1
QUALITY ASSURANCE PRACTICES
IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN AFRICA
Selected case studies of African countries with higher education quality assurance agencies
December 2008
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Higher education institutions have over the generations played
pivotal roles in the development of nations. In the twenty first
century, higher education has assumed even greater importance as
it generates knowledge – the key driver of global economy and
development. Many countries have recognized the critical
importance of higher education and therefore invest great attention
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and resources in it. One way to guarantee that higher education is
sensitive to national situations and offers value-for-money
education is to constantly and efficiently assure high standards in
the provisions of the institutions that deliver higher education. To
formally achieve this, a number of institutions have set up internal
systems that ensure comprehensive training and best practices.
Countries have set up national quality assurance agencies to
coordinate the proper development of such institutions, to ensure
high standards in the provision of higher education so that
programmes are offered in conducive environments, using the best
human and physical resources.
Over time, these issues have become central to higher education,
and quality assurance has assumed prominence nationally and
globally, in higher education. Different quality assurance practices
have attracted attention all over the world. As students and staff
move from one country and continent to another, the issues of
transferability of grades and comparability of certificates have
become major poseurs on the comparability of provisions and
standards. Consequently, many countries have set up quality
assurance agencies to ensure that quality is a key consideration in
the offerings of higher education institutions. Out of fifty-three
African countries, only seventeen have set up national quality
assurance agencies, to date, and many depend on different levels
of internal institutional quality assurance practices. As there is
great emphasis in the 21st century on qualitative higher education,
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African countries should not be indifferent to the issues of quality
and quality assurance.
Taking account of the fundamental and vital nature of quality
assurance, it is pertinent that countries without national quality
assurance agencies should have the opportunity to learn from
others with such agencies. This publication documents the quality
assurance model in three African countries - Nigeria, Ghana, and
Tanzania. These countries have national quality assurance
agencies with statutory responsibilities to coordinate the delivery of
quality provisions in the higher education institutions in each of
the countries. A description of these national models will be
preceded by a review and definition of concepts of quality, types of
quality assurance practices, the quality culture in African
universities, harmonization of higher education in Africa, and
quality assurance in cross-border education.
2.0 Concepts of Quality and Quality Assurance
Quality, as a concept, has been defined differently by different
stakeholders. This is because it is multi-dimensional and mean
different thing to different stakeholders. Also, different countries
may tend to define these terms differently. This document adopts
the following definitions of quality, quality assurance,
accreditation, and licensing from Materu (2007):
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“Quality technically refers to ―fitness for purpose‖. It encapsulates
the concept of meeting commonly agreed precepts or standards.
Such standards may be defined by law, an institution, a
coordinating body or a professional society. In the diverse arena of
higher education, fitness for purpose varies tremendously by field
and programme. A broad range of factors affect quality in tertiary
institutions including their vision and goals, the talent and
expertise of the teaching staff, admission and assessment
standards, the teaching and learning environment, the
employability of its graduates (relevance to the labor market), the
quality of the library and laboratories, management effectiveness,
governance and leadership.
“Quality assurance is a planned and systematic review process of
an institution or programme to determine whether or not
acceptable standards of education, scholarship, and infrastructure
are being met, maintained and enhanced. A tertiary institution is
only as good as the quality of its teaching staff—they are the heart
of the institution that produces its graduates, its research
products, and its service to the institution, community, and
nation.
―Accreditation is a process of self-study and external quality review
used in higher education to scrutinize an institution and/or its
programmes for quality standards and need for quality
improvement. The process is designed to determine whether or not
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an institution has met or exceeded the published standards (set by
an external body such as a government, national quality assurance
agency, or a professional association) for accreditation, and
whether it is achieving its mission and stated purpose. The process
usually includes a self-evaluation, peer review and a site visit.
Success results in the accreditation of a programme or an
institution.
―Audit is a process of review of an institution or programme to
determine if its curriculum, staff, and infrastructure meet its
stated aims and objectives. It is an evaluation of an institution or
its programmes in relation to its own mission, goals, and stated
standards. The assessors are looking primarily at the success of
the institution in achieving its own goals. An audit focuses on
accountability of institutions and programmes and usually involves
a self-study, peer review and a site visit. Such an evaluation can be
self-managed or conducted by external body. The key differences
between an audit and accreditation is that that the latter focuses
on standards external to the institution, usually national, and an
assessment of the institution in terms of those standards. Audits
focus on an institution‘s own standards and goals and its success
in attaining them.
―Licensing is a process for granting a new institution or programme
permission to launch its activities. It is sometimes a phased
process whereby an institution goes through various stages before
been granted a full license. In Tanzania, for example, applications
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to set up new institutions go through four licensing stages, each
with specific requirements: letter of interim authority; certificate of
provisional registration; certificate of full registration; and finally,
certificate of accreditation‖.
2.1 Types of Quality Assurance
Quality is a multi-dimensional concept, with no commonly
accepted definition but generally measuring the level of realization
of set standards or targets. Quality has become an essential
intrinsic factor in institutional processes, including those of higher
education. The related concept of quality assurance has also
become globally important in higher education discussions. More
attention is being paid today to the issue of quality assurance in
higher education than ever before. This is not surprising as
stakeholders in higher education are now aware of the
fundamental and global importance of quality and quality
assurance in higher education. Stakeholders who are interested in
quality assurance include
a) the students, who are the primary recipients of higher
education and who the quality of training they get defines
their potential performance in later life;
b) parents, who often pay for the studies of their wards and
consequently demand vale-for-money education for them;
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c) governments that demand accountability from their
higher education institutions,
d) the employer who demands well trained graduates with
competences to effectively operate in the 21st century,
e) the institutions themselves, cognizant of the keen
competitiveness in the global higher educational system,
and
f) the society that benefits or suffers the effect of good or
poor quality education. Therefore, quality issues have
taken the centre stage in global higher education.
Quality assurance can be either an external or internal process.
