Methodical Evaluation of Higher Education’s Quality 

Ensuring the quality of higher education is a top priority in pursuing the objectives of the Bologna Declaration. Quality of education is described as a multidimensional concept that encompasses all of the primary roles and activities related to higher education in the UNESCO program document Reform and Development of Higher Education (1995). In the field of higher education, quality assurance is an essential component of educational activities and their outcomes. It has its own characteristics, such as removing the need for mass control because it has no discernible effect on the process’s or the outcome’s quality. At the same time, the role of such management of the educational process grows, as it can sustain the quality of function performance by all participants throughout its duration at the appropriate level: teachers, students, administration, and university technical service. 

The UNESCO program document states that the following factors affect the quality of higher education: the caliber of staff, which is ensured by highly qualified instructors and researchers; the caliber of educational programs, which is guaranteed by a combination of teaching and research as well as compliance with public demand; the caliber of student training and closing the gap between secondary and higher education; and the caliber of university infrastructure and learning environments, such as computer networks and libraries, which can only be guaranteed by keeping state funding of higher education a national priority. 

Given that the professional and personal growth of teachers has a substantial impact on educational outcomes, it is clear that evaluating the professional training of educational institution staff is a crucial part of evaluating the quality of higher education. The use of a professional portfolio, which is intended to give a meaningful idea of the teacher's professional development as they prepare to perform professional functions in conditions that are constantly changing, is one of the most efficient ways to manage the educational process while guaranteeing an improvement in its quality. 

Types of Portfolios Utilized in Higher Education 

Portfolio-based evaluations of specialists' professional training outcomes or social accomplishments, as well as the operations and growth of businesses, have been increasingly popular in Russia and outside in recent years. In the works of Knysh and Pastukhova (2008), portfolios are examined as a control mechanism; in the works of Novikova, Pinskaya, and Prutchenkov (2008; 2005), they are examined as a way to track learning outcomes and as a way to monitor individual accomplishments. Portfolios have also been used to detect students' reserve capabilities and to help them exercise self-control and self-evaluation (Knysh & Pastukhova, 2008; Zelenko & Mogilevskaya, 2009; Makarova, 2010). 

Matveeva (n.d.) suggested a structured evaluation of educational quality concerning secondary education using the "portfolio process" framework, featuring three categories of portfolios: teacher portfolio, student portfolio, and school portfolio. Traditionally, there are five categories of portfolios utilized in evaluating the quality of education at a university: professional portfolio/teacher portfolio; course portfolio; teaching portfolio; student portfolio; and the portfolio of an educational institution, which enables it to showcase itself in the educational services market. Professional portfolios and student portfolios are frequently utilized as collections of accomplishments. A student's portfolio of accomplishments includes details regarding their academic and extracurricular achievements, along with successes in research endeavors. A teacher's portfolio, besides biographical details and outcomes of teaching efforts, includes information regarding the teacher's scientific accomplishments, focusing 

on documents that validate success in professional endeavors. A presentation portfolio may serve as a portfolio showcasing accomplishments. 

Teacher’s Professional Portfolio 

The quality of a teacher's professional work is closely scrutinized primarily during the certification of an educational institution. Nevertheless, assessing a university instructor's performance at a single point in time is quite challenging, as their role extends beyond just teaching; one must also consider research contributions, individual and professional growth, self-fulfillment in leading research projects, and the accomplishments of students and postgraduates. Personal and professional growth in the scientific domain, naturally, is evident in educational pursuits. A professional portfolio includes an autobiography, details about qualifications, a professional vision, examples of teaching resources, descriptions of activities, lesson outlines, videos of lessons, and feedback regarding the teacher’s performance from students, peers, and management. Thus, the more comprehensively the different facets of the teacher's work are showcased in his portfolio, the greater the likelihood that the predictions will be about the quality of his teaching and the anticipated student outcomes. In the United States, alongside the teacher's portfolio, a content/subject portfolio is typically included (Gyurova & Bozhilova, 2008). 

Collection of a Subject/Class 

A course portfolio signifies the discipline's position in the curriculum, the objectives of a particular university providing education, the aims of a specific field, represents the course's content and its intent, includes information sources (bibliography, audio and video resources, etc.), details teaching methods, anticipated outcomes, and feedback regarding the course. When creating such a portfolio, it is crucial for the teacher to thoughtfully evaluate all these elements and, in doing so, develop a distinctive course concept that aligns with their professional principles, recognizing the necessity to continually enrich and deepen the content while also seeking appropriate methods for its delivery. Course notes, which integrate remarks and explanations for the chosen formats and strategies for delivering the course, fulfill this aim. When teaching multiple courses, the educator also creates a portfolio of teaching activities that more accurately represents their professional stance and emphasis on teaching principles. 

Teaching Portfolio 

This kind of portfolio was initially implemented in Canada during the 1970s to provide a means for teachers to engage in reflection and self-evaluation regarding their performance. This approach to evaluating educational quality became popular following the release of Seldin’s book Teaching Portfolio (Seldin & Annis, n.d.). The contemporary iteration of this portfolio emphasizes evaluating not the actions of the teacher, but their skills and potential for growth, and thus includes the following documents: 

• autonomously chosen resources associated with the idea of instructing a specific subject, illustrated in the strategies, principles, formats, and techniques suitable for the learning goals of the course, along with methodological resources; this additionally considers the ways to assist students, their requirements, and the challenges they face while studying the content; 
• outputs of educational activities, including instances of tasks, examinations, individual and creative projects finished by students, student articles and presentations created for conferences, correspondence from employers, etc.; 
• insights gathered from others, including overall evaluation of the course's effectiveness and satisfaction with involvement in it; responses from peers who evaluated the instructional materials and participated in the classes; requests from different educational entities and organizations to join conferences; student evaluations, thank-you notes, etc. 

