Accreditation in Nigerian
Universities:
The Role of the Academic Planner
TEXT OF THE PAPER PRESENTED
By
PROFESSOR A.G.A.S. OLADOSU
Director,
Academic Planning Unit,
University of Ilorin,
Ilorin
At The
Training Workshop for Academic Planning
Officers in Nigerian Universities,
Organised by the Committee of Directors
of
Academic Planning of Nigerian
Universities (CODAPNU)
in collaboration with the National
Universities Commission (NUC),
Date
12th -15th July, 2011
Venue
NUC Auditorium, Abuja
Theme
The NUC, the Academic Planner
and University Management in Nigeria
ORDER OF PRESENTATION
1. Introduction: Universities and their
functions
2. The relevance of the NUC in running the
universities in the country;
3. The meaning and nature of accreditation
and related issues;
4. The role of Academic Planners before,
during and after an accreditation
exercise;
1.0 Introduction: Universities and their Functions
Universities are tertiary institutions established to:
• conduct demand-driven researches;
• award degrees;
• generate and disseminate knowledge, skills and
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
competencies at the highest educational level.;
provide high level manpower training;
provide high quality career counseling;
provide life long learning programmes;
promote scholarship;
provide entrepreneurship programmes;
provide community service;
promote national and international understanding
and collaboration (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2007,
Draft National Policy on Education, p36).
• these are general statement of educational
purposes endorsed by the Federal Government
of Nigeria,
• each university has a way of expressing the
same sentiments through institutional
statement of vision, mission and strategic
objectives.
• For example, the vision of the University of
Ilorin “is to be an international Centre of
Excellence in learning, research, probity and
service to humanity”,
• its mission is to provide a world-class
environment for learning, research and
community service”,
•
•
•
its strategic objectives include, among other things:
“to encourage the advancement of learning, promote
scholarship, conduct research in all fields of human
endeavour, produce high-quality graduates, deploy
ICT facilities in all university functions, foster
linkages, promote global best practices, etc”.
(University of Ilorin, 2008-2013 Draft Strategic Plan).
The above is just one example of the several
examples that could be cited for each of the Nigerian
Universities.
currently, there are 117 legitimate universities in the
country which include: 36 Federal Universities, 36
State Universities, and 45 Private Universities. (NUC,
2011).
These universities operate within clearly laid down
rules and regulations determined by the National
Universities Commission (NUC).
2.0 The Relevance of the National Universities Commission
• The National Universities Commission (NUC) was
established in 1962 and attached to the office of the
Prime Minister;
• In 1974, it became a parastatal in the Federal
Ministry of Education and a statutory commission
charged with the responsibility of regulating the
academic, administrative, and the financial activities
of Nigerian Universities (Okojie, 2010; p. 101);
• The Commission is, therefore, absolutely relevant to
the running of all universities in the country. In
specific terms, the Commission:
• advices Mr. President and the State Governors, on
matters bordering on the establishment of new
universities and other degree-awarding institutions in
the Federal Republic of Nigeria;
• prepares master plans, from time to time, for
the balanced and coordinated development of
universities in Nigeria;
• ensures that quality is maintained in the
academic programmes of the universities;
• carries out higher education-related
investigations;
• advises the Federal Government on the
financial needs of the universities;
• reviews the terms and conditions of service of
university staff and makes appropriate
recommendations to the Federal Government;
• recommends to the Visitor of a given
university that a visitation be made to such an
institution where necessary;
• channels all external aids to the universities;
• receives and allocates Federal Government
grants to federal universities;
• lays down Minimum Academic Standards for
the universities; and
• carries out the accreditation of the degrees
and other academic awards of the universities
(Okojie, 2010, p. 101 – 102). This brings us
to the meaning and nature of accreditation.
