Harmonisation, Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Africa

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Harmonisation of African Higher Education, Quality Assurance and Accreditation (HAQAA) is an initiative that has been established to support the development of a harmonised quality assurance and accreditation system at institutional, national, regional and Pan-African continental level. It is funded by the European Union Commission, in the context of the Africa-EU Strategic Partnership. Phase one (HAQAA1) was implemented from 2016-2018. HAQAA 2 (2019 – 2022) builds upon, upscale and promote the results of HAQAA1 and also goes further in supporting African higher education integration. HAQAA 3 currently runs 2023-2028. More information available at https://haqaa2.obsglob.org/

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Browsing Harmonisation, Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Africa by Author "HAQAA Initiative"

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    African Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ASG-QA)
    (HAQAA Initiative, 2017) HAQAA Initiative
    Harmonisation seeks a shared view on quality criteria and standards and an equivalent way of assessing the quality. It is crucial to harmonise the standards and criteria so that all universities will be regulated according to comparable standards. Indeed, harmonisation does not mean that every institution or country is forced into a uniform system. It rather means that the basic framework for quality assessment is equivalent. A key milestone for fostering harmony within the diverse African higher education system is the establishment of a continental quality assurance framework. The AUC, therefore, initiated the development of the Pan-African Quality Assurance and Accreditation Framework (PAQAF) to provide a continental platform for enhancing the provision of higher education quality and promoting compatible methodologies. One of the necessary instruments for the appropriate functioning of PAQAF is the development of the African Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ASG-QA). Proper implementation of the ASG-QA can contribute to the provision of quality higher education and ensure that the qualifications obtained by students and their experience of higher education remain consonant with programme requirements, institutional vision and mission, and the objectives of higher education. In order to optimally achieve this, a fundamental prerequisite is that HEIs inculcate a culture of evidence-based quality in all their activities. The AUC believes that the ASG-QA provides an overarching framework for quality assurance and that its implementation will be supported by the African Quality Rating Mechanism (AQRM).
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    Références et lignes directrices pour l’assurance qualité dans l’enseignement supérieur africain (ASG-QA)
    (HAQAA Initiative, 2017) HAQAA Initiative
    L’harmonisation de l’assurance qualité et de l’accréditation, couplée à une coopération continentale étroite, contribuera à promouvoir l’internationalisation de l’enseignement supérieur et à faciliter la mobilité des étudiants et du personnel académique. La Commission de l’Union africaine (CUA) collabore avec les établissements d’enseignement supérieur africains pour promouvoir l’harmonisation et l’assurance qualité en partenariat avec l’Union européenne (UE) et les institutions européennes. L’Association des universités africaines (AUA) a été désignée comme principale agence de l’UA en charge de la mise en œuvre de cette harmonisation dans l’enseignement supérieur en Afrique. L’harmonisation vise à avoir une vue partagée sur les critères et les références de qualité et une méthode équivalente d’évaluation de la qualité. Il est crucial d’harmoniser les références et les critères, de façon à ce que toutes les universités soient réglementées en fonction de références comparables. En effet, l’harmonisation n’implique pas que chaque établissement ou chaque pays soit contraint d’adopter un système uniforme. Cela signifie plutôt que le cadre de base pour l’évaluation de la qualité est équivalent. Une étape importante dans la promotion de l’harmonie au sein du système d’enseignement supérieur africain diversifié est l’établissement d’un cadre d’assurance qualité continental. La CUA a par conséquent initié le développement d’un Cadre panafricain d’assurance qualité et d’accréditation (Pan-African Quality Assurance and Accreditation Framework, PAQAF) afin d’offrir une plateforme continentale en vue d’améliorer la qualité de l’enseignement supérieur et de promouvoir des méthodologies compatibles.
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    Report African Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance awareness in Africa
    (HAQAA Initiative, 2023-01-30) HAQAA Initiative
    As a follow-up to the development of the African Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance (ASG-QA) under the HAQAA initiative (Harmonisation, Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Africa), initiated by the European Union in the context of the Africa-EU Partnership, many activities were carried out by the implementing consortium of HAQAA and stakeholders, to promote and implement the ASG-QA. For example, evaluations of quality assurance agencies and ‘consultancy visits’ to emergent agencies were organised in some African countries to test the relevance of the ASG-QA and to give the structures of the countries concerned the opportunity to position themselves in relation to them. To further facilitate the use of the ASG-QA, a Guide on how to use the ASG-QA in higher education institutions and quality assurance agencies was developed. And, as the first collective initiative across linguistic lines, a dissemination activity of three organisations from different African regions was launched in the last year of the second phase of the HAQAA Initiative, to assess the widespread use of the ASG-QA in Africa. This project, hereafter called the ‘QA Network dissemination project’, was implemented by two QA networks and one national QA Agency, namely the Francophone African Network of National Quality Assurance Agencies (RAFANAQ), the East African Quality Assurance Network (EAQAN) and the National Quality Assurance Council of Mozambique (CNAQ).
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    Users’ Guide for the African Standard and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ASG-QA)
    (HAQAA Initiative, 2020) HAQAA Initiative
    The African Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ASG-QA) were developed in 2018 as part of the Pan-African Quality Assurance and Accreditation Framework (PAQAF), which provides a continental framework to harmonise higher education quality assurance systems and promote compatible methodologies, endorsed by the African Union. The ASG-QA were developed following a mapping of existing standards at national and regional levels, a comparison with other existing international standards and guidelines as well as a broad stakeholder consultation. This was done with the support of the HAQAA Initiative – Harmonisation, Accreditation and Quality Assurance in African Higher Education, funded by the European Union in support of its partnership with the African Union. The aim of this Users’ Guide is to further support the implementation of the ASG-QA by providing practical guidance and explanation, including:
    • clarifications to improve the understanding and interpretation of the ASG-QA, particularly related to aspects of individual standards that have proved challenging in the first years of their use;
    • guidance on the implementation of the standards for HEIs and QAAs in the early stages of development;
    • examples of how HEIs and QAAs can demonstrate that they are meeting the commitments of the ASG-QA when undergoing internal or external reviews.