External quality assurance refers to the review by an external
agency (e.g. a national quality assurance agency) or body (e.g. a
professional body), which evaluates the operations of a university
(institutional) or of its programmes to ascertain the level of
compliance with set minimum standards. External quality
assurance is mainly carried out through the instrumentality of
accreditation and involves, as indicated earlier, a self-study, peer
review and a reporting system.
Internal quality assurance, on the other hand, refers to the internal
policies and mechanisms of a university or programme for
ensuring that it is fulfilling its purposes as well as the standards
that apply to higher education in general or to the profession or
discipline, in particular (IIEP, 2006).
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Internal quality assurance is as old as higher education itself.
Indeed, most universities from inception design and implement
various internal activities to ensure that certain agreed standards
of performance are being met. One of such is the external
examination system. The system involves the assessment of
student examinations for compliance with curriculum content and
general professional or global standards. In very well established
institutions, the internal examiner may be from another
department in the university but in most cases is appointed from
another university. The external examiner must be a senior
academic staff, usually of the rank of professor and is appointed by
academic Senate of the university on the recommendation of the
Vice-Chancellor following advice from the Head of the affected
Department and the relevant Dean of Faculty. Most institutions in
Nigeria as well as in Sub-Sahara Africa with United Kingdom links
at initial stages carry out external examinations. However, this
system is facing some challenges. In many African universities, the
student population in most programmes has increased
tremendously, so that an external examiner is unable to cope with
assessing all students‘ scripts and projects. Secondly, some
universities are unable to fund the external examination system as
the numbers of academic programmes and the required external
examiners have increased significantly.
There is also the self-assessment system in which the institution
carries out an internal appraisal of its programmes to ascertain the
level of achievement of its internally set objectives and standards.
This system is distinct from the required pre-accreditation self-
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assessment, which is externally mandated. Self assessment can
be conducted at two levels, the programme and institutional levels,
and is advisory to the administration of the level of permeation of
quality in the operations and activities of the institution.
There is the practice, further in the process, in which a professor
or a senior academic colleague will sit in classes to listen to a
young lecturer and subsequently advise the young lecturer on style
and demeanor in the classroom. This may also involve the
professor designing, conducting and reporting research with a
young academic with the objective of improving the capacity of the
young academic to conduct and report research. This practice is
referred to as mentoring. Mentoring may be at the individual or
institutional level. At the individual level, the young academic staff
or a newly appointed vice-chancellor may opt to be mentored by a
senior academic or vice-chancellor, respectively who serves as a
role model to the mentored. At the institutional level, a new
university may elect to be mentored by an older and more
experienced university in the development and operation of its
structures. This is highly recommended for all new universities, to
ensure they develop the form and essence of university culture and
practice.
Student-lecturer assessment is another form of internal quality
assurance in which students assess their course lecturers. While
this is not often popular among lecturers, it has been used in
many institutions to give the students a say in the quality of
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curriculum delivery and to limit truancy and possible excesses of
lecturers.
The quality of the students in a programme is an important basic
determinant of programme or institutional quality. Consequently,
universities are keen to admit the best quality of students. In most
countries, student admission is conducted by individual
universities using their internal systems. In Nigeria, as in some
other countries, a Joint Admission and Matriculation Board
conducts a general qualifying examination annually for all
students wishing to be admitted into Nigerian universities in the
year. Using the scores of the students, individual universities
select and further conduct screening exercises to finally determine
the students who are eventually admitted as freshmen. While the
Nigerian case seems cumbersome, it largely settles the question of
probity in the admission process recognizing the pressure on the
university system which annually can only admit about 20 percent
of the demand for placement.
3.0 DEVELOPING QUALITY ASSURANCE CULTURE IN AFRICAN
UNIVERSITIES
Quality has been part of the university culture since the
establishment of modern universities, even though quality
assurance has only recently assumed greater importance
worldwide. Universities had for long been distinguished by the
quality of their products. With the establishment of quality
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assurance agencies in many countries, universities began to feel
that quality assurance was a kind of imposition from the
government, even though the institutions had inherent systems of
maintaining quality. In the effort to deepen and achieve the
objectives of quality assurance, there is a need for the
synchronization of the internal and the external quality assurance
activities in the universities. This therefore calls for the evolution
and institutionalization of the quality assurance culture in the
universities. Quality culture is more than ―a mere set of rules and
procedures which can be ‗mechanically‘ negotiated, agreed upon
and implemented. Quality culture encompasses a more implicit
consensus on what quality is and how it should be maintained and
promoted‖ (Hunger and Skalbergs, 2007).
The development of a quality assurance culture requires that
students are placed at the centre of the quality assurance
activities. This requires partnership and cooperation, sharing of
experiences and team work with the aim to support the individual
student as an autonomous scholar (Rizk and Al-Alusi, 2009).
Okafor (2009) identified the following as requirements for
developing a quality assurance culture in a university:
Self awareness/purpose
Self Criticism
In-built/internalised quality system
Quality ethos
Sense of ownership
Quality culture and internal quality process
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Shift from episodic to continuous quality system
Shift from input to an alignment of processes to learning
outcome
Building recognition through research and selectivity
Shift from being judgemental to developmental
Since quality has historically been part of the university culture,
members of the university community need to change their
perception of quality assurance as an externally imposed process.
When fully accepted, Rizk and Al-Alui (2009) surmise that
institutional quality culture will:
create a positive environment leading to continuous
improvement;
increase cooperation and competitiveness;
facilitate change and ensure positive staff development;
encourage staff to take academic risks in enquiry and admit
failure, when necessary;
engender student input and participation as equal partners;
provide a comprehensive approach for institutional
development;
involve multiple internal and external stakeholders; and
quality assurance will not need to be implemented from above.
More explicitly, Harvey (2007) had identified the following
characteristics as indicative of a quality culture in a higher
education institution:
There is academic ownership of quality.
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There is a recognition by academics and administrators of the
need for a system of quality monitoring to ensure accountability
(and compliance where required) and to facilitate improvement.
However, this should not be a ‗bureaucratic‘ system.
Quality culture is primarily about the behaviour of stakeholders
rather than the operation of a quality system.