3.0 The Meaning and Nature of Accreditation
• Accreditation may be used to signify the official
approval granted by an accrediting agency to an
accredited institution at the end of a successful
assessment exercise (Hornby, 2001 p.8);
• It could also mean the process by which the quality
and standard of educational institutions are
assessed;
• The assessment is usually conducted by accrediting
agencies set up by the Government through the
Ministry of Education or by professional
organisations;
• In Nigeria, this quality assurance function is
conducted by the National Universities Commission
(NUC) for Federal, State and Private Universities;
• The same function is carried out by the National Board for
•
•
•
•
Technical Education for Polytechnics and Monotechnics
(NABTE) and the National Commission for Colleges of
Education (NCCE) for this category of educational institutions
(Adesina, 2005);
the professional content of some programmes is also assessed
by designated bodies and agencies;
thus, the Nigerian Medical and Dental Council (NMDC)
accredits the professional content of Medical Programmes, the
Council of Legal Education (CLE) assesses the professional
content of Law Programmes;
the Council for Registration of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN)
accredits the professional content of the Engineering
Programmes while the Institute of Chattered Accountants of
Nigeria assesses the professional content of Accounting
Programmes;
Accreditation is essentially, about Quality and Standard.
3.1 QUALITY AND STANDARD IN ACCREDITATION
• The two concepts of Quality and Standard are
not easy to define (Njenga, Bissoonauth and
Diara (2008). Our review of the related
literature shows that “standard” is an integral
part of “quality” and also that many scholars
have alluded to how challenging it is to define
this concept: Despite these challenges,
however, there seems to be a consensus
among a good number of scholars that quality
refers to:
1. how good or bad somebody or
2.
3.
4.
5.
something is;
the degree of excellence attained by
somebody or something;
the degree of somebody’s or
something’s worth;
a product’s value level; and
a standard against which others could
be judged.
• Within the context of higher education, quality
is multidimensional and captures a wide range
of functions and activities. In a university
setting, for example, it permeates every
aspect of the University System including:
teaching, learning, academic programmes,
research, scholarship, academic and nonacademic staff, students, physical structures,
facilities, equipment, community services and
academic milieu (Njenga et al, 2008, pp 4);.
• “Internal self-evaluation and external review,
conducted openly by independent specialists,
if possible with international expertise, are
vital for enhancing quality;
• quality entails the inclusion of an international
•
•
•
•
dimension in the functions of a higher education;
e.g. internationalisation of knowledge, interactive
networking with the outside world, mobility of
teachers and students across the country and offshores, as well as international research endeavours
without necessarily losing sight of local, national and
regional norms, values and circumstances (Njenga et
al, 2008).
academic and research collaborations with as many
as possible universities across the globe;
and the admission of students from other parts the
world.
closely germane to Accreditation is the concept of
“Quality Assurance”. This has been described as the
process of monitoring quality and ensuring that
standards are not only continuously sustained but
equally improved upon;
• The process is known as “Internal Quality Assurance”
•
•
when it borders on policies and mechanisms effected
internally to ensure that a particular institution,
programme, profession or discipline continues to
achieve its spelt-out objectives and to maintain
standards expected of a higher education;
The monitoring process is known as “External Quality
Assurance” if it is conducted by an external agency
from outside the educational institution to find out
the extent of its compliance with the established
standards (Martin and Stella, 2007);
The continuous monitoring exercises conducted
internally by the Academic Planning Units of
Universities, the Academic Offices, the Student
Affairs and other Units within Universities in general,
are practical examples of “Internal Quality
Assurance” mechanisms;
 The assessment visits conducted periodically,
by the National Universities Commission, the
Nigerian Medical and Dental Council, the
Council of Legal Education, the Council for
Registration of Engineering in Nigeria, the
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria,
and other agencies from outside the
universities, are examples of “External Quality
Assurance” procedures otherwise called
Accreditation.
