Review and Recommendations on African Union Breakout Group Report
AFRICAN UNION
Report from Breakout Groups
General Comments
•
Overall, positive impression of the work
done.
•
Standards were considered well thought.
•
Need to engage Professional Editors to
handle the final editing of the document
•
Language: Transliteration Vs. translation
Comment on the structure:
Inconsistency in numbering (Numbers, letters,
Bullets). Need to be more consistent on the
presentation.
Bullet points to be avoided.
Should have levels of compliance, e.g. criteria,
indicators and weights to allow for a qualitative
assessment
P
a
r
t
A
Standards 1:
Vision, Mission and Strategic Objectives
Document should not prescribe to the institutions that
quality should be described/reflected in their vision or
mission.
Conflicting statements in the guidelines should be edited.
All standards and guidelines should be simple and clear so
that the institutions do not struggle as to what they mean
Visions and missions should not be repeated throughout the
document.
Standard 2: Governance and Management
1
st
Line under the standard “clearly articulated” – find a
more clear term than ‘articulated’
Guideline (b) – ‘Has relevant organs of governance and
management
(add this)
(e) speaks about autonomy – should explain it clearly as
autonomy means something else – equate autonomy with
management policies and procedures which is not what
autonomy is about
Standard 3: Human Resources
1
st
Line under the standard – What is meant by
‘inclusive policies? Be clear on this – inclusive should be
in terms of gender, race, etc. – need to refer to specifics
Standard 4: Financial Resources
Can standard 4 and 5 be combined?
Keep them separate – as ICT infrastructure nowadays
stands on its own
Formulation of standard – the institution “shall have”
adequate financial resources – this will not always be
possible for the institution as its not in the institution’s
power to receive resources – unfair measure for the
institution to use “shall have”
Standard 5: Infrastructure and Facilities
2
nd
Line under the standard: ‘to support
teaching
, (add
this) learning and research’
It’s important to include the quality of accommodation
facilities/hostels for students
Standard 6: Student Recruitment, Admission, Certification
and Support Services
There’s a repetition of guidelines (e )and (f)
There is nothing about graduates – do they track the
graduates (tracer studies)? There should be added
something about ‘graduates’
Numbering is not clear – after (i) we start with (a) again
Last paragraph – “The institution supports and develops
appropriate strategies for the creation and functioning of
cultural, artistic and sports structures (
facilities
) and
associations.
Standard 7: Design, Approval and Monitoring of Study
Programmes (
add evaluation to the title
)
Guideline (a) - nothing about ‘
evaluation
’ of the
programme – usually you do an evaluation/a review of
the programme
Standard 8: Teaching, Learning and Assessment
1
st
line of the standard is repeating…? – delete ‘in a way
that is consistent with its vision and mission’
Guidelines – assessment is not mentioned as a core
guideline – does not really emphasise assessment, e.g.
guidelines (a) and (c) ’teaching and learning and
assessment
’ (to be added)
Emphasis should be placed on ‘life-long learning’
There should be a statement about ‘assessment’ in the
standard? – the 2
nd
paragraph has it
Standard 9: Research, (
postgraduate programmes?
) and Innovation
Research and innovation are two different things – guidelines only
talk about innovative research (c) and not innovation alone – should
perhaps be the other way around?
2
nd
standard – talks about postgraduate programmes – this should go
to the title?
Not all postgraduate programmes have a research component so
why single out ‘postgraduate’? ‘Postgraduate’ should be a stand-
alone standard
Guidelines (a) – (g) do not say anything about ‘postgraduate studies)
The guidelines say nothing about innovation – need to incorporate
‘innovation’
Standard 10: Community Engagement
Guidelines (b) and (c) do not refer to community
engagement
To add something about respect for the local
community’s knowledge
Standard 11: Information Management
Have to refer to learning management systems/(HE)
information management systems
(e) to add ‘alumni’ in this guideline – students’ and
alumni
satisfaction
Standard 13: Collaboration, Staff and Student Mobility
Uneasy about the way the standards are written, e.g. the
institution shall have mechanisms…
3
rd
Line under standard – replace the words ‘in order to’
with ‘
and
’
P
a
r
t
B
Standard 2: Designing External Quality Assurance
Mechanisms Fit-For-Purpose
Add and/or between the 2 types of accreditation
since it is not a must to have both programme
accreditation/audit and institutional
accreditation/audit.
Standard 4: Independence of Evaluation
There was debate about involvement of students in in External
Review Panel, but resolved in favour of student participation.
In section b) iv, separate independent from conflict of interest.
In section b) iv, what is Declaration of Independence Form?
In section b) iv, conflict of interest is difficult to avoid in countries
with just a few universities and where academic staff number is
limited. Recommended that such countries should draw peers from
other countries.