In 2004, an instance of fusing a professional and educational portfolio was released under the title Pedagogical Portfolio for Trainee Foreign Language Teachers at New Bulgarian University (NBU) in Bulgaria. According to Dimitrova and Tashevski, the aim of this portfolio is to assist

educators: a) consistently record and contemplate their teaching experiences both while studying at the university and throughout their professional practice in the Bulgarian education system; b) provide systematic proof of the obtained teaching skills and the standard of work in the classroom during both external and internal evaluations; c) cultivate reflective abilities and an unbiased evaluation of their own accomplishments; d) distinctly and realistically articulate objectives and potential methods to attain them, emphasizing priorities for career advancement and personal growth (Dimitrova & Tashevski, n.d.). 

The diverse group of interns should consist of the following: 

• diplomas and certificates obtained throughout the study period, including educational and internship experiences; 
• consistently refreshed details on the subjects being studied; 
• records of every kind of extra qualification attained throughout the study period (summer schools, seminars, conferences, research forums, personal publications); 
• course and program documents; 
• educational materials (articles, books, original curricula, term papers, essays, etc.); 
• additional documents that aren't directly associated with this qualification, yet demonstrate the overall progress of the trainee (to be included as an appendix in the portfolio). 

Student Portfolio 

A student portfolio consists of multiple portfolios: an achievements portfolio (including awards earned during study for sports, university social activities, certificates from conferences, scientific forums, competitions, etc.), and an educational results portfolio, which showcases course projects, tests, independent work, essays, and more. A student portfolio is created to: 

• highlight the accomplishments of the student; 
• create cross-disciplinary links and promote career advancement and development strategies. At certain American universities, students must create “experiential learning critical portfolios,” where they document their experiences, and learning is perceived not just as the pursuit of particular subjects but also as an expression of the student's overall growth (Noe, 2002); 
• assess curricula, the actions of individual instructors, and the overall functioning of the educational institution. The information gathered can later be utilized when deciding on university accreditation and teacher certification. Nevertheless, it is essential to create suitable criteria for use by commissions assessing institutions or individuals (Gyurova & Bozhilova, 2008); 
• assess training in a particular topic by examining the samples of finished assignments and the learning process journal included in the portfolio. 

A student’s portfolio showcases the unique path of their growth, enables recognition of the trends in both professional and personal development for a future professional, fosters the enhancement of reflection and self-worth, and aids in self-determination and self-actualization. Consequently, indirect management is implemented in the educational process, enabling the student to transition from external oversight to self-regulation and recognize themselves as an adult learner. 

In global practice, an electronic portfolio is recognized as a component of an e-learning approach. In the piece Electronic Portfolio of a Teacher, Stolyarova (n.d.) describes it as a collection of materials that clearly showcases and assesses a teacher's professional capabilities, their proficiency in addressing issues within their work, and selecting strategies and tactics for professional conduct. Merely a few decades earlier, solely the “paper” kind of portfolio was utilized in global practice. Currently, both electronic portfolios and online electronic portfolios are commonly utilized. Both types include details regarding the teacher, outcomes of educational and methodological activities, 

innovative plans and future goals for the teacher's professional growth, as well as descriptions of the learning environment. 

The benefit of an electronic portfolio is that it can include videos, photos, and presentations, allowing the teacher to document their accomplishments while building an organized media library of digital learning materials. The electronic resource can be continuously enhanced and added to, and this process inherently involves a reflective stance from the teacher, encouraging professional growth. The work becomes increasingly communal as the audience measuring professional accomplishments grows. Therefore, specifically, the teacher’s professional persona is developed. The development of an electronic portfolio necessitates comparing one’s professional experiences with those of other educators and methodologists. When developing a teacher’s electronic portfolio, their proficiency in information and communication technologies is showcased, and this serves as a crucial aspect of the certification for teaching activities. 

Systematic Evaluation of Educational Outcomes Through the Application of a Portfolio 

The combined application of various portfolio types enables a systematic evaluation of the educational process’s quality and its elements that influence the quality of the educational outcome. A generalized portfolio further aids in this systematic evaluation. A process portfolio guarantees the linkage of all components of the educational system. Generalized portfolios of a teacher and a student transform into subsystems that possess their own structure. Integrating these subsystems into a unified system enables the establishment of a shared style for all its components. Developing and sustaining individual generalized portfolios for all participants in the educational process enables ongoing evaluation and prompt adjustment of the university's educational activities. 

In nations where a professional portfolio is utilized, a teacher's career relies on a conversation with the administration of the educational institution (their individual decision alone is insufficient). Nevertheless, it is crucial to guarantee the interlinking of the internal components of the portfolio process system, which represents the essence of managing educational quality and impacts the external outcome of the comprehensive evaluation of the educational system’s quality.