QUIP FAQs

FAQs for Institutions and Organizations

These Frequently Asked Questions provide answers to questions that institutions and organizations may have about QUIP.  Please consult the QUIP Guidebook for more details. 

• Is QUIP an accreditation process?

No.  The focus of QUIP is the future development and improvement of institutions that participate. This is not an accreditation or approval program, although the insights a QUIP review provides may prove valuable in accreditation processes, such as those carried out by regional accrediting bodies.

•   Why would we want to do a QUIP review if it is not required?

QUIP’s rigorous, systematic, and objective Self-Study and Peer Review process provides direct multi-level benefits to students, education abroad programs, and institutions and organizations themselves. Involving constituents across an organization in the Self-Study process encourages openness, collegiality and support. Also, a QUIP review offers an objective assessment based upon standards of good practice for education abroad established by education abroad professionals in a field-tested process.  Participants in the Pilot testing noted these positive benefits:

“It was an accountability process that gave reassurance that we have the resources to work at generating the outcomes we want.”

"...[W]e have consistent measures by which our programs are assessed.”

"The project helped us to clarify the goals for our programs.  It was useful to have an outside perspective on what we do, and to recognize what our successes are.”

 “We were able to identify some areas that we needed to focus on to improve, and also some new opportunities that we had not considered before.”

To assess the value of QUIP, it is helpful to consider the per student cost for a review amortized over the 8 years for which a review is valid.  For example, imagine that your organization’s total price for QUIP is $5,000, including the costs associated with hosting peer reviewers.  If your organization has 500 students a year participating in study abroad, the total number of students over 8 years, assuming steady enrollments, would be 4,000 students.  This would make the per student cost of QUIP $1.25.

• Will the QUIP process change?  What if my institution/organization participates in QUIP and then the program changes?

A great deal of care has been taken to test and refine the self-study and peer review processes upon which QUIP is based.  The process has been rigorously pilot tested and refined. Therefore QUIP is not expected to change significantly from its current design.  The Forum is confident that the basic design and functioning of QUIP is excellent, and that it will remain in its present form for years to come.  Like any effective program, an ongoing assessment program is part of QUIP.  Participants in QUIP will provide feedback so that QUIP is improved on an ongoing basis; however, any changes are not expected to be major ones.   Institutions and organization that participate in QUIP can be assured that it is a process that works.

• Will the Standards change?  What if my institution/organization participates in QUIP and then the Standards change?

The Forum’s Standards of Good Practice for Education Abroad have undergone a rigorous process of development and refinement over the past several years that has involved the input of hundreds of professionals from education abroad and experts from other fields.  The 3rd edition that will be endorsed by the Forum Board and published in summer, 2007 are expected to be an authoritative set of Standards that will apply to education abroad for years to come.  The Standards will be reassessed and evaluated to insure that they respond to any changes in the field of education abroad.  However, the basic principles are not expected to change significantly.  Should a change or modification occur, institutions and organizations that have gone through QUIP will be notified and provided information on how to assess a new query that may have been added.

• How much will a QUIP review cost my institution/organization?

Undertaking a QUIP Review will involve a financial commitment that ideally your institution/organization can plan into its budget in the same way that it plans for other types of quality assurance efforts.  The Forum is pleased to discuss with institutions the benefits of QUIP and to offer suggestions about how to incorporate it into budget planning.  

The cost of QUIP will vary widely according to the institution/organization and the type and scope of the review.

The QUIP costs are made up of three areas:

1.  The QUIP fee.  The starting fees for the types of QUIP reviews appear on the web site.  The precise fee will depend on a number of factors.  These include:

• The size of the institution/organization and the number of students who study abroad;
• The number of study abroad programs offered;
• The number of programs operated by the institution/organization;
• The proposed scope of the review.

The exact fee is determined by the Forum staff once the QUIP Application is submitted and the Forum staff can determine the exact nature and scope of the review.   Institutions and organizations are encouraged to discuss pricing with the Forum staff at any time.

2.  The cost of hosting two Peer Reviewers at the central office and, if applicable, at a site abroad.  Most QUIP reviews require both a visit to the central office of the institution/organization as well as a visit to at least one  study abroad site.  Single-site overseas providers and host universities would require only one site visit.  Participating institutions/organizations pay for the travel, accommodations, and meals for two Peer Reviewers.  The average cost for hosting two Peer Reviewers within the US is $500 for each reviewer.  The average cost of hosting a peer reviewer at an overseas site is $1,000 for each reviewer.

3.  The labor costs of those within your institution/organization who take part in the self-study and review process.  The self-study and review process requires a significant commitment of people’s time and effort and will vary according to the institution/organization and the nature and scope of the review.  The Guidebook for QUIP outlines the process and the people within the institution/organization that are typically involved. Based on experience of past reviews, the Forum staff is available to advise you on which of your institution/organization’s staff would be appropriate to involve, and  the expected extent of their commitment .

• How long does the QUIP review take?

The length of a QUIP review depends on many factors, such as the type of review, the size of the institution/organization participating in the review, the number of education abroad programs and number of students studying abroad.

