A quality approach that prioritizes the human

These days, quality is on the agenda of universities. Quality initiatives, which have gained momentum along the axis of digitalization, aim to improve the quality of education in higher education in a way that is consistent with the trends of the era. To this end, efforts are being made to establish a quality assurance management system with defined boundaries that is measurable, manageable, and sustainable, by utilizing the opportunities brought by digitalization. The subject of quality was also discussed in its various aspects, and the progress of universities in this direction was examined with data, at a meeting held in Istanbul on January 31, 2024, in cooperation with the Council of Higher Education and the Higher Education Quality Council, with the participation of university rectors and quality experts. 

With digitalization, there is a need to reformat every aspect of life. In an environment where the production and dissemination of information are accelerating at an unimaginable rate due to 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 is becoming easier than before. In other words, there are opportunities, but we must not ignore the threats. Therefore, it is necessary to handle the process with its advantages and disadvantages, to reduce the negatives, and to continue on the path by increasing the positives. 

Where there is multiple production and transmission, opportunities increase, but threats also increase just as much. To prevent threats and increase opportunities with the right goals, it is necessary to establish a system. The collection of data, its systematic archiving, and its availability for sharing in line with requirements and with continuity are of great importance for ensuring quality and its sustainability. 

Digitalization strengthens interaction and communication in particular. However, for this to turn into a quality-oriented interaction and cooperation, production and transmission processes need to be systematized. It is of serious importance that the scientific knowledge produced in universities is transferred to social life and transformed into benefit. Universities are educational institutions on one hand, but they are also environments for knowledge production on the other. Therefore, sharing the produced knowledge with society and transforming it into benefit in line with development and progress goals means that the university creates value for humanity. 

It is precisely at this point that the importance of science communication emerges. The process of delivering the scientific knowledge produced at the university to target audiences in society, or to use the fashionable term, stakeholders, and transforming it into effective use is the field of interest of science communication. Therefore, science communication refers to the determination of strategies regarding the production and transmission processes of scientific knowledge. For this reason, universities must also take science communication into account when establishing their quality assurance management systems. Indeed, the serious attention drawn to this issue at the aforementioned meeting shows the importance of the subject. Thus, it is ensured that the processes regarding which social segments, through which channels, and in line with which goals the scientific knowledge produced in universities will be transferred are monitored effectively and continuously. Unless the processes in question attain a systematic and strategic operation, it is not very possible to bring society together with universities, which are centers of knowledge production. Therefore, the transformation of knowledge into life cannot be realized. In addition, for the producer to reach satisfaction and enjoy the pleasure of production, it is of great importance that the product they put forward finds a response in real life and is useful. 

In the current situation, the findings of research conducted under the roof of universities and the thesis studies prepared still mostly wait in a passive state in archives or are published in academic journals that do not reach the general reader. 

Moreover, academics do not make the necessary effort or do not feel the need to do so regarding the dissemination of the produced knowledge to society. Because most academics lead a life disconnected from the realities of society and closed to the campus. Therefore, they are deprived of experiencing the pleasure of the product turning into benefit. They do not chase a pleasure they have not tasted or known. Indeed, the primary goal of most academics is not to contribute to social development with the knowledge they produce, but to obtain an academic title or rank with the points they will receive by publishing. The fact that an academic sees the academic environment, and therefore the university where they work, only as a workplace, and uses scientific studies only as a tool for advancement or promotion in their own profession, is one of the main reasons for the distance between the university and society. Increasing sensitivity regarding science communication will perhaps contribute to overcoming such problems and eliminating boundaries. 

On the other hand, universities are institutions that provide education and training services. It is very important in terms of quality standards that education and training are related to the realities of life; in other words, that the education and training service provided at universities finds a response in society. Therefore, it is important to take into account the needs of society, the course of the world, and the future of humanity while planning education and training and opening new programs. 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 needs to prepare a strategic plan consisting of short, medium, and long-term goals, also related to the country's development goals. In this context, planning which professional fields will attract more or less interest, and opening new departments and programs accordingly, makes it possible to provide a qualified and reality-related education and training service. 

However, on the other hand, it is also important for universities to set some goals for society and humanity. As I have observed and seen from the indicators, new generations are increasingly moving away from human-oriented fields such as literature, philosophy, sociology, logic, and anthropology. Moreover, the needs in this direction are also becoming increasingly limited in society. Yet, to understand the human and to provide qualified direction to the course of humanity, it is very important to raise generations that have intellectual depth, strong analytical competence, a rich emotional world, can dream, and have the courage to embark on creative adventures in line with their dreams. Generations competent in technology are, of course, a necessity of today's and the future's world. However, surrendering humanity to a mechanization that excludes the human would not be good at all for a secure future. 

Therefore, in quality studies focused on digital technologies, not ignoring intellectual depth and analytical competence, and even taking them seriously, is necessary for a more livable world and a higher quality humanity. A quality approach that prioritizes the human will provide universities and science with a much more solid vision.