The quality system needs to have a clear purpose, which
articulates with the quality culture.
A quality culture places students at the centre.
A quality culture is about partnership and co-operation, sharing
of experiences and team working.
A quality culture is about supporting the individual as an
autonomous scholar but not at the expense of the learning
community; there is a symbiotic relationship between individual
and community.
Leadership in a quality culture is inspirational rather than
dictatorial. Leadership is at all levels in the institution and does
not refer to just senior managers.
A quality culture welcomes external critical evaluation from a
variety of sources including formal external evaluations,
external peers acting as critical friends, and internal peer review
and support.
At heart, a quality culture is about facilitating and encouraging
reflexivity and praxis; self-reflection, developing improvement
initiatives and implementing them.
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Harvey (2007) and Gordon and Owen (2009) had identified the
different cultures known in institutions as follows:
Responsive quality culture: This is governed primarily by
external demands, takes a positive approach to opportunities
and seeks and shares good practice. However, it tends to
view quality-related activities and strategies as a solution to
externally-driven problems or challenges and consequently
lacks the sense of ownership or control
Reactive quality culture: This reacts to external demands
and is driven primarily by compliance and accountability,
seeks opportunities for reward, tends to delegate ‗quality‘ to
a delineated space (e.g. quality office)
Regenerative quality culture: This is focused on internal
development and has co-ordinated internal plans which
include clear goals. External initiatives are recognised but
are secondary to a taken-for-granted commitment to
continual improvement and organisational learning. It
embodies the potential for the subversion of externally-
driven initiatives.
Reproductive quality culture: This is focused on the
reproducing the status quo, manipulates situations to
minimize disruption from externally-driven quality initiatives
in order to maintain the status quo. It has established
norms, good internal practices and quality is an encoded and
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unremarkable part of daily practice and professional
conduct. It is resistant to reflections or re-conceptualisation
of goals.
4.0 HARMONIZATION OF QUALITY ASSURANCE
MECHANISMS IN AFRICA
African countries have adopted various quality assurance
mechanisms depending on their history and the evolution of
the higher education system in each country. Of the fifty
two countries in Africa, only seventeen have quality
assurance agencies. In fact there could be fifty two national
quality assurance agencies. With globalization and the
experience from other regions of the world, there is a tacit
need to harmonize the different quality assurance practices.
Harmonization has been referred to as the synchronization
and coordination of higher education provision in Africa
(Woldetensae, 2009).
4.1 Goals of Harmonization
In a meeting of the Bureau of the Conference of Ministers of
Education of the African Union in May, 2007, the goals of
the harmonization process were set as follows:
1. Advocate and raise awareness of the potential and value
of harmonization of higher education programmes;
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2. Bridge the gap between disparate educational systems
that exist as a result of colonial legacies by coordinating
efforts of national accreditation bodies, and regional
bodies to discuss and resolve their successes and
challenges;
3. Provide an integrating platform for dialogue and action to
develop strong regional harmonization initiatives that
cohere into a continental process of harmonization;
4. Facilitate and promote mobility of African students,
graduates, and academic staff across the continent;
5. Facilitate the development of effective quality assurance
mechanisms; and
6. Ensure that African higher education institutions become
an increasingly dynamic force in the international higher
education arena (African Union 2007).
One of the goals, as indicated above, is to facilitate the
development of effective quality mechanisms.
5.0 CROSS BORDER EDUCATION IN AFRICA
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The recent transformational developments in information
and communication technology (ICT) have aided the
―shrinking‖ of the world into a global village through its
impact on all aspect of life, including the higher education
systems. The advancements in ICT have made it possible for
higher education institutions to reach out to various
clienteles in other countries and cities without leaving their
basic location. Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) has facilitated globalization by diminishing the
limitations imposed by physical national boundaries. It has
made the exchange of information less tedious across
countries and the world has truly become a global village.
Education, particularly higher education, has become one of
the beneficiaries of globalization which enables academic
exchange across borders without much restriction. Cross-
border education is therefore education that is offered across
national boundaries without much hindrance. Given these
developments in the world, education is not restricted to the
institutional campus in the country of its origin but can also
be offered to prospective students in other countries either
virtually or through the establishment of a campus of the
institution in another country.
Definition Of Cross Border Education
Cross-border education refers to the movement of people,
programmes, providers, curricula, projects, research and
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services across national or regional jurisdictional borders.
Cross-border education is a subset of internationalisation and
can be part of development cooperation projects, academic
exchange programmes and commercial initiatives (Knight,
2007). Cross-border education is characterized by the
movement across national border of (a) students and
teachers, (b) providing institutions, and (c) a wide range of
curricula and programmes using variety of modes of delivery
(Magagula, 2005). The type of providers ranges from the
traditional universities, the corporate universities as well as
the private providers.
5.1 Drivers of Cross Border Education
Universities, from their origin, have had international
dimensions. Students and their teachers have always sought
to exchange knowledge and ideas. Distinctively, the great
interest in cross border education has been fueled by
a) Developments in technology. The development of
technology, including information and communication
technology (ICT) and the internet, has greatly
influenced the development of cross-border education.
Technology has been regarded as ‗the greatest force for
change in higher education‘ (Green, Eckel and
Barblan, 2002).
b) Globalization
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Globalization is the major driving force in the cross-
border education. ‘For some, globalization is a fairly
neutral description of unstoppable reality; its definition
points to the flow of ideas, capital, people, and goods
around the world in the context of diminishing relevance
of natural borders. For others, it implies the hegemony
of the capitalist system, the domination of rich nations
and corporations over poor and the loss of national
identity and culture. Applied to higher education,
globalization connotes similar possibilities and elicits
comparable fears’ (Green, Eckel and Barblan, 2002)
Whatever view one holds, globalization is fact today
and has come to stay. Globalization has been viewed
as ‗the transfer, adaptation, and development of
values, knowledge, technology and behavioural norms
across countries and societies in different part of the
world‘ (Cheng, 2002). The role of globalization in the
facilitation of cross-border education is elicited
through the exchange of ideas and the movement of
staff and students. The implication for globalization to
education includes ‗maximizing education relevance to
global development and pooling up the best
intellectual resources, support and initiatives from
different parts of the world for teaching and research‘
(Cheng, 2002)
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c. Limited National Access to Higher education
Most African countries have limited access to higher
education while in fact, there is an overwhelming
demand for student placements in higher education
institutions. For instance, in Nigeria, not more than
twenty percent of candidates seeking placements in
universities in Nigeria actually get admitted in any
given year. This has given room for the interest in
cross-border education as well as the mushrooming of
dubious and illegal universities in the country. The
limitation in access and high demand for places has
also often led to over-enrolments in these institutions
with concomitant implication for resources and
quality. Cross border education is therefore a veritable
source of relief to the problem of access.