3.2
•
JUSTIFICATION AND LEGAL BASIS
FOR ACCREDITATION
As indicated earlier, there are 117 Universities
approved by the Federal Government of Nigeria
through the National Universities Commission. If
these institutions are allowed to operate without an
accrediting agency, the standard of education would
be compromised, the ultimate goal of producing a
high-level manpower would remain a mirage and the
graduates of the system would not be able to
compete favourably with their peers in other parts of
the world. Hence, the justifications for a body like
the NUC to oversee and regulate the activities of
these universities. But even then, there are currently
44 universities operating illegally, in different states
of the Federation. This is apart from eight illegal
ones with on-going investigations and court cases
(NUC, 2011, pp. 11-12).
• It is relevant to note that the legal basis for
•
accreditation of academic programmes in Nigeria is
derived from Section 10 of Act No. 16 of 1985. This
was incorporated as section 4 (m) of the NUC
amended Act No. 49 of 1988, which empowers the
Commission to “lay down minimum standards for all
universities in the Federation and to accredit their
degrees and other academic awards” (Okojie, 2008).
On the strength of the above Act, the NUC developed
a set of Minimum Academic Standards (MAS) to
guide Nigerian Universities in the development,
implementation and evaluation of their curricula.
The MAS was reviewed by the NUC in 2004 and
resulted in the development of Benchmarks Minimum
Academic Standards (BMAS) (Okojie, 2008).
Institutional compliance with the stipulated standards
is measured through specially designed accreditation
instrument.
3.3
•
ACCREDITATION INSTRUMENT
The National Universities Commission measures
institutional compliance with the Minimum
Academic Standards using the following
instruments:
(i) Self-Study Form (SSF): The self-study form is
divided into two sections: section “A” and Section
“B”. The Section “A” solicits general information
about the University and requires the ViceChancellor or a designated officer of the University
visited to provide the information. The Section “B”
solicits information about the programmes to be
accredited and requires the Head of Department of
the programmes to be accredited to provide the
information.
(ii) Manual of Accreditation Procedure for
Academic Programmes in Nigerian
Universities: This document provides the
detailed information on the objectives,
processes and specimens of the other forms
that have been completed by the universities
and panel members for each of the
programmes (NUC, 1999).
(iii) Programme Evaluation Form (PEF): This form is to
be completed by each
panel member. The form provides scoring
columns and columns for relevant comments
(NUC 1999).
(iv) Accreditation Panel Report Form
(APRF): - The Chairman of the panel
completes this form for each of the
programmes being accredited. The summary
of scores and accreditation status are
entered into the space provided in the form
(NUC 1999).
(v) Minimum Academic Standards
Document: - The Minimum Academic
Standards Document contains the minimum
course content in each degree programme,
minimum physical facilities; minimum
laboratory space; library and the
staff/student ratio (NUC 1999).
• The programmes to be accredited are evaluated and
•
scored based on the following criteria: staffing
(32%), academic content (23%), physical facilities
(25%), library (12%), funding (5%) and employers
rating (3%) (NUC 1999). The four core areas in the
criteria are: academic content; staffing; physical
facilities and the library.
The above accreditation instrument applies
to Programme Accreditation. As for Institutional
Accreditation, this seeks to objectively measure the
performance of a university wholistically, guided by a
clearly identified criteria, sub-criteria and relevant
minimum standards. Our review of related literature
revealed that the draft tool for conducting an
Institutional Self Accreditation was labelled
“INSTRUMENT FOR INSTITUTIONAL
ACCREDITATION” designed jointly by the National
Universities Commission (NUC) and Association of
African Universities (AAU).
3.4 Content of the Institutional Accreditation
Instrument
The Instrument contains eight major criteria:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Institutional Vision, Mission and Strategic Goals.
Institutional Governance and Administration.
Institutional Resources.
Quality of Teaching, Learning and Research.
Institutional Efficiency and Effectiveness.
Extension Services and Consultancies.
Transparency, Financial Management and Stability.
General Ethos.