Standard 5: Decision and Reporting of External Quality
Assurance Outcomes
In the Standard, end at accessibility? Debated
In section e), decisions of external review are of the QAA
Board and not the Panel, amend accordingly.
Standard 6: Periodic Review of Institutions and
Programmes
In section a), add “or on a needs basis”, or rephrase to
reflect defined validity of accreditation period.
Standard 7: Complaints and Appeals
In the Standard replace “process” with “procedure.
Include “handling complaints from the general public”, between
sections b) and C), to read,
“
There is a process to address complaints raised by the general
public
”.
In section d), appeals should be handled within agreed period of time.
In section d), there is some redundancy with section c) in respect to
“appeals processes being consistently applied”. Consequently, section
d) should be revised to read,
“
Appeals and complaints are professionally handled, within an
agreed period of time
”.
P
a
r
t
C
Standard 1. Legal Status
Repetition of the word “autonomous” in standards 1 and
2. Remove the one in standard 1
“the” to be replaced with “a”
The guideline is a statement and should be rephrased e.g
The legal mandate, power and authority should be clearly
stated/defined
Standard 2. Independence of QAA
The word autonomy in the standard should be reflected
in the guideline.
c) Expunge he phrase “even if experts/peers are involved
in the quality assurance activity”
Standard 3. Vision and Mission Statement
Shouldn’t “standard 3” come before “standard 2” (to be
determined)
a. Should read “Quality assurance of HEIs is a major activity
of the agency”
d. Should read…. “The custodianship and oversight of the
QAA’s mission, vision and objectives are at the appropriate
level of governance for the agency”
** * Governance should be a standard immediately
after Vision and Mission statement
Standard 4. Policies, Processes and Activities
There was the opinion that “Part B” and “Part C” could
be merged.
The “Standard” for Standard 4 should be moved to the
proposed “Standard on Governance”.
Stakeholders should be replaced with peer and expert
driven
TWG should take a look at this standard with a view to
either expunging or moving it to a later part of the
document.
Standard 5. Internal Quality Assurance Criteria and
Processes
Expunge the 2
nd
paragraph of the of the standard.
The narrative should be converted to guidelines and
numbered or removed.
The word “integrity” should be replaced with the
appropriate word because it has a wide range of
applications.
Standard 6. Financial and Human Resources
Delete the introductory statement
a) should be…. The QAA should be adequately
funded to realise its vision, mission and objective
Standard 7. Benchmarking, Networking and Collaboration
Expunge the 2
nd
paragraph of the standard
Collaboration with relevant bodies should be included in
the standard.
a)
“competent bodies” should be replaced with relevant
bodies.
e) “at the international level” should be removed
Standard 8. Periodic Review of QAAs
The standard should read: “The QAA shall undergo
periodic internal and external reviews for continuous
improvement“
b) “Periodic review” should replace “every 5 years”.
Thank you
Positive impressions were noted on the work done in the African Union Breakout Group Report, with recommendations for editing consistency in numbering and structuring. Suggestions include clear language in standards and guidelines, and specific explanations in key areas like governance, human resources, and financial resources.
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Presentation Transcript
AFRICAN UNION Report from Breakout Groups Report from Breakout Groups
General Comments Overall, positive impression of the work done. Standards were considered well thought. Need to engage Professional Editors to handle the final editing of the document Language: Transliteration Vs. translation
Comment on the structure: Inconsistency in numbering (Numbers, letters, Bullets). Need to be more consistent on the presentation. Bullet points to be avoided. Should have levels of compliance, e.g. criteria, indicators and weights to allow for a qualitative assessment
Part A Part A
Standards 1: Vision, Mission and Strategic Objectives Document should not prescribe to the institutions that quality should be described/reflected in their vision or mission. Conflicting statements in the guidelines should be edited. All standards and guidelines should be simple and clear so that the institutions do not struggle as to what they mean Visions and missions should not be repeated throughout the document.
Standard 2: Governance and Management 1stLine under the standard clearly articulated find a more clear term than articulated Guideline (b) Has relevant organs of governance and management (add this) (e) speaks about autonomy should explain it clearly as autonomy means something else equate autonomy with management policies and procedures which is not what autonomy is about
Standard 3: Human Resources 1st Line under the standard What is meant by inclusive policies? Be clear on this inclusive should be in terms of gender, race, etc. need to refer to specifics
Standard 4: Financial Resources Can standard 4 and 5 be combined? Keep them separate as ICT infrastructure nowadays stands on its own Formulation of standard the institution shall have adequate financial resources this will not always be possible for the institution as its not in the institution s power to receive resources unfair measure for the institution to use shall have
Standard 5: Infrastructure and Facilities 2ndLine under the standard: to support teaching, (add this) learning and research It s important to include the quality of accommodation facilities/hostels for students
Standard 6: Student Recruitment, Admission, Certification and Support Services There s a repetition of guidelines (e )and (f) There is nothing about graduates do they track the graduates (tracer studies)? There should be added something about graduates Numbering is not clear after (i) we start with (a) again Last paragraph The institution supports and develops appropriate strategies for the creation and functioning of cultural, artistic and sports structures (facilities) and associations.
