Directorate of Quality Assurance
The Quality Assurance Directorate (QAD) was established in 2009 in accordance with the requirements of the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) Quality Assurance Framework for Uganda Universities (2006). This Framework provides that “institutions [universities] are primarily responsible for quality and quality management. Each institution shall have an independent quality assurance unit that sets quality assurance control guidelines in a university and that continuously reviews all programs, teaching, and assessments.” (NCHE, 2006, 17).
Duties & Responsibilities
- Develops or reviews the quality assurance framework, plans, tools, and strategies for approval by Council or other relevant decision making organs of the University.
- Oversees the University’s response to and implementation of Council policies and decisions, quality standards and any other policy or quality requirements as set by the Sector Ministry, National Council for Higher or other relevant quality assurance bodies.
- Advises on and monitors quality assurance requirements for teaching, learning, research and community outreach programs.
- Provides technical and professional support to the various academic and administrative units in the implementation or enhancement of quality assurance systems within the University.
- Supervises the Quality Assurance teams in their undertakings and oversees the quality assurance and quality enhancement activities of the University.
- Plans, implements and continually improves the quality management systems of the University in conformity with universally accepted standards.
- Evaluates quality assurance or inspection reports from the various units of the University.
- Oversees the provision of support to University units in eliminating impediments to implementation of quality programs in their internal operations.
- Coordinates the conduct of quality management system audits and conformity assessments by External Advisors, Assessors and auditing, certification, accreditation or pre-qualification bodies.
- Oversees and participates in the sensitisation, education and training of both staff and other relevant Stakeholders in Quality Management Systems.
- Prepares and submits to the Vice Chancellor periodic reports on quality assurance audits in accordance with the University quality assurance policies.
- Communicates quality management targets, shortfalls, remedial measures and improved processes and procedures.
Staff members
Dr. Agnes Nabacwa
Director, Quality Assurance
Richard Tumusiime
Senior Quality Assurance Officer
Beatrice Achan
Quality Assurance Officer (Academic Audits)
David Otim
Quality Assurance Officer (Monitoring & Evaluation)
Mandates to Directorate
- The Quality Assurance Directorate exists in Nkumba University for systematic monitoring and evaluation to ensure that standards of quality are being promoted. Quality assurance is a process-driven approach with specific steps to help define and attain goals.
- The Quality Assurance office is vital to the university system because it provides the platform for verifying or determining whether the university’s services meet or exceed the customer expectations, and whether the quality controls in place ensure that the University’s products (the students) exceed expectations.
- The Quality Assurance Directorate is responsible for coordinating, supervising, monitoring, and evaluating quality assurance processes and practices in areas of academic programs, teaching and learning, facilities, research, and community outreach.
- The Directorate employs a number of quality assurance mechanisms like quality audit, program review, and staff evaluations, SWOT analysis, external examining, etc., to monitor, assess, control and audit its quality.
- In abide to adherence to the National Council for Higher Education quality assurance requirements; the university set up a Quality Assurance Unit that was established in 2009 and became a full-fledged Directorate in 2011.
- The Quality Assurance Directorate is also tasked with coordinating quality assurance initiatives and activities for academic and non-academic units. It oversees the internal and external quality assurance assessment of the university’s programs.
- There are two dimensions to the activities of the Quality Assurance office. The internal quality assurance mechanism includes self-evaluations by each of the six schools of the University or University-wide evaluations. Such evaluations use instruments or guidelines developed by the University Quality Assurance Office, and reports are accordingly made.
- The second major dimension to evaluation is the external assessment of University programs and facilities by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), and professional bodies such as the Law Council, Uganda Nurses and Midwives Council (UNMC) and the Medical Council. These bodies use instruments or guidelines they have developed to assess the quality of University facilities, programs, activities as well as staff.
- The Quality Assurance Directorate reports directly to the vice chancellor and works closely with the University registrar, Deputy Vice Chancellor and University Secretary. It is currently managed by two staff namely: Director Quality Assurance and Quality Assurance Administrator.