5.2 Monitoring Cross Border Education for Quality.
As would be expected, guaranteeing the quality of cross
border education is a major challenge for African nations.
Some countries have in fact given up and are therefore
havens for low quality cross border education providers.
UNESCO and OECD have developed adaptable guidelines for
cross-border education which apportion responsibilities to
various stakeholders. African nations, and in particular the
national quality assurance agencies, must devise effective
mechanisms to protect their students and other stakeholders
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from disreputable providers and from low-quality provision.
These measures must include ensuring that all providers are
accredited in their home countries to offer the programmes
they intend to mount; all providers must provide in the
importing country facilities and resources similar to the
provisions in their home country; all providers must be
approved by the national quality assurance agency of the
importing nation. While this may be possible to achieve, it is
noted that monitoring and quality assuring e-learning is
more complicated and may in fact require the collective effort
of African countries through the Africa Union and the
Association of African Universities.
Chapter 2
Case Studies of Quality Assurance Models in African Countries
In this section, we consider the models of quality assurance
in five specific countries. Each of these countries has a
national quality assurance agency with the responsibility to
coordinate quality assurance activities in their respective
countries. Nigeria has the National Universities Commission;
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South Africa, the Higher Education Quality Committee of the
Council of Higher Education (CHE); Kenya, the Commission
for Higher Education (CHE); Tanzania, the Tanzania
Commission for Universities; and Ghana, the National
Accreditation Board. Each of these agencies is set up by law
and they are fully functional. A review of the characteristics
and modalities for action for each Agency firms the
subsequent portion of this chapter.
6.0 Nigeria
Quality assurance activities in Nigeria are multi-
dimensional. It includes formal recognition of state
universities; the approval of individual university
programmes; development of minimum academic standards
for programmes taught in Nigerian universities and the
accreditation of same; ensuring that private universities are
established following laid down guidelines; resource
verification and the enforcement of carrying capacity for
individual university programmes.
6.1 The recognition of state universities:
The laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (LFN) Act No. 1 of 1974 established the National Universities Commission (NUC) as a statutory body. The law conferred on the
Commission the responsibility of coordinating the development of universities in Nigeria, advising government
on the establishment of new universities and financing of
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federal universities as well as coordinating foreign assistance to all universities
By the 1979 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, tertiary education was included in the concurrent legislative list. In effect therefore, both Federal and state governments
could establish tertiary institutions. This stimulated the establishment of the first set of seven state universities between1979 and 1982.
Furthermore, by LFN Act No. 16 of 1985, the responsibility
for setting minimum standards and quality assurance of tertiary institutions and their awards was ceded to the National Universities Commission. Consequently, the
Commission was de facto given the responsibility to recognize the programme of institutions and by implication
the institutions that run the programmes. In consonance with the above, state governments have the
powers to establish universities through the enactment of appropriate state laws. However, for the universities to be recognized to initiate academic activities and to eventually
award degrees, diplomas and certificates, a state must formally deposit with the NUC the legal instrument of
establishment as well as the specific documents defining the master plan and academic brief of the new university. Such documents, which must meet the standards stipulated by
the Commission, are required to enable the Commission have base documents essential for effective monitoring. In this way, the Commission ensures that state universities
meet quality imperatives in their establishment.
6.2 The development of minimum academic standards for programmes in Nigerian universities
As earlier indicated, the NUC was by LFN Act No 16 of 1985
given the specific quality assurance responsibilities of
defining minimum standards for all academic programmes
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taught and also of the accreditation of such programmes.
Consequently, the law empowered the Commission to carry
out two interrelated quality assurance functions. This
development gave rise to the development of minimum
academic standards (MAS) for all programmes in the thirteen
(13) undergraduate disciplines taught in Nigerian
universities in 1989. These were in Administration,
Agriculture and Forestry, Arts, Education, Engineering and
Technology, Environmental Sciences, Law, Management
Sciences, Medicine and Dentistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences,
Sciences, Social Sciences, and Veterinary Medicine. While
the Commission coordinated the process, the specific
standards were drawn up by senior university academic staff
in relevant individual disciplines. Subsequently, the
documents were sent to all universities for comments and
inputs before being finalized. In effect, the academic
standards were produced in a collaborative effort rather than
as an imposition on the universities.
The MAS documents prescribes minimum floor space for
lectures; minimum laboratory/studio space and facilities per
student; minimum floor, sitting and required equipment for
the library, minimum number and quality of staff; as well as
acceptable staff/student ratios for individual disciplines.
Also, the documents set minimum entry and graduation
requirements for each discipline/programme, as well as
prescribed appropriate curriculum for each of them. The
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minimum academic standards equally defined and
prescribed the course credit system and the Grade Point
Average for all academic discipline taught in Nigerian
universities. It also defined general academic issues in
Nigerian universities such as course unit, grade point
average, length of academic year, minimum number of
actual teaching weeks per semester, external examination
system, re-sitting of failed courses, implementation of
continuous assessment as required by the National Policy
on Education (NPE) and the implementation of the minimum
of four year degree programme in Nigerian universities as
well as the determination of minimum number of credits
required to graduate from a degree programme.
