Announcement

The Southern African Quality Assurance Network (SAQAN) is pleased to announce that the 4th Southern African Regional Conference on Quality Assurance in Higher Education will be held in Maseru, Lesotho from 8th to 10th October 2018. It will be hosted by the Council on Higher Education in partnership with the National University of Lesotho and Botho University.

Professionals who are involved or have an interest in quality assurance and promotion in higher education are invited to the conference. They include but are not limited to the following:

  • Ministries responsible for higher education and training
  • Higher education institutions
  • Quality assurance bodies
  • National qualifications authorities
  • Professional bodies/councils
  • Researchers in the field of quality assurance and promotion
  • Practitioners of quality assurance and promotion
  • Policy Analysts with interest in higher education
  • International organisations
  • Other key stakeholders whose mandates have a bearing on HE

Theme

“Quality Assurance in Higher Education: Theories, Perspectives and Practices Geared towards Attainment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the Southern African Region and beyond”

Sub-Themes

The papers for the conference should address one of the following sub-themes:

    1. What performance indicators reveal about quality assurance in higher education: Does it yield expected outcomes?
    2. Maintaining quality in the face of massification in higher education
    3. Success stories in quality assurance in higher education in the age of declining financial resources
    4. Towards harmonisation of qualifications in the SADC region – what activities, instruments, mechanisms and processes advance harmonisation?
    5. Institutional auditing/accreditation versus programme accreditation as a QA approach: Is this duplication/ complementarity
    6. Quality assurance of Higher Education as a means towards attainment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
    7. Impact of establishing credit system as a means to enhance mobility of students across different institutions and or borders
    8. Policy Analysts with interest in higher education
    9. Role of student engagement in quality assurance

The conference will run for three days including an excursion on the afternoon of the last day.

It will comprise:

  • Official opening ceremony
  • Plenary sessions
  • Parallel sessions in line with sub-themes
  • Sessions for posters and special interest groups
  • Conference dinner
  • SAQAN General Assembly
  • SAQAN Executive Committee meeting
  • An excursion