Impact of Student Voice on Quality Assurance in Public Sector Universities of Quetta, Baluchistan

Abstract

The current research is an investigation about how student voice can influence the quality assurance (QA) efforts of the universities in the Quetta, Baluchistan of the public sectors. The study understands that there has been a universal transition of viewing students as passive consumers into active participants in the design of their learning environment and therefore centers on determining whether and how, the feedback of the students can impact on the institutional measures to improve the quality and vice versa. Although HEC guidelines highlight a formal QA system, there is a disparity between the process of soliciting student feedback and putting it into practice and subsequent change which creates frustration on the side of students and inefficiency within the institute. The quantitative nature of the research design which is based on positivist philosophy was used with data being collected in a structured Student Feedback Scale, which was specifically aimed at factors of participation, perceived influence, and awareness of QA processes. The results indicated an outstanding, statistically significant, positive connection (Pearson correlation of 0.818) between student voice and quality assurance performance. Regression analysis supported the view that student participation is a key predictor of the perceived QA outcomes as the estimated variance explaining about 66.8 percent of the perceived outcomes behind student voice is significant. The research highlights the importance to shift focusing on tokenism of feedback gathering towards the meaningful participation of student voices in governance and curricular construction. The study provides practical analyses that universities can implement in order to reinforce the student engagement model with an intention of making the QA more responsive and transparent.

Key Words: Quality Assurance, Student Voice, Public Sector Universities