Üsküdar Üniversitesi Rector Prof. Dr. Nazife Güngör, in her articles published weekly in 12 Punto, brought the issue of quality, which is currently on universities' agenda, to her column. Here is Güngör's article titled “A quality understanding that prioritizes people”:
These days, quality is on the agenda of universities. Quality studies gaining momentum with digitalization aim to improve the quality of education in higher education in a way that suits the course of the era. For this purpose, efforts are being made to establish a quality assurance management system that has known boundaries, is measurable, manageable, and sustainable, also by utilizing the opportunities brought by digitalization. At the meeting held in Istanbul on January 31, 2024, with the cooperation of the Council of Higher Education (Yükseköğretim Başkanlığı) and the Higher Education Quality Board (Yükseköğretim Kalite Kurulu), and the participation of university rectors and quality experts, the issue of quality was discussed from various aspects, and the progress of universities in this direction was examined with figures.
With digitalization, there is a need to reformat every segment of life. In an environment where information production and dissemination are accelerating incredibly with computer-based technological developments, setting boundaries, measurement, evaluation, auditing, and management are becoming increasingly difficult. On the other hand, collecting, sharing, protecting, and systematically archiving data are also becoming easier than before. In other words, there are opportunities, but we should not ignore the threats. Therefore, it is necessary to approach the process with its advantages and disadvantages, reduce the negatives, and continue by increasing the positives.
Where there is multiple production and transfer, opportunities increase, but threats also multiply to the same extent. To prevent threats and increase opportunities with correct targets, a system must be established. Collecting data, systematically archiving it, and making it available for sharing continuously in line with needs are of great importance for ensuring and sustaining quality.
Digitalization particularly strengthens interaction and communication. However, for this to transform into quality-focused interaction and collaboration, production and transfer processes need to be systematized. Converting scientific knowledge produced in universities into benefit by transferring it to social life is of serious importance. Universities are, on the one hand, educational institutions, but on the other hand, they are also environments for knowledge production. Therefore, sharing the knowledge produced with society and transforming it into benefit in line with development and progress goals means that the university creates value for humanity.
Precisely at this point, the importance of science communication emerges. The process of delivering scientific knowledge produced at universities to target audiences or, in modern terms, stakeholders in society and transforming it into effective use, is the area of interest for science communication. Therefore, science communication refers to the determination of strategies regarding the production and transfer processes of scientific knowledge. For this reason, universities must also consider science communication when establishing their quality assurance management system. Indeed, the serious attention drawn to this issue at the aforementioned meeting also demonstrates its importance. Thus, the processes regarding which social segments, by what means, and for what purposes scientific knowledge produced in universities will be transferred, are effectively and continuously monitored. Unless the processes in question acquire a systematic and strategic functioning, it would not be very possible to connect universities, as knowledge production centers, with society. Consequently, the transformation of knowledge into life cannot occur. Furthermore, for the producer to achieve satisfaction and experience the pleasure of production, it is of great importance that their product finds resonance in real life and proves useful.
Currently, the findings of research conducted under the auspices of universities and thesis studies prepared are mostly either passively waiting in archives or published in academic journals that do not reach the general reader.
Furthermore, academics do not make the necessary effort or feel the need to ensure that the knowledge produced reaches society. Because most academics lead a campus-confined life, detached from societal realities. Consequently, they are deprived of the pleasure of seeing their product transform into benefit. They do not pursue a pleasure they have not tasted or do not know. Indeed, the primary aim of most academics is not to contribute to societal development with the knowledge they produce, but to obtain academic titles or ranks with the points they earn through publications. An academic viewing the academic environment, and thus the university where they work, merely as a workplace, and using scientific studies solely as a means of advancement or promotion in their own profession, is one of the main reasons for the distance between the university and society. Increasing sensitivity towards science communication might also contribute to overcoming such problems and eliminating boundaries.
On the other hand, universities are institutions providing education and training services. It is crucial for quality standards that education and training are related to the realities of life, in other words, that the educational services provided in universities resonate with society. Therefore, when planning education and opening new programs, it is important to consider the needs of society, the course of the world, and the future of humanity. For this, the mission and vision of each program, department, and the university in general must be very well defined. In this direction, each university's strategic plan, consisting of short, medium, and long-term goals and related to the country's development goals, must be prepared. Within this scope, by planning which professional fields will see increased or decreased interest, and accordingly opening new departments and programs, it becomes possible to provide a qualified and reality-related education and training service.
However, it is also important for universities to set certain goals for society and humanity. As I have observed and seen from indicators, new generations are increasingly moving away from human-centered fields such as literature, philosophy, sociology, logic, and anthropology. Furthermore, the needs in this direction are also increasingly limited in society. However, to understand humanity and to guide its course qualitatively, it is crucial to raise generations with intellectual depth, strong analytical competence, rich emotional worlds, the ability to dream, and the courage to embark on creative adventures in line with their dreams. Generations proficient in technology are, of course, the need of today's and tomorrow's world. However, surrendering humanity to a mechanization that excludes people would not be good for a secure future at all.
Therefore, in quality studies focused on digital technologies, not neglecting intellectual depth and analytical competence, and even seriously valuing them, is necessary for a more livable world and a higher quality humanity. A quality understanding that prioritizes people will provide a much more robust vision for universities and science.