Strengthening internal quality assurance as a lever for enhancing student learning experiences and academic success: lessons from Namibia
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Date
2019
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Abstract
Higher education plays an important role in the social, eco-nomic and political development of any given nation. In the Namibian context, quality assurance systems have been put in place at both national and institutional levels through the establishment of national quality assurance agencies and units responsible for quality in institutions. A critical literature analysis of quality assurance systems in higher education shows that although they claim to strike a balance between improvement and accountability, external quality assurance mechanisms tend to have an accountability and compliance focus and to promote managerialisation and bureaucratisation of academia. This article argues that internal quality assurance systems, built on a strong quality culture, tend to be more effective in enhancing the quality of student learning experience and academic success than externally driven quality assurance. Thus, to promote genuine quality, more energy must be invested in external quality assurance capacitating and strengthening internal quality assurance systems.
Description
Drawing on a critical literature review, this article argues that to ensure sustainable quality assurance systems in Namibia, there is a need to strengthen internal quality assurance systems within higher education institutions that have a direct impact on enhancing student learning experiences and academic success rather than focusing on external quality assurance systems that promote managerialisation and bureaucratisation of academia at the expense of academic freedom and institutional autonomy.
Keywords
External versus, Internal quality assurance, Higher education in Namibia, Quality culture, Quality enhancement, Student learning experience, Student academic success