PAU ADMISSIONS

From 17 to 19 June 2019, was held in Yaounde, Cameroon, the workshop on Quality Assurance and Academic Rules and Regulations. Organized by the AUC in collaboration with the GIZ, this workshop is the continuation of the first one which took place in May 2018 in Addis Ababa, and resulted in the agreement that PAU would adhere to African Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ASG-QA), which is a comprehensive framework endorsed by the African Union in 2018. 

Held at the Rectorate of the Pan African University, this workshop was attended by PAU Rectorate staff, PAU Institutes’ Directors and Deputy Directors, three consultants including Mrs. Erica Gillard who is  a specialist in policy and planning, systems development, quality assurance and gender issues, Mr. Don Westerheijden who is a senior research associate at the Center for Higher Education Policy Studies (CHEPS) of the University of Twente and Prof. Berhanu.

Several topics were discussed including:

- The current state of PAU, notably experience sharing among institutes and

   the Rectorate;

-  The ideal PAU Quality assurance framework, considering the Strategic Plan;

- How to overcome challenges and move forward;

- Implementation, follow-up and evaluation issues were also raised during discussions.

Presentations were punctuated by discussions, and group sessions were organized for the various participants to work on topics such as the learning process and student assessment and achieving learning outcomes. Group work was followed by restitution sessions by the various groups.   

Several resolutions were taken including amongst others:

•  Implementing very soon the framework document with clear designated responsibility and timeline;
• Developing a clear roadmap and action points on how to implement the PAU Quality Assurance framework in order to cultivate Excellence!

The workshop also focused on the PAU Student Handbook (Draft). The audience looked at the document, which contains Rules, Regulations, Policies, and Procedures for Student Life at PAU and provided their inputs. The following issues were raised for discussion: 

• What does good practice look like?
• What should be measured and how?
• How will we measure whether we have achieved our goals?
• The responsabilities.

As a way forward at the end of this workshop, it was recommended to:

• Identify issues that should go into the PAU Student Handbook;
• Follow the Student Life Cycle Concept;
• Write in a language that is appropriate for PAU and Post Graduate Education;
• Make reference to other policy and procedure documents;
• Make reference to Host University Rules, Regulations;
• Make reference to programmes and specific requirements.