The amount of time a QUIP review may take also depends on the internal schedule of the participating organization; the review process must be planned around normal operations and activities.

Generally, a QUIP Comprehensive Program Review will take between 8-10 months, from initial application to the issuing of the final determination.

• What does my institution/organization receive after participating in QUIP?

A Determination Letter from the Forum recognizing the organization’s participation in QUIP, its commitment to quality improvement, and whether or not the organization has been found to be in conformity with the Standards of Good Practice is issued for each QUIP review.

• What are the outcomes of QUIP for my institution/organization?

The goal of QUIP is to help Forum member institutions and organizations to improve the quality of their education abroad programs and to recognize those that participate in the program and are found to be in conformity with the Forum’s Standards of Good Practice for Education Abroad.  This is not a pass/fail test nor a process of grading or ranking programs.  The result is not a simple yes/no answer.  If we had to condense the possible outcomes to short answers, the two possible results would be “yes” and “not yet.”  The Forum believes that all institutions have the capacity to conduct their programs in consonance with the Standards, and the Forum’s goal is to help each institution be the best that it can be.  Therefore, a frequent outcome will be something like “yes, institution X meets the standards, and also we endorse the recommendations for improvement offered by the review team and commend them to the attention of the institution.”

• What if my institution/organization participates in QUIP and is found not to be in conformity with the Standards?

The Determination Letter will state that the organization is not in substantial conformity with the Standards and will offer recommendations on how to improve.  The letter will also indicate the Forum services and benefits that may assist the organization to improve its operations, and encourage the organization to participate in QUIP again in the future.  The Forum is interested in helping organizations to improve their programs, and will work with them to accommodate another QUIP review when the organization is ready.

• Does a determination that my institution/organization is not in conformity with the Standards affect Forummembership?

No.  Forum members commit to trying to uphold the Standards of Good Practice, but the results of QUIP do not impact an organization’s membership.

• Is participation in QUIP open to non-Forum members?

At this time, no.  The Standards themselves and the QUIP process is available publicly on the Forum web site as a service to the education abroad profession as a whole.  However, participation in QUIP is restricted to Forum members at this time and is a benefit of membership.

• Which institutions/organizations will be given priority for participation in QUIP?

The first organizations that are given priority are those that participated in the Standards Pilot Project.  These institutions and organizations will be able to participate in QUIP in an expedited fashion depending on the results of their individual self-studies and peer reviews in the Pilot Project.  Going forward, priority will be given to QUIP applicants based on the length of their Forum membership, timeliness of the submission of the application, and the availability of Peer Reviewers to conduct the type of review requested.

• After completing QUIP, when should my institution/organization think about repeating the process?

It is recommended that a QUIP review be repeated every 8 years.  This is based on comparisons with the conventional practices of academic department, program and accreditation reviews.  This proposed cycle also takes into account the significant labor and cost involved in the review.  QUIP is not a compliance program that looks principally to what theorganization has done in the past.  Rather, it is a process that looks forward to assess an organization’s future plans for improvement.  Therefore, an 8-year window during which the review is useful is thought to be a reasonable time period.  If organizations are interested in participating in reviews on a more frequent basis, the Forum will attempt to accommodate their requests. 

• Will my institution/organization be able to choose the Peer Reviewers who conduct the peer review?

Peer Reviewers will be assigned by the Forum staff.  However, organizations may nominate a peer reviewer that it believes would be especially effective in conducting the peer review and the Forum staff will consider this request.  All Peer Reviewers that conduct reviews must be trained, selected, and appointed by the Forum and must not have a conflict of interest with the organization at which they conduct the review.

• Will my institution/organization be able to choose which of our abroad sites is visited?

The Forum will choose the study abroad site to be visited as part of the review.  Organizations may suggest a site that it feels would be most appropriate and the Forum staff will consider this request. 

• How do we know which type of QUIP Review is the right one for us?

If you are not sure which type of review is best for your organization, we encourage you to call the Forum staff to discuss the different types of reviews and your institutional needs and priorities.  The types of QUIP reviews are designed to respond to various types of study abroad organizations as well as various types of situations.

• How can my institution/organization be assured that the QUIP process is confidential?

Confidentiality is extremely important to the Forum and to the effectiveness of QUIP.  Peer Reviewers, the Forum staff, and the Forum Review Panel members sign confidentiality agreements and are expected to act professionally at all times.

• Is the Peer Review Report confidential?

The Forum retains the copyright and ownership of the Peer Review Reports.  Organizations will be required to use the Peer Review report for internal purposes only, and not as a means to publicize its programs (the Determination Letter may be used for the purposes of publicity).  It is expected that the Peer Review Report will be extremely useful for working with internal constituents for recognizing one’s strengths and addressing any weak areas in need of improvement.  While the Forum asks organizations to restrict the use of the Peer Review Report, it also recognizes that state “right to know” laws may make it possible for the report to be made public.  The Forum has no control over this.  Each institution should therefore be familiar with right to know laws and how they could possibly impact the dissemination of the Peer Review Report.