Malaysian Qualifications Agency
MQA-1 and MQA-2 (Part I)
By: Nabhan D. Salih
Malaysian Qualifications Agency
The Malaysian Qualifications Agency (Malay:
Agensi Kelayakan Malaysia) or the MQA is a
statutory body in Malaysia set up under the
Malaysian Qualifications Act 2007 to accredit
academic programs provided by educational
institutions providing post secondary or higher
education and facilitate the recognition and
articulation of qualifications.
The role of MQA
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The main role of the MQA is to
implement
the
Malaysian
Qualifications Framework (MQF) as a
basis for quality assurance of higher
education and as the reference point
for the criteria and standards for
national qualifications.
The role of MQA
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Specifically the functions of the MQA are:
 To implement MQF as a reference point for Malaysian
qualifications;
 To develop standards and credits and all other relevant
instruments as national references for the conferment of
awards with the cooperation of stakeholders;
 To quality assure higher education institutions and
programmes;
 To accredit courses that fulfill the set criteria and standards;
 To facilitate the recognition and articulation of
qualifications; and
 To maintain the Malaysian Qualifications Register (MQR).
The MQA also evaluates foreign qualifications and assesses it
for equivalency with Malaysian secondary school and university
preparatory qualifications
Qualifications Framework
The
Malaysian
Qualifications
Framework (Malay: Kerangka Kelayakan
Malaysia) or the MQF is a unified
system of post secondary qualifications
offered on a national basis in Malaysia.
It is administered by the Malaysian
Qualifications Agency (MQA), a statutory
body under the purview of the Ministry
of Higher Education (MOHE).
The MQF was adopted in 2007
Evolution of QA System in Malaysian
From 2007
Single Framework/ Single Agency
2002-2007 Dualistic QA System
-LAN Acts for Private HEP
-QA Division (MOHE) for public Institutions
1996-2002 QA as Institutional Matter
Qualification awarding sectors
The framework divides all qualifications into
three sectors, correlating with the type of
institution offer the courses:
• Skills sector
Malaysian Skills Certificate 1-3, Malaysian Skills Diplomas 4,
Malaysian Skills Advanced Diploma 5
• Vocational and Technical sector
Certificate, Diploma, Advanced Diploma
• Higher Education sector
Certificate, Diploma, Advanced Diploma, Graduate Certificate
& Diploma, Bachelor's Degree, Postgraduate Certificate &
Diploma, Master's Degree, Doctoral Degree
MQF qualifications and levels chart
MQF qualifications and levels chart
Proposed Minimum Credit
Programme Accreditation
 Provisional Accreditation
Provisional Accreditation is an exercise to
determine whether a programme has met
the
minimum
quality
requirements
preliminary to full accreditation
 Full Accreditation
Full Accreditation is an assessment exercise
to ascertain that a programme provided by a
higher education provider has met the
quality standards and in compliance with
the Malaysian Qualifications Framework.
The Documentation Required 1/2
For Provisional Accreditation, HEPs are required
to submit the documentations listed below:
The MQA-01
Part A: General Information on the HEP. This is an institutional
profile of the HEP.
Part B: Programme Description. This describes the
programme, including its name, level, credit value, duration of
study, entry requirement, mode of delivery, and the awarding
body.
Part C: Programme Standards. This provides the information
pertaining to the nine areas of evaluation and the standards in
each of them.
The Documentation Required 2/2
For Full Accreditation, HEPs are required to
submit the documentations listed below:
The MQA-02
This consists of an updated version of Part A, B
and C as well as a Self-Review Report (Part D).
 To achieve Full Accreditation, each
programme must be subjected to a programme
self-review
(internal)
and
programme
evaluation (external). The HEP must complete
and submit the MQA-02, which is the
Programme Information and the Self-Review
Report.
The Programme Evaluation Timeline
There are two levels of programme evaluation
that is Provisional Accreditation (MQA-01) and
Full Accreditation (MQA-02). Although both
share many common processes, there are
nevertheless many differences. The following
discussion
on
the
timeline
takes
intonconsideration these differences.
Provisional Accreditation Timeline
Full Accreditation Timeline
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Full Accreditation Timeline
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The MQA acts as the secretariat to the POA. An MQA officer will be
involved in all the above activities in that capacity as a resource person.
