REGISTRATION LINK: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QA7ZANZB22

Preamble and Rationale
Virtually all development players now concur that for any meaningful and sustainable economic growth to be realized and sustained, Higher and Tertiary Education (HTE) must be centrally placed in the development agenda of nations. Countries around the world are striving to build the sector as part of their priority strategic development plan. Indeed, building a tertiary education system is no more a luxury but a national and continental imperative critical for Africa’s development and global competitiveness. Quality and relevance of university education have emerged as serious concerns of the sector for some time now. In addition, worldwide research on Higher and Tertiary Education revealed that
most of the institutional personnel do not have the knowledge and skills for quality assurance (QA). The situation has been further aggravated by poor to no orientation and induction of new personnel as well as friction between and among the key stakeholders who are the custodians of the quality of HTE. In addition, policy issues, misinterpretations, misconceptions and misunderstanding of information and lack of the requisite skills as well as organizational politics and cultures also compromise the realization of high-quality services and products, including graduates in these institutions of higher learning.

It is also a well-known fact that the reputation of an institution is at risk if there are perceptions of poor quality, hence the need for this Symposium as a way to continue improving, enhancing and developing the quality assurance related processes and procedures.

The symposium is guided by some of the priority areas agreed upon in the Declaration and Action Plan of the 1st Higher Education Summit on Revitalizing Higher Education for Africa’s Future held in Dakar, Senegal (10-12 March, 2015) which include the improvement of Higher
Education quality in the 21st Century. Therefore, AAU believes that there are opportunities for us to continue working together to jumpstart and energize superior quality assurance practices in Africa’s Higher and Tertiary Education (HE). This event seeks to fulfil some of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA)’s 12 strategic objectives which are in line with revitalizing the quality of all aspects of Higher Education. The symposium will also create a platform to deliberate on the continental African Standards and Guidelines for QA (ASG-QA) as well as the African Quality Rating Mechanism (AQRM) institutional evaluation for self-improvement tool. Both are part of the Pan African Quality Assurance Framework (PAQAF).

Some of the focus areas to be addressed by this training are associated with:
❖ Sensitization and bringing awareness of what quality in higher education is all about and the current continental and regional activities related to quality assurance.
❖ The challenge of resistance to quality assurance practices and activities in institutions as well as slow acceptance rate of quality assurance in general by the higher education community.
❖ The formulation of a quality assurance unit/department/directorate including policy, manual and robust QA management system.
❖ Strategies for developing and promoting a quality culture in institutions through education and training of management, staff and students.
❖ The integration of IQA and EQA into the university system.
❖ Assuring adherence to quality assurance practices by the institutional community
❖ The development of knowledge and skills for higher and tertiary education quality assurance personnel because some of them were and are still being recruited with no due consideration of QA qualifications and experience.
❖ The friction among the key stakeholders
❖ Communication, Documentation and Data Collection in quality assurance for record keeping as well as monitoring and evaluation of both students and staff.

Course Aim
Sharing knowledge and skills related to quality assurance in higher education.

Course Objectives
❖ Share knowledge and information on the important endowments and characteristics of a robust Quality Management System (QMS).
❖ Equip participants with the background knowledge that informs good QA practices in HTE.
❖ Share knowledge and skills on the diverse ways of assuring quality in institutions of higher learning in order to expose to participants the importance of viable QA systems.
❖ Make known to participants the recommended new modes and models of QA for the institutions of higher learning.
❖ Bring awareness of Quality Assurance and increase the visibility of the Quality Assurance activities in African Higher Education.
❖ Foster cooperation and team spirit among all the Quality Assurance key stakeholders within the continent.
❖ Disseminate Quality Assurance endeavours and benchmarks in African Higher education through various activities during the workshop.
❖ Encourage the harmonization of African Higher and Tertiary Education through the ASGQA and the African Quality Rating Mechanism (AQRM) tool for institutional evaluations.
❖ Train and sustain a pool of QA Officers in the region for the multipliers effect of quality assurance in Africa’s Higher and Tertiary Education.
❖ Raise awareness and facilitate a better understanding of IQA and EQA, their relationship and how best key stakeholders can work together to get the best results
❖ Raise awareness and analyse the potential impact of Qualifications Frameworks on the quality of higher and tertiary education as well as the higher education community;
❖ Learning from other contexts both good practices and challenges as well as the way forward in implementing Quality Assurance (Accreditation, Qualifications Frameworks etc.)
❖ Examine and analyse the nexus between internationalisation of higher education and the various quality assurance aspects/components

Who Should Attend?
Rectors/Presidents/Vice Chancellors and their deputies;  DVCs Academics; DVCS Research;  Registrars; Quality Assurance Agencies; Accreditation Bodies/Councils for Higher and Tertiary Education and Qualifications Framework Authorities;  Professional Bodies;  Quality
Assurance Directors; Directors of Research and Postgraduate Centres/Directorates;  ICT Directors; Personnel from the related Ministries;  Deans of Faculties; Chairpersons/Heads of Departments; and anybody interested in deepening their knowledge and skills in this area.

Workshop Methodology 
The objectives of this course will be achieved through lead lectures, question and answer
sessions, group work and report backs (intensive participant interaction over carefully selected
cases) and other materials in a process facilitated by renowned Resource Persons.

Participation 
To ensure effective interaction and exchange of ideas, a maximum of 50 participants will be strictly observed, basing the selection on the principle of “first come, first served”. Participation is open to all who are involved in Higher Education and Tertiary education regardless of the
area of speciality.

Contact Details

For any inquiries, please e-mail Dr. Violet MAKUKU: vmakuku@aau.org /vmakuku@gmail.com WhatsApp: +233 263 129 798

Workshop Fees

i) USD590.00 for AAU member universities in good standing and
ii) USD650.00 for non-Member universities

Download Further information on this Workshop from here 

•  Concept note for the Quality Assurance Symposium – Zanzibar
• Brochure for QA Symposium _ Zanzibar Tanzania
• Programme _AAU Quality Assurnace Symposium _Zanzibar , Tanzania