RE: [AU-Harmon-AAU-QA] Developing an African Higher Education Rating System”.

[Neil Butcher]

Hi Goolam,

 

I am so happy to have read your inputs, as I have noted in different forums that people’s responses to the Quality Rating Mechanism seem often to be made before they have engaged fully with what is proposed.

 

We certainly imagine, by the way, that the criteria will need significant engagement and refinement as the process rolls out.

 

For our French colleagues, please note the following links:

 

The abstract: http://www.africa-union.org/root/ua/Conferences/2007/aout/HRST/06-10%20aout/Doc/French/AU_EXP_EDUC_3_III_Fr-Develo_Afri_Higher_Educ.New%20version.doc

 

The excel spreadsheet: http://www.africa-union.org/root/ua/Conferences/2007/aout/HRST/06-10%20aout/Doc/French/African_Quality_Rating_Fr.xls

 

There is also a full French version of the AU Harmonization Strategy – links to this document and the above documents can be accessed on” http://www.africa-union.org/root/ua/Conferences/2007/aout/HRST/06-10%20aout/Meeting_FR.htm

 

Regards

 

Neil

 

From: au-harmon-aau-qa-bounces at elists.aau.org [mailto:au-harmon-aau-qa-bounces at elists.aau.org] On Behalf Of goolam mohamedbhai
Sent: 06 September 2007 09:38 PM
To: au-harmon-aau-qa at elists.aau.org
Subject: Re: [AU-Harmon-AAU-QA] Developing an African Higher Education Rating System”.

 

Dear Olusola and Colleagues

 

Sorry for not responding earlier. I received the report only a couple of days ago. And it is a long report.

 

To all those participating in this debate, let me say that it is extremely important to go through that report (or at least the part describing the Rating mechanism) to fully understand the Rating System being proposed. And here I fully sympathise with my friend Lamine Ndiaye that there is no French version being circulated. I think our Francophone colleagues, especially those who are not fluent in English, will experience some difficulty in appreciating the proposal. I do think that situation should be rectified.

 

To answer specifically to your questions, I am against all the existing systems of ranking and I think the report gives all the reasons why they are not appropriate - indeed they are damaging! - to African higher education.

 

But the proposed Rating System is different. I think it is much closer to the Quality Assurance System we are familiar with, except that a rating is applied here. As long as the System is applied gradually and with the objective of enabling the institutions to improve their situation, I am supportive of it. Perhaps some of the criteria may need to be re-worded or modified but the principle and procedure seem to be right.

 

I also think the criteria are flexible enough to be applicable to all types of institutions - public and private, DE and Virtual institutions. Indeed, it must be ensured that they are applicable to all institutions. One of the positive outcome of this Rating System might well be that it will weed out the purely commercial private institutions which now operate in all African countries. The good private institutions - and there are some of those  - will have no difficulty in satisfying the criteria, except that they will probably request a very low weightage for research. 

 

Goolam Mohamedbhai  



"Prof. Olusola Oyewole" <oyewole at aau.org> wrote:

Dear All, 

Following our discussion on the Harmonization of HE programs in Africa, we would now focus on the issue of “ Developing an African Higher Education Rating System”. 

 

The Report prepared for the African Union Commission was circulated some days ago. Rankings refer to the rating and ordering of higher education institutions or programmes of study based on various criteria. Ranking systems of HEIs and programmes are a growing phenomenon across the world. Whilst national rankings have existed since the 1980s, world rankings have only recently emerged. Ranking systems operate by comparing institutions or programmes against a set of indicators, and different ranking systems use different indicators in order to obtain a picture of quality. 

 

There is a belief that the ranking systems will remain because :they provide a possible mechanism for identifying leading universities and information to student consumers, government, HE leaders and policy-makers. They have the potential to protect students and other stakeholders such as employers, from low quality provision. 

These possible benefits not with standing, a number of criticisms are levelled against rankings. While rankings purport to measure ‘quality’ but this is a highly contested notion with no universally agreed measure of quality in higher education. There have been a number of methodological critiques levelled against ranking systems. There have also been reported inconsistencies between that information given by institutions to ranking groups. It has also been noted that global rankings tend to favour institutions in English-speaking countries, institutions with a large research component, and tend to marginalize vocational institutions. 

 

For African institutions, it has been noted that the existing global/rating systems do not take into consideration African specificities. 

Dear Discussion participant, 

(a)        What are your views about the current global ranking systems as it relates to  African             institutions – Are the methodologies  and criteria  relevant to African institutions? 

(b)        Should African Institutions continue to measure their worth by the global   ranking?.                         Do you have alternative ideas? 

(c)        Is it a good decision to develop an African  Higher Education Rating Mechanism? 

 

Olusola Oyewole 

 

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-------
Prof Goolam Mohamedbhai
President, International Association of Universities
Former Vice-Chancellor, University of Mauritius

Tel: (230) 4547351 (home); (230) 7782351 (mobile)
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Email: g_t_mobhai at yahoo.co.uk
Website: www.unesco.org/iau

  

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