Participants of Europe-Africa Quality Connect endorse IEP evaluation approach in Africa

Representatives of the five universities that underwent quality evaluations in Africa, 25 European and African higher education experts, and the project partners gathered at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, from 19 to 20 April to discuss the outcomes of five institutional evaluations conducted in Africa in the context of the pilot project Europe-Africa Quality Connect’.

Inspired by EUA’s Institutional Evaluation Programme (IEP), this project was conceived by EUA and the Association of African Universities (AAU) as a means to enhance bi-regional understanding of quality assurance approaches, and specifically test the IEP methodology – a programme that has run for 18 years in Europe – on five very different African universities. Both universities and experts who participated in the evaluations (between September 2011 and March 2012) were overwhelmingly positive about the process. All five universities agreed that what rendered the evaluation unique was its non-punitive quality, and the fact that the visits and evaluation reports by the experts were highly constructive, pinpointing areas where the university could make real and tangible changes and improvements. Furthermore, the IEP methodology is flexible and dynamic enough to accommodate universities of all different shapes, sizes and missions.
The workshop participants endorsed the future continuation of an IEP-like programme in Africa and believed that AAU should lead this process, in conjunction with university organisations of the regional communities such as the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), the Higher Education Quality Management Initiative for Southern Africa (HEQMISA) and the Conseil Africain et Malgache pour l’Enseignement Supérieur (CAMES). Various future funding models were discussed, and it was stressed that EUA and AAU should continue to promote dialogue on quality assurance between universities of the two regions.
The final report on recommendations of the QA Connect project will be presented in Addis Ababa from 21 to 22 June 2012, targeting the donor community and African university leadership. More information will be posted on this event shortly. Europe-Africa Quality Connect is a two-year Erasmus Mundus Action 3 project implemented by EUA, AAU, University of Aveiro and the Irish-Africa Quality Board (IUQB). It is a follow-up to the project ‘Access to Success’ and the White Paper it produced on Africa-Europe higher education partnership for development in 2010. To find out more about the project, please visit the project website.