Standard 7: Design, Approval and Monitoring of Study Programmes (add evaluation to the title) Guideline (a) - nothing about evaluation of the programme usually you do an evaluation/a review of the programme
Standard 8: Teaching, Learning and Assessment 1stline of the standard is repeating ? delete in a way that is consistent with its vision and mission Guidelines assessment is not mentioned as a core guideline does not really emphasise assessment, e.g. guidelines (a) and (c) teaching and learning and assessment (to be added) Emphasis should be placed on life-long learning There should be a statement about assessment in the standard? the 2nd paragraph has it
Standard 9: Research, (postgraduate programmes?) and Innovation Research and innovation are two different things guidelines only talk about innovative research (c) and not innovation alone should perhaps be the other way around? 2nd standard talks about postgraduate programmes this should go to the title? Not all postgraduate programmes have a research component so why single out postgraduate ? Postgraduate should be a stand- alone standard Guidelines (a) (g) do not say anything about postgraduate studies) The guidelines say nothing about innovation need to incorporate innovation
Standard 10: Community Engagement Guidelines (b) and (c) do not refer to community engagement To add something about respect for the local community s knowledge
Standard 11: Information Management Have to refer to learning management systems/(HE) information management systems (e) to add alumni in this guideline students and alumni satisfaction
Standard 13: Collaboration, Staff and Student Mobility Uneasy about the way the standards are written, e.g. the institution shall have mechanisms 3rd Line under standard replace the words in order to with and
Part B Part B
Standard 2: Designing External Quality Assurance Mechanisms Fit-For-Purpose Add and/or between the 2 types of accreditation since it is not a must to have both programme accreditation/audit and institutional accreditation/audit.
Standard 4: Independence of Evaluation There was debate about involvement of students in in External Review Panel, but resolved in favour of student participation. In section b) iv, separate independent from conflict of interest. In section b) iv, what is Declaration of Independence Form? In section b) iv, conflict of interest is difficult to avoid in countries with just a few universities and where academic staff number is limited. Recommended that such countries should draw peers from other countries.
Standard 5: Decision and Reporting of External Quality Assurance Outcomes In the Standard, end at accessibility? Debated In section e), decisions of external review are of the QAA Board and not the Panel, amend accordingly.
Standard 6: Periodic Review of Institutions and Programmes In section a), add or on a needs basis , or rephrase to reflect defined validity of accreditation period.
Standard 7: Complaints and Appeals In the Standard replace process with procedure. Include handling complaints from the general public , between sections b) and C), to read, There is a process to address complaints raised by the general public . In section d), appeals should be handled within agreed period of time. In section d), there is some redundancy with section c) in respect to appeals processes being consistently applied . Consequently, section d) should be revised to read, Appeals and complaints are professionally handled, within an agreed period of time .
Part C Part C
Standard 1. Legal Status Repetition of the word autonomous in standards 1 and 2. Remove the one in standard 1 the to be replaced with a The guideline is a statement and should be rephrased e.g The legal mandate, power and authority should be clearly stated/defined
Standard 2. Independence of QAA The word autonomy in the standard should be reflected in the guideline. c) Expunge he phrase even if experts/peers are involved in the quality assurance activity
Standard 3. Vision and Mission Statement Shouldn t standard 3 come before standard 2 (to be determined) a. Should read Quality assurance of HEIs is a major activity of the agency d. Should read . The custodianship and oversight of the QAA s mission, vision and objectives are at the appropriate level of governance for the agency ** * Governance should be a standard immediately after Vision and Mission statement
Standard 4. Policies, Processes and Activities There was the opinion that Part B and Part C could be merged. The Standard for Standard 4 should be moved to the proposed Standard on Governance . Stakeholders should be replaced with peer and expert driven TWG should take a look at this standard with a view to either expunging or moving it to a later part of the document.
Standard 5. Internal Quality Assurance Criteria and Processes Expunge the 2nd paragraph of the of the standard. The narrative should be converted to guidelines and numbered or removed. The word integrity should be replaced with the appropriate word because it has a wide range of applications.
Standard 6. Financial and Human Resources Delete the introductory statement a) should be . The QAA should be adequately funded to realise its vision, mission and objective
Standard 7. Benchmarking, Networking and Collaboration Expunge the 2nd paragraph of the standard Collaboration with relevant bodies should be included in the standard. a) competent bodies should be replaced with relevant bodies. e) at the international level should be removed
Standard 8. Periodic Review of QAAs The standard should read: The QAA shall undergo periodic internal and external reviews for continuous improvement b) Periodic review should replace every 5 years .
Thank you Thank you
