A couple years ago, a friend from QQI, Ireland, asked whether a killer App could disrupt the QA industry as we know it. Hm.., it got me thinking. So many industries have been upended by new Apps or services. Airbnb, Uber, Grab, Traveloka, Instagram, Linkedin, Amazon etc. are but some examples that come to mind. Actually, these Apps are new business models that created a powerful new ways to intermediate between owners of different assets and customers. May be QA is not a big industry to be attractive? It is not sexy and challenging to the whizkids.
For now, the closest threat to accreditation is from the university rankings. It is simple. it is premised on a belief that research prowess is the source of university success which resonates with academics. It is globally comparable. It is annual. It is supposedly scientific and objective as it is numerical. It does not care about governance or processes. The downside is that it is not inclusive, is optional, based on a global set of indicators with a clear research bias and denies institutional and national strategic choices. The global discipline-based ranking is a closer threat although less celebrated. Is it possible to combine global rankings with local data - regulators, QA, employers, industry, students, alumni, graduates, academics, social media etc. in a nifty little App which gives star ratings for programmes to help users to make decisions? It is always a possibility. Right now, in many countries the data on higher education is not available or publicly available or current. This information paucity may be the barrier that killer apps cannot breach.
The biggest threat to QA industry is itself. The QA bodies like all other assurance services are both watchdogs and business partners to the institutions. This relationship is most pronounced in QA regimes where QA is industry organised following the free market principle. The removal of barriers to competition in the QA sector in US, Europe and even in Asia has just accentuated this opposing dualism. We know from the financial audit sector the tensions it create for both the assurance service providers and their client businesses in maintaining public trust. The public, industry and government confidence in the higher education providers is on the slide despite the QA watchdogs.
To some extent, the QA industry is cognizant of this interdependence and the resulting limitations. They have gradually move to check on institutional performance - student outcomes and change capabilities. In US, the Federal government imposed this duty on the QA bodies much to the dislike of bodies like CHEA - a vocal advocate of independence QA from the state.
Killer Apps have upended relatively successful operators and industries simply by introducing a lower cost, convenient and at times, more inclusive alternatives. The QA industry with its many limitations may just create the right incentives for an industry buster. Building better public trust in QA services will insulate but not inoculate this industry from disruptions. Keep watching the horizon.