Full Accreditation Timeline
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Submission to
Lembaga Akreditasi Negara (LAN)
(English: National Accreditation Board)
Submission to
Agensi Kelayakan Malaysia (MQA)
(English: Malaysian Qualifications Agency)
Code of Practice for Programme
Accreditation (COPPA)
What? Sets out guidelines to HEP and Assessors in
relation to programme accreditation.
Why? To assist in the application for provisional
accreditation, accreditation, conduct self
review and in the preparation of programme
and institutional self review and
accreditation reports and programme
quality enhancement.
This Code contains an overview of the Malaysian
quality assurance system for higher education. It
guides the reader on the nine evaluation areas for
quality assurance as well as the two levels of standards
–benchmarked and enhanced standards – that
underline them.
COPPA -S.2 Aspects of Quality Standards
(must comply/should comply)
1. Vision, mission, educational goals and
learning outcomes
2. Curriculum design and delivery
3. Performance assessment of students
4. Student selection and support services
5. Academic staff
6. Educational resources
7. Programme monitoring and review
8. Leadership, governance and administration
9. Total continual quality improvement
COPPA -S.2 Aspects of Quality Standards
(must comply/should comply)
Benchmarked Standards
• Standards that must be met and its
compliance
demonstrated
during
programme accreditation exercise. Are
usually expressed as a ‘must’
Enhanced Standards
• Standards that should be met as the
institution strives to improve itself and
usually expressed as a ‘should’
AREA 1- VISION, MISSION, EDUCATIONAL
GOALS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES
Area 1 has: - 7 benchmarked standards
- 3 enhanced standards

Guides the higher education provider (HEP) in its
academic planning and implementation and Produce
graduates through :
 the provision of knowledge, skills, a quest for life
long learning, and inculcation of values, and
 nurturing of the ability to analyze and solve
problems and
 consideration of other relevant issues
AREA 1- VISION, MISSION, EDUCATIONAL
GOALS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES
1.1 Statement of Programme Aims, Objectives and Learning Outcomes
AREA 1- VISION, MISSION, EDUCATIONAL
GOALS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES
1.2 Learning Outcomes *
AREA 2- CURRICULUM DESIGN AND DELIVERY
Area 2 is on curriculum design and delivery (used
interchangeably with programme design and delivery).
Area 2 has: - 19 benchmarked standards
- 11 enhanced standards
Area 2 is divided into 5 subsections:
 academic autonomy
 programme design & teaching and learning methods
 curriculum content and structure
 management of the programme
 linkages with external stakeholders
AREA 2- CURRICULUM DESIGN AND DELIVERY
Sufficient autonomy MUST be given to:
 design the curriculum and to allocate resources for
implementation
 also cover (where applicable) programmes franchised
to, or from, other HEPs in line with national policies
 The academic staff to focus on areas of his expertise
The department should :
 have a clear policy on conflict of interest
 continually expand its
boundary of academic
autonomy and reflect its intellectual maturity
2.1 Academic Autonomy
AREA 2- CURRICULUM DESIGN AND DELIVERY
 The Department must have its defined process for curriculum
establishment , review and evaluation
 The Process must involve department’s academic & administrative
staff
 The Programme must only be considered after a needs assessment
 must be considered only after resources to support it identified
 The Programme Content , approach & T-L Methods must be
appropriate, consistent , and support the achievement of
programme learning outcomes
 Teaching-learning methods - there must be variety to achieve the
eight domains of learning outcomes
 The Curriculum should encourage multi-disciplinary approaches to
enhance personal development of students
 The needs analysis should involve external sources feedback
 Co-curricular activities should be there to enrich student
experience
2.2 Programme Design and Teaching-Learning Methods
AREA 2- CURRICULUM DESIGN AND DELIVERY
Student achievements are measured by learning outcomes. These
learning outcomes distinguish the varying competencies as to what a
student will be able to do at the end of a period of study. Learning
outcomes are based on eight domains:








Knowledge
Practical skill
Social skills and responsibilities
Values, attitudes and professionalism
Communication, leadership and team skills
Problem solving and scientific skill
Information management and lifelong learning skill
Managerial and entrepreneurial skills
Learning outcomes are linked to the credit system which gives value to
all student learning time and are not based on the contact hours
between lecturers and students.
