Code of Practice

Principles of Good Practice

Newport University is a full Institutional Member of the Latvian
Adult Education Association (LAEA) and abides the guidelines of the association to confirm the educational delivery of the institution.

Latvian Adult Education Association (in Latvian – Latvijas Pieaugušo izgl?t?bas apvien?ba), LAEA, is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation, which unites adult education providers in Latvia – both individuals and organisations. LAEA was founded on December 14, 1993 with support from Latvia’s Ministry of Education and Science and Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association.

The highest decision making body of LAEA is the General Assembly of its members. The General Assembly elects the Board, the Chairperson of the Association, who is also in charge of duties of chairing the Board, and the Audit Committee, for a two-year term. The Board manages activities of the Association in between general meetings.

LAEA has been a member organisation of the European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA) since 1995, joining the European Prison Education Association and European Adult Education Research Association (ESREA) in 1997. LAEA is a member of Latvian Platform of Development Education and Civic Aliance- Latvia.

The Latvian Adult Education Association (Latvia/project management) with the other seven partner organizations, namely, Akademia Vzdelavania (Slovakia), Arbeit und Leben DGB/VHS Hamburg (Germany), CREA University of Barcelona (Spain), IFAD Montpellier (France), and VUC Nordjylland (Denmark), as well as the Deutsche Institut für Erwachsenenbildung (DIE/evaluation and accompanying research) and the European Association for Education of Adults (EAEA/distribution of project results) studied the quality management systems for adult educational institutions in the participating European countries and then analyses and compared the respective experiences.

The present book “Managing Quality of Adult Education in Europe” is the handbook that presents the approach of the “Managing Quality” model, including its structure and contents. With its work sheets, this book also covers the central instrument for the purpose of initiating and implementing quality development processes.

Although the book was kept concise intentionally, it was designed to be the central working aid in order to perform the various steps within the framework of quality development.

Managing Quality of Adult Education in Europe 

Overview

Quality Area 1: Principles
The principle is the self-portrayal of the organization, which guides the operation of systems. It must be recognizable as the profile of the organization from the outside and has to be able to lead the organization internally. Therefore it has to be internally agreed upon.

Quality Area 2: Core Processes
A sequence of work steps that is defined by the organization and must be completed in order to achieve specific results in the area that is important for the educational institution. Here the core processes refer primarily to the area of planning and implementing the educational programme or the range of services offered by the educational institution. In some cases, the core processes are perpendicular to other quality areas.

Quality Area 3: Leadership
Leadership represents the control of all processes and functions establishing joint actions of work. Leadership signifies a senior position in the management system, including quality development. Decisions give the actions of the organization both the shape and direction, and thereby result in business security. Guidance and leadership can be located on different levels within the organization and can be made use of. Leadership and guidance actions are expressed as the creation, making and controlling of decisions. Leadership’s task is to develop a clear communication structure.

Quality Area 4: Communication
Communication is the lifeblood of every organization and crucial to its ongoing success. The communication between the organization and the target groups/ clients includes acquisition and clients care. The communication with other organizations includes cooperation structures and the internal communication concerning all kinds of staff and freelance colleagues.

Quality Area 5: Resources
The resources of an adult education organization include: human resources, knowledge, infrastructure and economic resources. These resources are necessary to carry out the services provided by the organization. The production of resources and their management is the central aspect of the work of an organization.

Quality Area 6: Evaluation
Evaluation includes all the activities with the help of which the planning and execution of the different services are methodically sized, evaluated and used for future planning. Evaluation of the training process, e.g., means that the training course is regularly tested and assessed with specific instruments. Benchmarks for the assessment are the satisfaction levels of the participants and clients, as well as the realization of the institutional expectations.

Quality Area 7: Marketing
Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, products and services to satisfy target groups/clients. It is the process of making target groups/clients aware of products/services, attracting new target groups to a product/service, keeping existing ones interested in the product/service, building and maintaining a client base for a product or service. Advertising plays a great role in marketing.