ACCREDITATION OF HIGHER
EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS,THEIR
PROGRAMMES AND COURSES
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THE ROLE OF ZIMCHE
• The regulatory authority of higher education
in Zimbabwe
• Registration
• Quality assurance
• Accreditation
• The concept of higher education institutions
(HEIs)
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Registration
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Who is to be registered?
Previously registered institutions
New Private institutions
New state institutions
• Instruments
• The register.
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Accreditation
• The Concept: to certify/guarantee
• Types: Institutional, programme, course
• Does it meet certain minimum laid down
standards?
• ZIMCHE is the External QAA
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Institutional Accreditation
• There are 10 criteria to be satisfied. (Ref. ACCR 1A)
1. The institution:
2. Governance structures and procedures
3. Physical Structures
4. Staffing
5. Staff promotion procedures
6. Student admission
7. Student registration
8. Special facilities
9. Assessment of students
10 Student and staff welfare
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1. The institution
• What are its vision, mission, goals and
objectives?
• Policies, action plans
• Relevance to Zimbabwe
• Accessibility
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2. Governance Structures and
Procedures
• Administration hierarchy and their roles
• Key committees and their roles
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3. Physical Structures
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Classrooms
Office space
Toilets
Library
Laboratories and workshops
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4. Staffing
• Key administrators and their qualifications
• Academics and their qualifications and
experience
• Staff/student ratios
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5. Academic Staff Promotion
• There has to be clearly stated policies, criteria
and procedures for promotion to all grades
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6. Student admission
• There has to be clearly stated policies, criteria
and procedures for admission to all
programmes.
• No discrimination is accepted
• Mature and special entry policies must be
stated.
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7. Student Registration
• Clear and accurate records must be kept
• Staff/student ratios must be controlled
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8. Special facilities
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Computers
Access to internet
Specialist teaching equipment.
Specialist rooms, workshops, fields and
grounds.
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9. Programme Regulations
• These must be clearly laid out and
documented.
• Attendance requirements
• Assessment procedures and requirements.
• These now need to be ratified by ZIMCHE
before a course or programme begins.
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10 Staff and Student Welfare
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Residences
Transport
Food outlets
Sporting facilities
Non-resident students
The physically challenged
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Programme and Course Accreditation
• Every degree programme will be accredited
• Every degree course will be accredited.
• Areas of assessment are Inputs, Processes and
outputs/impact
• Ref. ACCR 2A
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Input Criteria
• Programme Design: Relevance to mission, to students,
employers and the nation. Articulation with other
programmes and provision of learning materials.
• 2. Student selection and admission
• 3. Staffing quality and quantity
• 4. Teaching and learning strategy
• 5. Student assessment policies and procedures.
• 6. Resources (infrastructural, material and financial)
• 7. Programme administration processes
• 8. Regulations
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Programme Process Criteria
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Programme coordination
Ensuring student academic development
Teaching and learning interactions
Student assessment practices
Rigour and security of assessment
Coordination of work-based learning
Delivery of post graduate programmes.
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Programme Output/Impact Criteria
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1.Student retention and throughput
2. External acknowledgement
3. Employment of graduates.
4. Programme review: user surveys, reviews,
impact studies and use of results.
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Course accreditation
• Relevance to the programme
• (The rest: same as in programme
accreditation.)
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Modus operandi
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Initiation
Institutional claims (IQA)
Peer review (EQA) – specific training
Discussion
Results
Publication of results
ZIMCHE database
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NOTE
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For the good of the HEI
External recognition
Colleagial approach
The need for IQA teams
The need to be realistic and not too ambitious
Quality is the buzz word in University
education
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