•
•
•
Like the Programme Assessment Tool, the
NUC/AAU, Draft Instrument for Institutional
Accreditation determines the Accreditation
Status of a University at the end of the
Accreditation exercise as follows:
A university with a score of 80% and above
earns a letter grade of A+, an evaluation
remark of EXCELLENT, and a status of FULL
ACCREDITATION with a 10 year life-span.
A university with a score of between 70 –
79% obtains a letter grade of A, an
evaluation remark of EXCELLENT, and a
status of FULL ACCREDITATION with a lifespan of 10 years.
•
•
•
•
A university with a score of between 65 and
69%, is credited with a letter grade of B+, an
evaluation remark of GOOD, and a life-span of 8
years.
With a score of between 60-64%, a university
earns a letter grade of B, an evaluation remark
of GOOD, a status of FULL ACCREDITATION,
and a life-span of 8 years.
With a score of between 55 and 59%, a
university gets a letter grade of C+, an
evaluation remark of FAIR, a status of INTERIM
ACREDITATION, and a life-span of 5 years.
To score between 50 and 54% means that
the concerned university obtains a letter
grade of C, an evaluation remark of FAIR,
a status of INTERIM ACCREDITATION, and
life-span of 3 years.
•
•
•
To score between 45 and 49% means that the
concerned university earns a letter grade of D, an
evaluation remark of POOR, a status of
PROBATION and a life-span of 2 years.
Any university with a score between 40 - 44%
earns a letter grade of E, an evaluation remark of
POOR, a status of PROBATION and a life-span of 1
year.
Finally, a university that scores less than 40%,
earns a letter grade of F, an evaluation remark of
FAIL, a status of DENIED ACCREDITATION and a
zero life-span (NUC/AAU Instrument for
Institutional Self Assessment, 2010).
• The above has brought to focus, the
significance of accreditation as a process by
which international standard is ensured and
assured. Needles to say, the process allows
for improvement upon the content of
academic programmes, the quality of staff
members, physical facilities, library holdings as
well as funding.
• In all of the above issues, Academic Planners
play a fundamental role.
4.0
The Role of Academic Planners
• Academic planning is the process of taking appropriate
decisions for the actualisation of the objectives of a
university through the effective use of available
resources. Most of the Academic Units of Nigerian
Universities were established in the early 1980s, for
the purposes of coordinating the academic
programmes of the universities, streamlining their
growth and development and avoiding unnecessary
duplication of programmes (Uvah, ND, p. 1 ).
• Generally, the Academic Planning Unit ensures that
quality and international standards permeate all the
conceptions and activities of the University, starting
with its vision, mission and strategic objectives, and
cutting across its operations in the areas of teaching;
learning; research; community service; student
admission and registration; staff employment;
academic programmes; curricula contents; human and
material resources; and other related matters.
• Specifically the Unit:
• ensures that the various activities of the University
•
•
•
•
are in line with the vision, mission and strategic
objectives of the institution, and are in compliance
with international standards;
updates data for planning and preparation of the
University budget and subsequent resource
allocations;
provides data-based information to guide the
operations of the university;
collates, analyses and interprets data from relevant
University Units;
periodically analyses data for the internal evaluation
of the performance status of the University in relation
to all NUC-approved funding parameters;
• establishes academic linkages and collaborative efforts
•
•
•
•
•
•
with universities within and outside the country;
sources for fellowships and scholarships for students
of the university;
collects, analyses and publishes data for student
projections and determination of Full-Time Equivalent
(FTE);
coordinates the disbursement of the Senate Research
Grant (SRG) and the Direct Teaching and Laboratory
Cost (DTLC);
stores and retrieves relevant institutional data for
approved research, academic workload, projection,
etc;
coordinates the production of the University’s Annual
Report;
organises university-wide conferences, seminars,
workshops, lectures and international events;
• monitors staff employment, deployment,
•
•
•
•
•
•
development and promotions;
coordinates the annual assessment of lecturers by
students;
prepares the annual draft budget of the University;
coordinates the revision and restructuring of
academic programmes and course contents;
prepares a comprehensive report to the University
System Annual Review Meetings (USARM) at the
NUC;
relates with the NUC, JAMB, WAEC, NECO, etc on
matters bordering on the introduction of new
academic programmes; and
interacts with the NUC on accreditation and resource
verification matters. (Uvah, ND, pp. 2-5).
