ANNUAL QUALITY ASSURANCE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERS (QAHEL) RESIDENTIAL WORKSHOP

2 – 4 March 2020, at Rockview Royale Hotel, Abuja, Nigeria

Introduction

The Association of African Universities (AAU) is an international non-governmental not-for-profit organization set up by the universities in Africa to promote cooperation among themselves and between them and the international academic community. As the representative voice of higher education in Africa, AAU aims to raise the quality of higher education in Africa and strengthen its contribution to Africa’s development by, inter alia, providing support to their core functions and facilitating critical reflection on, and consensus building around, issues affecting higher education and the development of Africa.

The African Quality Assurance Network (AfriQAN) was set up by the AAU in 2007 as a regional umbrella organization for quality assurance agencies in Africa, and to provide information to quality assurance practitioners on the continent on current thinking on the subject. The Quality Assurance Unit of the AAU currently serves as the Secretariat for AfriQAN. The establishment of the African Quality Assurance Network (AfriQAN) by the AAU to serve African higher education quality assurance stakeholders is an acknowledgement of the importance of establishing robust quality assurance systems as necessary instruments for addressing Africa’s higher education challenges.

The Network has undertaken training programmes for staff of national regulatory agencies (NRAs) and Quality Assurance units of African universities through workshops, staff exchange and related activities. Although these programmes are still in demand, no such training on Quality Assurance has been organized for newly recruited university leaders and council members with a view to sensitizing them on the need to promote quality assurance culture on university campuses. This need has become more urgent because of the high turnover of university vice chancellors and rectors. As these university leaders complete their terms of office, they leave with all that they know about quality assurance especially in areas of recent developments in the field such as African Quality Rating Mechanism (AQRM), Pan African Quality Assurance Framework (PAQAF), and Addis Ababa Convention. The new university leaders and others in charge of quality assurance on campuses may know very little about these continental and regional initiatives, deprived of skills and enlightenment fundamental to advancing quality assurance issues, and hence the universities and quality assurance units they manage will be poorly served in terms of recent developments on quality assurance, which may have salutary effects on efficient and effective running of the universities.

Moreover, as more universities emerge in response to high population growth and the corresponding increase in the number of student population, leaders of the new institutions need to be enlightened on the importance of promoting quality assurance in their new institutions. Additionally, given the proliferation of public and private universities in Africa in general and in Nigeria in particular, there should be regular meeting of the university leaders on quality assurance and governance issues to assure quality of educational delivery and promote international competitiveness.

Consequently, AAU-AfriQAN builds on its current quality assurance initiatives and experience by mounting annual Quality Assurance for Higher Education Leaders (QAHEL) Workshop Series in order to enlighten the leadership of universities on current developments on quality assurance arena and provide a forum where they can share ideas and learn from one another for the good of higher education in Africa.

From the feedback on the 2nd QAHEL Workshop in 2018, participants expressed interest for more time for interaction on the important topics being presented by the facilitators. It is therefore imperative to increase the duration of the event from two to three days to provide more time for presentation and discussion on key quality assurance issues for better understanding.

The QAHEL initiative is expected to significantly contribute to strengthening the capacity of the universities to deliver on their core business. Knowledge gained will be shared among institutional colleagues and other stakeholders, as well as guide and inform current work, structure and future programming on quality assurance on campus.

Objectives

The objectives of the 2020 QAHEL Residential Workshop are to:

• share information on current developments in the field of quality assurance in higher education among university leadership;
• Share identified quality assurance good practices and what makes a good university vice chancellor;
• Strengthen the professional capacity of emerging Quality Assurance units in universities; and
• Assist and support discussions on Quality Assurance issues through exchange of ideas and information.

Expected Outcomes

The expected outcomes from the exercise include:

1. Strengthened quality assurance capacity of new university leaders.
2. Common knowledge of recent developments on quality assurance.
3. Promotion of QA culture among higher education institutions.

QAHEL Faculty

The QAHEL resource persons will be seasoned and internationally reputed quality assurance experts such Prof. Peter Okebukola (former NUC Executive Secretary and current President of GUNi-Africa), and Prof. Kayode Adekeye (Deputy Vice Chancellor, Redeemer’s University, Nigeria and President of WAQAN).

QAHEL Target Audience

1. Vice chancellors/rectors/presidents of African universities (public and private).
2. Leaders of other higher education institutions in Africa.
3. CEOs of quality assurance agencies in Africa.
4. Directors of Quality Assurance
5. Deans and heads of departments
6. People in leadership positions.

QAHEL Course Content

The QAHEL workshop facilitators will develop the workshop modules which will address topical issues on Quality Assurance. Each workshop will be participatory and based on real-life experiences of what works and what does not work. The content will include:

• Understanding African Higher Education Leadership.
• New Developments in Quality Assurance.
• The Key Role of the Higher Education Leader in Assuring Quality on Campus.
• What Works and What does not Work in Quality Assurance.

QAHEL Workshop Fee

The QAHEL Workshop fee is only US$400 or ₦145,000 per participant and caters for the feeding and event package of the participants for the duration of the event. The fee covers workshop package including course materials, tea break, lunch, meeting rooms, facilitation and
related logistics).

Workshop Payment: The workshop registration fee of US$400 or ₦145,000 per participant can be paid to the AAU accounts stated at the registration site at https://event-mgt.aau.org/event/32/ with proof of payment, or on site at the venue of the workshop.

Registration: Participants should register online using the following link: https://event-mgt.aau.org/event/32/

Closing date for registration is Monday, 24th February 2020.

Duration: Three (3) days.

Date: 2nd – 4th March 2020

Venue: Rockview Royale Hotel, Abuja, Nigeria

Time: 9.00am – 4.00pm daily.

For further information, please contact:
Prof. Jonathan Mba
AfriQAN Coordinator
Email: jcmba@aau.org
Phone: +233208183860