In 2004, the Commission initiated a process of reviewing the
MAS which had been in use from 1989 to eliminate obsolete
information and to incorporate new developments in
technology and knowledge. Subsequently, the revised
document, which also defined benchmarks and renamed
―Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards‖, was submitted
to the Federal Government for approval through the Federal
Ministry of Education. Also, Benchmark Minimum Academic
Standards have been developed for the postgraduate
programmes in Nigerian universities. The documents have
been sent to the universities for their comments and inputs.
Their submissions are expected to be incorporated into the
final document before its submission for approval to the
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Federal Government. Specifically, the BMAS for Master of
Business Administration (MBA) was used in 2006 to conduct
accreditation of the programme in the face of seeming
proliferation of the MBA programme in Nigeria Universities
and as a test case for the accreditation of post graduate
programmes.
The MAS document has been criticized as an imposition of
the NUC and for enforcing uniform curriculum on the
universities. As earlier indicated, the standards are defined
by experts in respective academic disciplines and NUC
coordinated the process of development, validation and
approval. Also, the document only prescribes minimum
curriculum content as enunciated by the experts cognizant
of the threshold level of knowledge exposure required of a
graduate in a specific discipline/programme. In fact, the
universities are free to go beyond the minimum prescription
and many currently do. The minimum standards document
is a excellent quality assurance/accreditation tool as it
defines the minimum level of offering required of individual
programmes in Nigerian universities and explicitly exposes
same to the international academic community.
6.3 Accreditation in Nigerian Universities
The accreditation exercise in Nigerian universities is usually
programme accreditation and is preceded by the setting up
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of minimum academic standards. The first system wide
accreditation exercise for undergraduate programmes was
conducted between 1989 and 1991. Since then, several
accreditation exercises have been conducted in 1999/2000,
2002, 2005 (February) and 2005 (November), and 2007.
Accreditation in Nigeria is a system of evaluating academic
programmes in Nigerian universities on their level of
compliance with the provisions of the minimum academic
standards (National Universities Commission, 1999).
The main objectives of accreditation in Nigeria are;
a) ensuring that at least the provisions of the minimum
academic standards documents are attained, maintained
and enhanced;
b) assuring employers and other members of the community
that Nigerian graduates of all academic programmes have
attained an acceptable level of competency in their areas
of specialization, and;
c) certifying to the international community that the
programmes in Nigerian Universities are of high
standards and that their graduates are adequately
prepared for employment and for further studies.
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The accreditation exercise is conducted to ensure that the
Universities meet the provisions of minimum academic
standards. The exercise involves three distinct steps:
a) Self- study,
b) Site visit and Peer review, and
c) Reporting of outcome.
The process of accreditation involves the NUC, as the
national accreditation agency, sending the self-study forms
to the Universities hosting programmes that are to be
accredited. The university is required to complete the Forms
and to return them to the NUC before the site/accreditation
visit. The self study forms are central to the whole process of
accreditation in Nigeria as it gives the affected programme in
the university the opportunity to self assess itself and to list
its strengths and weaknesses.
Peer review is an important component both programme and
institutional accreditation. In Nigeria, the NUC constitutes
peer review panels/teams that will visit the institution for
the accreditation exercise. Membership of the panels is
composed of very senior academics, usually professors, one
of who is a chairman. The Commission also appoints a
secretary from among its staff who does not participate in
the scoring of programmes but is responsible for the
administration of the panel. For professional programmes
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(such as medicine, pharmacy, accountancy, veterinary
medicine, animal science), NUC usually includes
representatives of the statutory regulatory professional body.
Before engaging on the site visit, the panels are formally
briefed by the Commission on the assignment, the essence,
the procedure, their responsibilities and required
confidentiality. They are also exposed to simulations of
situations and advised on scoring patterns. The reason for
the simulation exercise is to reduce to a minimum such
variations in scoring that may arise among panel members.
The major objectives of site visit include:
a) Determining the extent to which the particular
programme or discipline to be accredited has in all
respects met the provisions of the approved Minimum
Academic Standards;
b) Verifying the Statements of Fact claims supplied by
the university in the completed Self-Study Form
(NUC/SSF);
c) Holding discussions with officials of the university
that would enable each member of the panel objectively
complete the Programme Evaluation Form (NUC/PEF).
d) Completion of the Accreditation Panel Report Form (APRF)
and the Awarding of an appropriate accreditation grades:
30
After each member of the panel has completed the PEF,
they meet as a panel/team to complete the APRF. The
meeting is presided over by the chairman of the team.
Based on the average score derived from the individual
PEFs for a programme, the Panel will derive an average
total score and enter a recommended grade on the APRF
in conformity with the provisions of the Manual.
6.2.1 Accreditation Criteria
The accreditation of a programme is based on pre-determined
criteria. This is to ensure the objectivity of the accreditation
exercise. The criteria is made up of six broad areas of academic
content, staffing, physical facilities, library facilities funding of the
programme, and employers‘ rating of the graduates. The criteria
are enumerated below;
A. Academic Content
i) The philosophy and objectives of the programme;
ii) The curriculum content of the programme;
iii) The admission requirements into the programme,
iv) Academic regulation governing the programme;
v) Course evaluation (examinations and continuous
assessment);
vi) Standard of students' practical/project work;
vii) Students course evaluation;
viii) External examination system;
31
B. Staffing
i) Administration of the Faculty /Department - that is the
Head of the Department or the Dean of the Faculty.
ii) Academic Staff:
- Number of staff
- Staff/Student ratio
- Staff mix by ranks
- The competence of teaching staff
- Qualification of teaching staff
iii) Non-teaching staff
iv) Staff Development Programme
C. Physical Facilities
- Laboratories/studio/clinic/farm and equipment
- Classrooms – equipment and facilities
- Office Accommodation
- Safety of the environment
D. Funding for the programme
E. Library Facilities – Seating capacity, Books, Journals,
ICT installation,
F. Employers’ Rating
6.2.2 Evaluation and report
The panel evaluates the programme and writes a report
which is discussed with the university officials at the exit
meeting. At the meeting, the panel‘s qualitative not
quantitative findings are discussed with the university
officials. At the end of the meeting, the Vice Chancellor or
32
his representative, the dean of the faculty and the head of
department where the programme accredited is domiciled
are expected to endorse the report. If there is any area of
disagreement, this is stated in the report. The quantitative
aspect which contains the scores of the exercise is not made
known to the university at this time.