• With particular reference to accreditation, Academic
Planners, under the leadership of the Director of
Academic Planning, facilitate each stage of the
accreditation exercise, as indicated below.
4.1
•
•
Pre-Accreditation Role of Academic
Planners
Academic planners send the list of academic
programmes that are due for accreditation, in a
particular year, to the NUC.
Thenceforth, they interact and meet with the Deans,
Heads of Departments and staff of concerned
departments over accreditation issues.
• They write to concerned departments and faculties to
•
•
•
set up departmental and faculty accreditation
committees for self evaluation of their academic
programmes in collaboration with the Academic
Planning Unit.
They write to the HODs of concerned programmes to
submit the list of their accreditation needs through
the Faculty Office.
They forward the list of the accreditation needs of
the various programmes to the University
management for further processing.
They follow up the submitted list of accreditation
needs to ensure the needs are adequately met
before the arrival of the NUC Accreditation Team.
• They complete section A of the Self Study
Form which requests for information about the
University.
• They collect, from concerned departments, the
section B of the Self Study form, which
requests for information about the
programme, discipline or sub-discipline to be
accredited.
• They vet the Self Study Form to ensure that
all the pieces of information required are
provided and that all the NUC guidelines and
parameters are strictly complied with. These
are in respect of:
• the number of academic and non-academic staff
• staff/student ratio
• adequacy of physical facilities e.g. office space, lecture rooms,
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
lecture theatres, laboratories etc.
availability of:
staff list
staff letters of appointment
student list by levels
student admission files
examination questions
answer scripts
marking schemes
score sheets/examination results
external examiners’ reports
employers’ reports
sample of students’ completed projects
budget allocation for the concerned department
malpractice records, if any, etc.
• Before the accreditation proper, planners visit
•
•
•
concerned departments, to assess their level of
preparedness, harvest their final accreditation needs
and process these to the authorities of the university.
Planners finally conduct a mock accreditation of
concerned programmes/departments.
They send the results of the mock accreditation to
the concerned departments for necessary remedial
measures.
They produce and Vet 12 copies of the completed
Self-Study Forms for concerned programmes,
discipline or sub-discipline ahead of the arrival of the
NUC Accreditation Team.
4.2 The Role of Academic Planners during the
Accreditation Exercise
• Academic Planners play the following roles, among
•
•
•
•
others, during the accreditation exercise. They:
communicate with the secretary to the NUC
Accreditation Team to confirm the possible time of
members’ arrival, either by air or road;
make hotel reservations for members of the team;
inform the secretary to the team about the details of
the hotel where accommodation is provided;
convey the above information to individual members
of the team, where possible;
• receive the team either at the airport or at the hotel
•
•
•
•
•
as the case may be;
ensure that members of the team are comfortable
throughout their stay;
submit the completed Self Study Forms to the
Secretary to the NUC Accreditation Team;
arrange for the Team’s courtesy call on the ViceChancellor on the 1st day of the accreditation
exercise;
attend the Team’s courtesy call on the ViceChancellor and take relevant notes;
lead the accreditation team to the concerned
Faculty/Department and attend the Team’s
briefing with the Dean, HODs and staff;
• attend the Team’s meeting with the HOD and staff
•
•
•
•
of the concerned Department(s);
accompany the Team to assess physical facilities:
classrooms, laboratories, lecture theatres, library,
etc.;
attend the Team’s final meeting with the ViceChancellor, the Principal Officers of the University,
and the Deans and HODs of concerned Faculties
and Departments, at which members of the
Accreditation Panel make their observations known.
take notes on the observations of the Panel and the
reactions of the University Administration.
monitor the welfare and safe departure of the
Team.
