student accountability? Few students understand the need to take responsibility for their actions. Therefore, it is essential that you frame rules at the beginning of the year on the actions that are acceptable and unacceptable in the classroom. Unacceptable behavior should have a prescribed consequence (like a time-out) that should be followed closely. The student then decides whether he/she performs the acceptable/ unacceptable task. Understanding this crucial concept will help students take responsibility for their actions. Rules are rules • Be firm with your rules. It is often observed that leniency only encourages students to break rules. When a teacher bends the rules for someone in class, others will expect the same treatment. Failure to comply will lead to complaints of favoritism that adversely affect the dynamics of the class. Thus, following your rules is a good way to instill accountability in your students. Create a positive environment • Be positive, non judgmental and supportive to the students. Since your students are trying to change their behavior, there may be slip ups initially. Remind the student that every action has a consequence and that it was their choice to face the punishment. You may also have a group system in which students remind and support each other.

Introducing Student Accountability In The Classroom Teacher-Student-Parent • Inform parents of the game plan. At times, incorrect or imprecise information is conveyed to the parents. To prevent this and generalize student accountability even outside the class environment, parents should be kept in the loop. If a student misbehaves or fails to turn in the work on time, you can ask the child to call and inform the parents in your presence. Such practices will reduce the incidence of mistakes from occurring and increase the practice of taking responsibility. Follow a plan • Help your students develop a plan to achieve their goals. Instruct them to draw a triangle. At the tip of the triangle, write the goal that needs to be achieved (i. e. improving performance, submitting assignments on time). On the base, write down the steps necessary to achieve the goals. This gives them the opportunity to formulate their own goals and strategies. Writing them down serves as a reminder to the students on their committed to their goals and teachers may encourage them to sign the work and also get it signed by their parents. A copy of this is maintained by both the staff and parents to help the student achieve his/her goals. After two weeks, teachers and students can review the goals to see how much was attained, discuss whether the goals were realistic, figure out changes to the plan or set new goals. Such practices will help students to be proactive in their learning.

Introducing Student Accountability In The Classroom Keep an achievement chart • Another way to instill student accountability is to encourage students to evaluate their own work, performance and participation in class. Create an achievement chart that records the various activities and behaviors in class (for example: active involvement in class, academic performance in tests, timely submission of assignments, achievement of goals, etc. ). This chart is to be scored by the student daily on a three point scale of 0, 1, and 2 where 2 is good, 1 is average and 0 is bad. At the end of each week, the student adds the score and makes a chart which is a record of their learning. The chart demonstrates how well each student has achieved their objectives of learning and which areas needs more work and effort. Thus, by teaching students to be accountable for their work and take responsibility for maintaining a level of academic performance, we are encouraging them to be in charge of their own success.

Conclusion • Student accountability for learning, regardless of the methodology used to achieve it, seems like it should be a ‘no-brainer’ idea. • Student-centered learning clearly has the potential promote or increase desirable outcomes like student accountability. • Before dismissing it as a methodology, instructors, teachers, and administrators need to familiarize themselves with and then carefully examine the methodology for its usefulness in increasing student accountability in learning environments