The evaluation of the programme leads to award of an
accreditation status. If the programme obtains an overall
score of 70% as well as scores 70% in the four major criteria
of academic content, staffing, physical facilities and library
facilities the Programme earns FULL accreditation status. If
the programme scores 60% to 69%, it earns INTERIM
accreditation status. Also, if it has an overall score of 70%
but scores less than 70% in any of the four major criteria it
earns an interim accreditation status. A programme that
scores less than 60% earns DENIED accreditation status.
The implication of the above is that the programme that
earns Full accreditation status has met the essential
requirements to offer appropriate degrees and certificates.
Full accreditation status has a five-year tenure and so such
a programme will not be visited again for accreditation for
five years. Interim Accreditation is an indication that the
programme needs to rectify some deficiencies and must
therefore be revisited after two years. As a matter of principle
in the NUC, if a programme scores Interim a second time,
33
the programme is given the status of Denied accreditation
Denied accreditation status means that the programme has
failed to meet the minimum set standards and ought to be
closed down until the deficiencies are rectified. The current
practice in Nigeria is that the NUC insists that such a
programme is denied the opportunity to admit new students
from the next academic session and until the observed
deficiencies is remedied. When the deficiencies have been
done, the University is required to invite the National
Universities Commission to visit the programme for
accreditation. If the programme scores a Denied status a
second time in a row, the Commission will demand that the
programme is shut down permanently.
Submission of Report
At the end of the accreditation exercise, the panel submits its
report to the NUC representative on the panel who will submit it to
the Commission for analysis. In addition, the panel also submits
the completed PEF and APRF. The latter contains the final result of
the accreditation in a qualitative and quantitative form.
Release of results and reporting.
Following an analysis of the submitted/ recommended grades, the
Commission confirms the grades or modifies them if inconsistent
with the guidelines in the Manual. Subsequently, the results of the
accreditation are presented to the Board of the Commission which
on approval authorizes release. The Commission subsequently
34
conveys the result of the exercise to individual universities and
issues a certificate and a technical report for each assessed
programme. The technical report details the strengths and
weaknesses of the assessed programme and the reason for the
approved status. The overall report of the exercise is released to
the press and copied to the Minister of Education for information.
6.3 Other External Quality Assurance Measures
The Nigerian experience in external quality assurance is not
restricted to the development of minimum academic
standards and accreditation of academic programmes which
involve all universities. There are other quality assurance
activities that are put in place to ensure that institutional
development is quality driven. These include the strict
process involved in the establishment of private universities
and the monitoring of the same, resource verification before
the commencement of new programmes in universities and
ensuring that universities maintain optimum carrying
capacity.
a. Ensuring Quality in Private Universities
The establishment of private universities is coordinated also
by the National Universities Commission. However, the final
approval of any private university lies with the Federal
Executive Council on the recommendation of the Minister of
Education. By Act Number 9 of 1993, the Federal
Government prescribed the requirements for the
establishment of private universities and gave the NUC the
35
responsibility to monitor their development. The Commission
was required to recommend those that had met set
guidelines to the Federal Government for approval. The law
expanded the proprietorship of universities to include
companies incorporated in Nigeria, individuals or association
of individuals in Nigeria. The first three private universities
were approved in 1999. Ten years later, there are thirty four
(34) approved private universities in the country.
Specifically, the Private universities Act, 1993 provides that
each proposed private university in the country must meet
the following requirements:
a) Provide an approved master plan
b) Provide an academic brief
c) Have 100 hectares of land
d) Provide a bank bond to the value of N200 million
Naira.
To accomplish its responsibility as prescribed by the law, the
Commission set up the Standing Committee on Private
Universities (SCOPU) to guide the prospective universities in
meeting the basic statutory requirements and ensuring that
NUC standards and quality requirements are incorporated
into their development process. In fact, the Committee has
the following 13-step process for evaluating prospective
private universities (Okojie, 2008)
1. Application in writing stating the intent for the
establishment of the university;
36
2. Collection of Application Forms;
3. Submission of Application Forms and relevant
documents;
4. Intensive review/analysis of documents by experts in
relevant NUC Departments;
5. Revision of documentation by proprietor(s) based on
report by SCOPU;
6. Interactive Meeting of SCOPU with the proposed
universities;
7. First Site Assessment visit;
8. Finalization of documentation;
9. Second (final) Site Assessment visit;
10. Security Screening of Proprietors and Board of
Trustees;
11. Approval by NUC Management;
12. Approval by NUC Board;
13. Approval by Federal Executive Council (Composition of
the Council includes, the President, the Vice President
and the Ministers);
On meeting the said requirements, the new university is
granted provisional approval for three years.
The proposed university is required among other things to
submit a set of documents including the academic brief, the
university law and the master plan. The academic brief of
the university articulates the academic structure and
37
purpose of the institution including its vision and mission
statements, its philosophy, objectives, academic pattern of
the institution including academic programmes, research
policy, academic support units, service units, patterns of
growth, cost estimates and performance audit system. The
master plan of the university shows the pattern and
structure of the physical development of the university. The
university law defines the modes of engagement in the
ownership and administration of the private university.
These documents are to be submitted to the Commission,
through SCOPU, which reviews them thoroughly and makes
necessary comments until the proposed university complies
with all the guidelines in developing such documents.
The proposed university must therefore meet such
requirements as stipulated in the law in terms of
documentation, physical facilities, human and financial
resources. The Standing Committee (SCOPU) ensures this
institutional resource verification is carried out and that only
such prospective institutions that have met all the
requirements can be recommended for approval.