4.3 Post-Accreditation Role of Academic
Planners
Following the completion of the accreditation
exercise, the Academic Planners watch out for
the final report and verdict of the NUC. And
as soon as the report is received, they swing
into fresh action. Here, their specific role is
determined by the status earned by a
particular programme, indicated in the final
report containing the verdict of the NUC.
Usually, a programme earns one of three
possible status:
(i) Full Accreditation Status: A full accreditation
status is achieved by a programme when it has a
total overall score of 70% and above, in addition to
scoring at least 70% in each of the core areas of
staffing, academic content, physical facilities and
library. A programme with full accreditation status is
formally re-visited after 5 years.
(ii) Interim Accreditation Status: A programme is
awarded interim accreditation status when it has a
total overall score of less than 70% or 70%, but with
a score of less than 70% in any of the four core
areas stated above. An Interim accreditation status
lasts for 2 years, after which a re-visitation/reaccreditation is conducted.
(iii) Denied Accreditation Status: A
programme falls into denied accreditation
status if its overall score is lower than 60%. A
denied accreditation status implies no further
student enrolment until the programme is revisited and re-accredited (Okojie, 2008).
Where a programme earns a full
Accreditation Status, academic planners
endeavour very hard, not only to sustain this
status, but to improve significantly upon it. In
case of an Interim Accreditation Status,
academic planners:
• liaise with the concerned Department;
• ensure that the departmental accreditation
•
•
•
•
committee, in collaboration with the Academic
Planning Unit, studies the deficiencies;
address the deficiencies that could be directly
remedied by the Department and ensure that they
are remedied;
determine the cost implication of other deficiencies
ensure that the cost implication for remedying the
deficiencies are conveyed to he University
Administration.
follow up the processes of making money available to
remedy the deficiencies;
• ensure that the deficiencies are actually
remedied;
• inform the NUC, within two years, of the
preparedness of the Department for a reaccreditation; and
• prepare to receive the NUC Re-accreditation
Team.
• In case of a Denied Accreditation Status, Academic
•
Planners go through the whole rigorous process of
preparing for a fresh accreditation exercise, as
outlined in the sub-section dealing with their PreAccreditation Role.
It is pertinent to remark that no university earns an
absolutely perfect accreditation status. There are
always some minor deficiencies that an institution
has to remedy, even when a full Accreditation Status
is earned. This is why Academic Planners work
round the clock throughout the year. Indeed, they
need more than 24 hours to discharge their
responsibilities per day !!!
5.0
Conclusion
The foregoing has taken us through the functions
of a university, the significance of the NUC, the
essence of Accreditation and the role of Academic
Planners. It remains to be emphasised that
Academic Planners play a core role not only in the
process of accreditation, but also in the overall
running of tertiary institutions. The Academic
Planning Unit of a university is unarguably the life
wire of the institution since its primary responsibility
for Quality Assurance runs through the various
academic and administrative activities of a higher
institution. This is why the accreditation of a
university is indeed an assessment and an evaluation
of the Academic Planning Unit.
• And this is also the justification for ensuring
that the Unit is placed on a very solid and
strong footing in terms of its structure,
staffing, budgeting, office accommodation,
provision of modern ICT facilities, welfare, and
appointment of eminently qualified personnel.
Academic Planners must possess not only the
basic academic and professional qualifications
and competencies, but also the required zeal,
passion, integrity, commitment, patriotism,
selflessness, efficiency, effectiveness,
resourcefulness, patience, endurance,
inspiration and the vision to play appropriate
leadership role in the unit and indeed beyond.
It is when these requirements are
adequately satisfied that Academic Planners
would have been sufficiently empowered to
play their roles for a successful Accreditation
Exercise in all the universities in Nigeria.
The End!
Thanks for listening.