A Six-Cycle Evaluation of Programme Quality Indicators in Outcome-Based Education

Institutional quality assurance systems generate substantial programme-level data, yet these data are often used primarily for periodic reporting rather than longitudinal programme evaluation. This study examined three routinely collected programme quality indicators across six consecutive academic cycles in an Outcome-Based Education programme at a Malaysian public university. A retrospective descriptive longitudinal case-study design was used. Course-level records were extracted from Closing the Loop Continuous Quality Improvement reports covering March 2022 to October 2024. The indicators were Course Grade Rating, Entrance-Exit Survey, and Student Feedback Online. Courses were grouped by Part, defined as the semester of study within the programme. Means were calculated across valid course ratings within each Part, while cycle-level means and population standard deviations were calculated across the available Part means. All three indicators were reported on a five-point institutional performance scale. Course Grade Rating declined from 2.71 in March 2022 to 2.41 in March 2023 and ended at 2.64 in October 2024. Entrance-Exit Survey means were 3.36 in the first three cycles, peaked at 3.55 in October 2023, and ended at 3.30. Student Feedback Online increased from 3.23 to 3.61, with its highest mean of 3.91 recorded in March 2024. The non-parallel trajectories show why programme quality should not be reduced to a single indicator. Routine quality assurance records can support longitudinal programme monitoring, although variation in Part composition and the use of aggregated ratings limit causal interpretation.

Outcome-Based Education; programme evaluation; course grade rating; quality assurance; continuous quality improvement

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