AREA 2- CURRICULUM DESIGN AND DELIVERY
The programme must
 incorporate the core subject matters essential for
understanding concepts, principles and methods that
support programme outcomes
 fulfill the discipline requirements by recognizing
appropriate standards and international best practice
 be periodically reviewed to keep abreast
of
developments of the discipline and for needs of society
The department should
 establish mechanisms to
information through use of
networking and to identify
importance for inclusion in
delivery
2.3 Curriculum Content and Structure
access to real time
technology and global
up to date topics of
the curriculum and its
AREA 2- CURRICULUM DESIGN AND DELIVERY
The Students must:
 be provided with the most current information of programme
aims, out-line, learning outcomes and assessment methods
The Programme must:
 have a coordinator and a team of appropriate staff
 have authority and established procedures
 be given adequate resources
- for implementation and evaluation for quality improvement
The Programme Content & Delivery must:
 be regularly reviewed and evaluated and its results utilized to
assure quality (must involve external examiners – for MQF level 6
and above )
The Department must:
 provide the student a conducive learning environment where
scholarly and creative achievements are nurtured
2.4 Management of the Programme
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AREA 2- CURRICULUM DESIGN AND DELIVERY
Innovations to teaching and learning
 should be developed, supported and evaluated
 be done in consultation with principal stakeholders and
 Review and evaluation involve external expertise nationally and
internationally
2.4 Management of the Programme
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AREA 2- CURRICULUM DESIGN AND DELIVERY
The Department must
 must have linkages with all levels of stakeholders
outside the department - for the purpose of curriculum
development - planning, implementation and review
The Programme team should
 Obtain feedback from employers for curriculum
improvement, student placement, training and
workplace exposure
 Students should be given the opportunity to develop
linkages with external stakeholders
2.5 Linkages with External Stakeholders
LAN-TC-01 Document 3: The Curriculum
VS.
MQA-01 (PROGRAMME INFORMATION) &
MQA-02 (MQA-01 & SELF-REVIEW REPORT)
MQA-01/02
LAN Doc. 3
 Mapping of the course/module to the Programme Aims
 Mapping of the course/module to the Programme
Learning Outcomes
A credit the agreed-upon value used to measure a
student workload in terms of learning time required
to complete course units, resulting in learning
outcomes’ (UNESCO, 2004)
the measurement of
students’
academic load
Credit =
Teaching Learning
Activities
Achievement of Learning Outcomes
Lecture
Project Work
Tutorial
Presentation
Laboratory
Teaching/Learning + Assessment
Revision
Work attachment
Group Assignment
Examination
Demonstration
Study Tour
Case study
Assignments
E-Learning
Studio work
Clinical
Group Discussion
Field Work
Research Project
Industrial training
Directed reading
e.g. 4 800 notional SLT = 120 credits
Total SLT
40
Credit
Student Learning Time (SLT)
Proposed student independent learning time
Item
Lecture
Tutorial
Tutorial (involving case studies)
Laboratory (including report writing)
Undergraduate Final Year Project/ Dissertation
Studio Work
Presentation
Coursework/Assignment
Creative Writing (or a project that last a whole
semester)
Examination
Duration (hours) or
requirements
1
1
1
Proposed Student Self
Learning Time (hours)
1-2
1-2
3
3
2-3
6 - 10 credits
2
1
2000 words
100 – 150 pages
200 - 400
2
3-4
10 - 12
8-10
3
10 – 20*
Source: Bengkel Kebangsaan Pemantapan Sistem Kredit MQF, 31 Jan. – 2 Feb. 2005 by Quality Assurance
Division, Ministry of Higher Education (Malaysia).
* Proposed by MQA, depending on the field of study and the intensity of the examination.
Module Academic Load & Credits
Learning Activities
SLT
Learning Activities
SLT
(in hours)
1 Lectures
a
(54)
Attending Lectures
24
Pre and Post preparation*
30
b
2 Tutorial
a
(18)
Attending tutorial
9
Preparation for tutorial*
9
b
3 Laboratory
(36)
(in hours)
4 Assessments
(23)
a 1 continuos assessement (1 hour + 3
. hours preparation*)
4
1 presentation (1 hour + 5 hours
b preparation*)
.
6
c
.
13
1 Final Examination (3 hour + 10 hours
preparation*)
a
Practical
24
Total
12
b
Prepreparation and Report
writing*
Subject Credit (131 ÷ 40 = 3.27)
131
3
Malaysian Qualifications Agency