Evaluating the level of degree programmes in higher education: Conceptual design

Evaluating the level of degree programmes became crucial with the Bologna Agreement in 1999 when European ministers agreed to implement common bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes and a common system of quality assurance. The European Quality Assurance system demands evaluation of the degree programme level based on valid and reliable outcomes. To meet this standard, an Educational Level Evaluator (ELE) had been conceptually designed within the framework of the Design Research Methodology: the research clarification identifies the problems that need to be solved and the criteria against which the outcome of the research is evaluated. The descriptive stage focuses on acquiring understanding of the instrumentation’s key by conceptualising the degree programme level and developing four critical factors. The level concept has to be clear and the instrumentation should be reasoned transparently, empirically proven, and feasible. In the prescriptive stage, the critical factors are used to address the development of the conceptual design of the ELE, which is basically a procedure aiming to evaluate the degree programme level validly and reliably. It is concluded that the design provides measures and actions leading to validity and reliability, and that it now needs to be empirically proven. For this reason, empirical studies are undertaken.