1. Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU)
MANAGEMENT, INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION FOR EFFECTIVE DELIVERY OF QUALITY HIGHER EDUCATION
Dr. Christine Hongoke
Thematic paper for the Annual Joint Education Sector Review 2010
29th September 2010

2. What is TCU?
Established under the Universities Act Cap.346 to harmonize higher education system in Tanzanian the main functions being to:
Recognize, approve, register and accredit university institutions and programs to operate in Tanzania;
Coordinate the proper functioning of all university institutions in Tanzania
Oversee institutional management processes in all universities in Tanzania as governed by the university charters

3. Roles of TCU
Regulatory- TCU regulates systems, processes and quality of universities
Supportive (QA advocacy, etc)-TCU supports universities and advocates for quality matters
Advisory- Advises Government and stakeholders on matters of university education.

4. Common Terminologies in HE
“inspection” and “supervision” : not commonly used in HE.
common terms are, technical evaluation, regulation, accreditation and quality assurance.
regulation of university education, is the prerogative of the Tanzania Commission for Universities
Registration : is preceded by a technical evaluation on the basis of which the institution is granted the deserved registration certificate.

5. What is accreditation?
A continuous process involving technical evaluation and assessment of an institution its systems, programmes, inputs , environment, and processes.
Recognition of attainment of institutional status adhering to set quality benchmark standards;

6. Accreditation….
A continuous quality assurance process and compliance with benchmark standards as set
by the regulatory agency (i.e. TCU, NACTE, VETA in TZ).
Is a ‘barometer’ used to measure the status and credibility of an institution.
is both a process and ultimate proof of credibility through certification granted to an institution.

7. TCU accreditation systems
Institutional accreditation or evaluation for purposes of institutional registration
Program accreditation or validation of previously approved program
Accreditation of academic awards, and validation and recognition of foreign awards (to be integrated into the National Qualifications Framework)

8. Important aspects of the National Qualifications Framework
TCU is coordinating the task of establishing a National Qualifications Framework. The proposed NQF will:
Harmonize education and training at different levels
Have ten levels of qualifications
Link the four education and training categories currently in operation

9. The NQF will……. Have qualifications descriptors
Consider Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
Determine qualifications equivalences
Portability of qualifications through recognized credit award system

10. Pre-requisites for institutional accreditation in TZ
Every university and university college is supposed to:
prepare a draft Charter with rules and statutes as legal instruments for the establishment and running of the institution;
prepare internal academic, general and special regulations, including internal quality assessment procedures;

11. Pre-requisites…….
get Senate clearance before submitting documents to TCU for validation and approval.

12. Registration and accreditation of institutions.
Procedure is stipulated in the Universities (Chartering, registration and Accreditation procedures) Regulation, 2006
All public universities established before 2005 were re-registered, reaccredited and chartered in 2008.

13. Registration procedures….
Registration involves institutions established under any of the following categories:
- Existing universities at the level of accreditation, e.g. UDSM,SUA,OUT;
- established through transformation of non-university institutions eg. SUZA & Mzumbe University;

14. Registration procedures….
- transformed Constituent Colleges into full-fledged universities e.g. from MUCHS to MUHAS and UCLAS to Ardhi University.
An institution is required to conduct a self-assessment study and submit the resulting report as a basis for TCU to conduct an external assessment.

15. Registration (contd)
External evaluation for re-accreditation of public universities was conducted in 2006 by experts from Kenya, Uganda, Lesotho and Tanzania.

16. Importance of Technical visitations or site visits
Site visits play a critical role as they provide opportunities for :
external reviewers to confirm, expand and elaborate on facts and figures submitted by the institutions in their self-assessment reports.
peer reviewers to meet with administrators, staff and students as well as tour facilities in order to place in context the materials already provided.

17. Determining the institution’s registration status
Stage 1: Provisional Registration–may admit students. Granted Certificate of Provisional Registration (CPR). Stage 2: Certificate of Full Registration– can conduct graduations and offer awards Stage 3: Accreditation stage–fully operational institution, granted Certificate of Accreditation

18. Programme validation and accreditation
Universities are responsible for designing and implementing their programmes.
All universities are required by law to ensure that programmes and matching awards:
- are relevant to the full development of
the holders’ potentials,
-respond to stakeholders’ needs and
national requirements;

19. Programme validation……
-may be achieved by through different learning modes.
Institutions are expected to adhere to TCU guidelines and to allocate the necessary resources and to ensure the achievement of programme outcomes.

20. Principles of Accreditation
TCU adopts:
Participatory-approach involving universities in developing criteria and procedures for QA
a mix of institutional self-evaluation and external or independent assessment;
Principles that focus on improvement not on punitive measures.
Request for institutional feedback on the objectivity of the report.

21. Quality in Higher Education
Like other systems, Higher Education identifies with quality and quantity of inputs and outputs.
Inputs: include infrastructural, teaching and learning facilities, students, staff and financial resources;
Outputs: include graduates from the system.

22. QA in Higher Education
Quality refers to fitness for purpose. In the context of this paper, it extends to take care of teaching-learning process and research activities.
Quality Assurance: A systematic, structured and continuous attention to maintain and improve the effectiveness of the system or the delivery process and its output.

23. Importance of quality assurance in higher education provision
Globalization requires our institutions to be linked with international quality assurance systems for the following reasons:
the demand for greater accountability and efficiency in respect of public financing.
Trends towards mass participation in the face of shrinking resources.
Greater stakeholder scrutiny of education, training processes and outcomes.

24. Effective delivery of quality higher education
External evaluations are expensive.
TCU experience has shown that institution-wide assessments can have a larger impact in terms of shifting the institutional culture.
Programmes exist within institutions therefore chances are that institution-wide assessments can indirectly lead to improved programmes.

25. TCU operational tools
In accordance with Section 62 of the Universities Act No. 7 of 2005, TCU has various guidelines and regulations, e.g.:
Regulations: Chartering, Registration and Accreditation 2006, and Quality Assurance
Scheme of academic and professional qualifications and academic titles in universities
Guidelines for admission of students in universities
Guidelines for self-study assessment
Quality Assurance Handbook as part of the IUCEA QA framework)

26. TCU Challenges
TCU faces a number of challenges but three are worth mentioning: i) Dual role of Inspector and Regulator TCU as an accreditation body operates as an evaluator/inspector and regulator of quality. Plays the role of Prosecutor and Judge. In other words TCU sets rules and regulations and oversees their implementation without being regulated itself.

27. Challenges……. ii) Systems limitations
Having the Universities Act under review means that TCU continue to issue guidelines which may not always be adhered to the letter by universities.
iii) Limited number of agreed Programme Benchmarks
TCU is yet to prepare benchmarks for quite a number of programmes. Most of these benchmarks need to be agreed by professional bodies before they can be adopted by universities.

28. Thank you for your attention!
Conclusion
For effective delivery of higher education, internal quality assurance and institutional self assessments should be continuous, uninterrupted processes and should be conducted at any cost.
Thank you for your attention!