On approval and licensing, the new university is required to
admit student commensurate with its facilities and only into
programmes where it has adequate human and material
resources. Also, the university is instructed not to start a
post-graduate programme until it graduates its first set of
38
students. These measures are intrinsically put in place to
ensure that the new university adopts quality practices from
inception.
b. Monitoring of Private Universities
There is in place a Committee on Monitoring of Private
Universities (COMPU), a committee of the National
Universities Commission which is to ensure that the private
universities are constantly monitored and kept on their toes
with regards to the maintenance of quality and standards
(Monday Memo, 2003). The Committee is required:
To conduct annual monitoring of all licensed private
universities in Nigeria with a focus on such areas as
academic brief and master plan implementation;
management and governance of the institution; quality of
students, staff and infrastructural input, and other issues
pertinent to the delivery of quality university education;
To advise Management, Senate, Council, and proprietor(s)
of the institution of the areas needing immediate
remediation;
To prepare an annual report to Government through the
National Universities Commission Management and
Board on the State of Private Universities in Nigeria
c. Programme Resource Verification
39
In establishing a new academic programme at the
undergraduate or post graduate level, a Nigerian university,
irrespective of the ownership, is required to request the NUC
to conduct a resource verification assessment for the
programme. This involves a affirmation that the curriculum
is in conformity with the minimum academic standards as
well as an assessment of the available resources in space
(including office space, classrooms, properly equipped
laboratories/studios, farm/teaching hospital facilities)
academic and non-academic staff, library with books and
journals, other essential materials and funding. In principle,
an approval is required before the university can start the
programme. The university must attain a certain high
standard in the provision of these requirements before it can
be allowed to mount the programme. As in accreditation,
the NUC involves other senior academic staff from other
universities to assess the university‘s readiness to mount the
programme.
d. Carrying capacity
Carrying capacity is the maximum number of students that
the available resources in a programme can support in the
production of quality graduates (Okebukola, 2008). A
university is not therefore expected to enroll more students
than its available resources can carry. Such important
resources include classrooms – number and size; staff –
teaching and non-teaching; library - space, books, journals
40
and computer facilities; and laboratories - number and
available equipment. For some programmes like agriculture
and medicine, size and structure of farms as well as teaching
hospital facilities respectively, must be taken into
consideration. This is an important quality issue as most
universities in Nigeria face serious pressures with demand
for placements.
e. Advisory Visits
An advisory visit is made by the NUC in the effort to
institutionalize quality assurance in universities. The
objective is to offer advice to the institution on best practices
in the running of the institution. Issues discussed during the
visit include quality in governance; curriculum content,
delivery and schedule; carrying capacity and student
admissions; internal quality activities; optimal utilization of
resources; incentives, welfare and discipline of staff and
students. By bringing the issues for exhaustive discussion,
the university is made to institutionalize practices which
promote internalization of quality assurance. With time and
regular advisory visits, quality assurance will become a
routine issue in universities and demystify the anxiety prior
to accreditation or external peer reviews or assessments.
The National Universities Commission has mainstreamed quality
assurance in the Nigerian university system and the universities
have responded very responsibly. The overall result is a clear and
41
continuing improvement in the quality of academic delivery in the
nation‘s universities.
6.2 GHANA
Ghana, a west African country with a population of 18 million, has
29 universities composed of 7 public and 22 private universities.
Ghana has two agencies responsible for higher education, the
National Council for Tertiary Education and the National
Accreditation Board. The latter has the vision ―ensuring high
standards in higher education‖ and was established following the
enactment of National Accreditation Board Law, 1993 (PNDL 317)
as a public service institution with the responsibility for the
accreditation of programmes and institutions in the country. It was
established ―to contribute to the furtherance of the better
management of tertiary education as the Quality Assurance Body‖.
Its principal functions include:
Accrediting both public and private (tertiary) institutions
with regard to the contents and standards of their
programmes.
Determining in consultation with the appropriate
institution or body, the programme and requirements for
the proper operation of that institution and the
maintenance of acceptable levels of academic or
professional standards;
42
Determining the equivalences of diplomas, certificates
and other qualifications awarded by institutions in Ghana
or elsewhere.
The Board defines accreditation as a system of according
recognition to an educational institution for meeting satisfactory
standards in performance, integrity and quality. The institution
among other things, must have well-qualified staff in adequate
numbers, a well-equipped and well-stocked library, adequate
number of classrooms, lecture theatres, laboratories, workshops,
with the requisite equipment, and adequate and reliable sources of
funding.
The board is mandated to accredit all post-secondary institutions
of higher or further learning, or professional studies that provide
advanced academic and/or professional instruction and conduct
research in the sciences, social sciences, humanities and career-
focused programmes. The institutions include universities,
university colleges, polytechnics, colleges, schools, institutions,
academies, or tutorial colleges. Such institutions may be public or
private. The Institutions to be accredited by NAB are those that
have demonstrated their commitment to the maintenance of
acceptable standards and have benefited from advice offered by
assessors selected by NAB.
The Board is empowered to set up committees and sub-committees
with respect to;
43
a) Institutional accreditation b) Programmes accreditation
c) Monitoring and supervisory roles to ensure the maintenance of accepted standards and available of
facilities.
The board assesses the institutions through the administration of
questionnaires at the two levels of institutional and programme
accreditation. The information derived from the questionnaires is
used as basis for the assessment of an institution and its
programmes. As part of the initial preparation for institutional
accreditation, a sub-committee of the Board visits the institution
for initial assessment. In case of programme assessment, a panel
of assessors in specified areas is commissioned to assess the
programmes. These experts are chosen from the academia (peers),
professional association/bodies and individuals in practice.
Assessment criteria
The panel assesses the programmes based on the following criteria;
programme philosophy, admission policy, curriculum, staffing,
examinations, and external moderation, and academic regulation,
provisions for student assessment of course content and teaching
and for peer review and professional assessment of content
teaching, physical facilities (lecture halls, library, workshops etc,
and affiliation.
