Internal quality assurance and teaching supervision at Chinese higher education institutions: A case study of Zhejiang University of Technology

The last three to four decades have seen a trend of expansion, diversity, and complexity of China's higher education sector, which has led to an emphasis on quality assurance (QA) at higher education institutions (HEIs). Internal quality assurance (IQA) has become a more recent research concern than external quality assurance and accreditation. Chinese HEIs have adopted teaching supervision as an IQA approach to ensure university teaching and learning effectiveness and quality. However, rare research works on empirical data on the perceptions and experiences of teaching supervision of university stakeholders, especially instructors as the primary group. More importantly, does teaching supervision improve university teaching and learning? Therefore, this study conducts a case study of a Chinese HEI – Zhejiang University of Technology and aims to investigate the effectiveness of the teaching supervision system on the efficiency of teaching and learning, which is a core mission of an HEI. The study employs qualitative methods to conduct document analysis and in-depth semi-structured interviews for data collection. Relevant regulations, policies, and documents are scrutinized. The stakeholders related to teaching supervision and IQA will be invited to join the in-depth interviews to understand the diverse perceptions of administrators, faculty members, and students. Based on the empirical data, the study aims to make recommendations for improving university teaching and learning and related IQA practices at HEIs.