GUIDELINES ON CRITERIA AND STANDARDS FOR PROGRAM ACCREDITATION (AREA 1, 2, 3 AND 8)

What is COPPA? THE STANDARDS – Benchmarked and Enhanced GUIDELINES ON THE STANDARDS AND CRITERIA FOR THE NINE AREAS OF EVALUATION FOR PROGRAMME ACCREDITATION 1.Vision, Mission, Educational Goals and Learning Outcomes 2.Curriculum Design and Delivery 3.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.Continual Quality Improvement 2

3 WHAT IS COPPA? It is a Code of Practice dedicated to quality assurance of programmes using the nine areas of evaluation to assist HEPs attain at least benchmarked standards for obtaining accreditation and continuously improve the quality of the programme

4 Standards that must be met and its compliance demonstrated during programme accreditation exercise. Are usually expressed as a ‘must’ Benchmarked Standards Standards that should be met as the institution strives to improve itself and usually expressed as a ‘should’ Enhanced Standards The Standards

PROGRAMME AIMS, OBJECTIVES & LEARNING OUTCOMES Must reflect key elements of outcomes of higher education Must be consistent with and supportive of HEPs Vision & Mission Must be developed in consultation with principal stakeholders Should encompass qualities in areas of expertise /specialisation Should be periodically reviewed in consultation with a wide range of stakeholders Must be defined and made known to stakeho lders 5 AREA 1.1: Statement of Programme Aims and Objectives

AREA 1.2 Learning Outcomes Learning Outcomes The Programme must show how the component modules contributes to fulfilment of programme learning outcomes The Programme should specify the link between competencies expected upon completion and those required after completion of studies The Programme must define the competencies students should demonstrate upon completion of a programme Must show how the student is able to demonstrate the learning outcomes via assessments 6

7 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 Area 2.1 Academic Autonomy

8 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 Area 2.2 -Programme Design & Teaching - Learning (T-L) Methods

Area 2.3: Curriculum Content & Structure The programme must incorporate the core subject matters essential for understanding concepts, principles and methods that support programme outcomes fulfil the discipline requirements by recognising 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 access to real time information through use of technology and global networking and to identify up to date topics of importance for inclusion in the curriculum and its delivery 9

Area Management of the Programme 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 impleme ntation and evaluation for quality improvement The Programme Content & Delivery must be regularly reviewed and evaluated and its results utilised to assure quality (must involve external examiners – for MQF level 6 and abov e ) The StudentsThe Programme Team The Programme 10

The Department must provide the student a conducive learning environment where scholarly and creative achievements are nurtured 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 11 Area Management of the Programme - cont

Area 2.5 Linkages with External Stakeholders The Department 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 12

Assessment Assessment principles, methods and practices must be aligned with learning outcomes and programme content Assessment must be consistent with the levels defined in the MQF, 8 domains of learning outcomes and programme standards Assessment & Learning Outcomes The link between assessment and learning outcomes should be reviewed periodically to ensure its effectiveness 13 Area 3.1- Relationship between Assessment and Learning

Area 3.2- Assessment Methods 14 must be documented and communicated to students on commencement of the programme Frequency, methods, & criteria of student assessment must be summative and formative a variety of methods and tools must be used to assess learning outcomes Assessment must be there to ensure validity, reliability, consistency and fairness of assessment methods Mechanisms

Area 3.2- Assessment Methods - cont must be reviewed periodically Assessment System should be comparable to international best practices Methods of Assessment should be done in consultation with external experts, both local and international Review of Assessment System 15

Student assessment results - must be communicated within reasonable time Student assessment methods - must follow established procedures and regulations -changes must be communicated prior to implementation Mechanisms -must be there to ensure security of assessment documents and records Grading, assessment and appeals - policies and practices must be publicised 16 Area Management of Student Assessment

should have sufficient autonomy in managem ent of student assessmen t The department and its academic staff should be there to evaluate and improve the student assessment management – formal certification of the processes Independent external scrutiny Area Management of Student Assessment - cont 17

must be consistent with the statement of purpose of the HEP The Department’s policies and practices The Department must clarify its - governance structures and functions, - the relationships within them and - impact on the programme and it must be communicated to all parties involved - based on the set principles Board must be an active policy making body with an adequate degree of autonomy Mechanisms * must be established for programmes conducted in geographically separated campuses ( functional integration & comparability of quality) Area 8.1-Governance 18

should have a committee system responsible for programmes that consider: -internal and external consultation, - feedback, - market needs analysis and - employability projections The Department should reflect the representation and participation of academic staff, students and other stakeholders The Governance Principles Area 8.1 – Governance - cont 19

of academic leadership must be clearly stated Criteria for Appointment and responsibilities must be held by those with appropriate qualifications and experience and with sufficient authority for curriculum design, delivery and review The Academic Leadership must be in place to allow communication between programme and HEP leaderships on -staff recruitment and training, -student admission, - allocation of resources Mechanisms and Processes 20 Area Academic Leadership of the Programme

should be evaluated at defined intervals with respect to performance of the staff. should be responsible for creating a conducive environment to generate innovation and creativity. The Academic Leaders hip Area Academic Leadership of the Programme - cont 21

must be appropriate and sufficient - to support programme implementation - to ensure good management and deployment of resources Administrative Staff of The Department must conduct regular performance review of academic and management staff The Department should have an advanced administrative and management staff training scheme The Department 22 Area 8.3 Administrative and Management Staff

must be consistent with that of the HEP – concerning student and academic staff records The Department Policies and Practices must implement HEP policies on rights of individual privacy and confidentiality of records The Department should continuously review policies on security of records and safety systems. The Department Area 8.4 Academic Records 23