Confirming and reporting of accreditation results
44
After the accreditation, the Board analyses the recommendation of
the assessors and issues a specific letter or certificate to an
institution indicating its accreditation status and the period for
which the status is valid. The letter also specifies the various
programmes and levels at which each accredited institution should
offer them. The Board also publishes information about accredited
institutions from time to time in the national newspapers and the
Gazette.
Sanctions for not meeting the required standards
For institutions that are unable to ensure the required quality
standards, the following sanctions are used;
Suspension of the activities of the institution until a time the
identified deficiencies are remedied together with verifiable
evidence. The board will normally visit the institution to
ascertain the proof of the remedies undertaken
Denial accreditation
A revocation of the certificate of accreditation
Closure of the institution
Accreditation is granted for periods of up to five years to institutions, depending on the state of facilities and resources –
human and material - available to them – and the degrees of deficiencies identified by assessors.
Accreditation Status
45
A specific letter or certificate is issued to an institution indicating
its accreditation status and the period for which the status is
valid. The letter also specifies the various programmes and levels
at which each accredited institution should offer them.
Evaluation of certificates
Another responsibility of the Board is the evaluation of certificates
and qualifications awarded by institutions in Ghana or any other
country to establish comparability. It also determines the
authenticity and comparability of both local and foreign
educational certificates.
6.3 TANZANIA
In Tanzania, the Higher Education Accreditation Council (HEAC)
was established under the Education Act of 1995 as a government
agency responsible for the promotion and quality assurance of
higher education institutions, programs, staff, students and
awards. Ten years later the Tanzania Commission for Universities
46
(TCU) was established under the Universities Act of 2005
substituting HEAC. The Commission is mandated to recognize and
accredit the country‘s university institutions and their
programmes; to approve relevant examinations regulations and
determine the equivalence and recognize awards given by higher
education institutions inside and outside Tanzania. The TUC is a
government agency responsible to the Ministry of Higher
Education, Science and Technology.
6.3.1 Accreditation Committee
The Commission for Universities has an Accreditation Committee
that has the following functions (TUC, 2006)
a) Setting general standards of quality and quantity of contents of
programmes and mode of their execution by universities at their
respective levels;
b) Promotion of quality assurance standards in universities;
c) Auditing of the quality assurance mechanisms of universities;
d) Accreditation of universities and programs;
e) Evaluation of qualifications of staff of universities;
f) Coordination and harmonization of courses and programmes in
universities;
g) Standardization, recognition and equation of awards of
universities; and
h) Visitation and inspection of universities.
6.3.2 Stages of Accreditation of Private Higher Institution
In Tanzania, there are four stages towards accreditation of private
higher education institutions. These include letter of interim
47
authority, certificate of provisional registration, certificate of full
registration and certificate of registration.
i) Letter of Interim Authority (LIA)
This letter is issued to persons or organizations that have
expressed their desire, commitment and intention to set up a
higher education institution in the country. The Letter of Interim
Authority authorizes the founders of an institution to proceed to
implement their plans as provided in their write up and as
approved by the Council.
ii) Certificate of Provisional Registration
This is issued to persons or organizations that have commenced
the process of setting up permanent premises for their institution
in accordance with the institution‘s Master Plan and time frame for
accomplishing the different tasks. Such an institution will have a
full-time chief executive and core staff especially those involved
with the courses to be offered under the initial faculties or
programs.
iii) Certificate of Full Registration
This is issued to owners or founders of institutions that have most
of the initial requirements in place that is, essential physical
structures, operational procedures, course programs, qualified
lecturers, appropriate teaching and learning environment,
materials and student support structures and services. An
institution qualifying for full registration will be in full operation.
48
iv) Certificate of Accreditation
An institution which is in operation with all the essential courses
in the initial faculties in progress can apply for accreditation. The
institution will be technically evaluated with particular focus on
the content and organization of courses, adequacy of instructional
and learning environment, materials and support services, and
qualification and experience of the academic staff.
Professional associations in Tanzania participate in accreditation
panels and are involved in curriculum review exercises.
6.3.3 Guidelines for Internal Quality Assurance
According to Sabaya (2004) the Higher Education Accreditation
Council has put in place regulations and guidelines as part of the
country‘s mechanism for internal quality assurance for higher
education to ensure:
Appropriateness of institutional development plans, facilities for
academic, administrative and technical support services;
Appropriateness of the mission and objectives of the institution,
the matching standard facilities and services and governance
systems;
The relevance, adequacy and scope of courses for planned
qualifications;
49
Adequacy in the numbers, qualifications, competencies and
experience of academic, administrative and technical support
staff;
Appropriateness and adequacy of teaching, research and
learning resources;
Institutional quality assurance and periodic academic audit
systems as pre- requisites for institutional and course re-
accreditation.
The Tanzania Commission for Universities in future aims, among others,
to (TUC-IIEP, 2006):
Stimulate a culture of continuous improvement of higher
education in relevant institutions through periodic review of their
quality assurance system, accreditation status and issuance of
regulatory guidelines
Establish mechanisms for monitoring quality of academic staff in
universities
Establish and facilitate quality assurance mechanisms for
programs and courses imported into Tanzania under cross-border
provision
In its attempt to regulate cross-boarder higher education, the TCU insists on
having a copy of the memorandum of understanding between the
foreign provider and local institution to safeguard the interests of the
local client.
7.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
50
Three countries with quality assurance agencies have been
examined. The three models examined reveal that the quality
assurance agencies were statutorily set up by their respective
governments. They coordinate quality assurance activities in the
country and such activities involve both the public and private
higher education institutions. Among the quality assurance
agencies considered, only Nigeria NUC is not involved in the
evaluation of foreign certificates. While Ghana NAB accredits all
higher education institutions in the country, NUC and TCU are
specifically for universities.
From these models, it pertinent to note that;
Quality assurance is very important for higher education
institutions in the 21st century,
Accreditation is a process,
Harmonization of quality assurance practices is essential for
the growth of quality assurance in African universities,
Building of human capacities in the area of quality
assurance is crucial both in ensuring quality and achieving
harmonization of quality assurance practices.
Little or no attention is paid to quality in cross-border
education.
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