Comparing and Integrating Assessment Models: WASC in East Africa and the British Audit Model in California

Track Number: 
1
Name(s): 
Paul Mallery, Professor of Psychology and ALO, Jennifer Helbley, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Leslie Martin, Professor of Psychology & Director of Assessment; La Sierra University; Francis Wambalaba, Director, Research and Program Development, and Prof. Angelina Kioko, Director, Center of Excellence in Teaching and Learning, United States International University, Kenya

The way the WASC accreditation model may be integrated with various other international models will be explored.

USIU has used the WASC process as the backbone on which to build other assurance requirements used in East African universities to limit duplication of effort and potential conflicts in approaches. The experience has shown that the WASC Standards and Process comprehensive enough to provide the information needed by other systems. What are fundamental features and challenges of the quality assurance models that USIU participates in? How has the WASC process been strategically applied to harmonize the activities? What lessons have been learned? The fundamental features of four quality assurance models used by universities in the region will be examined, including an analytical matrix of the features in the models, implications, and using WASC standards, argues for effective strategies for integrating the best features to enrich student learning.

La Sierra University has used the academic audit model (developed in Great Britain and further developed in Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia, Scandinavia, the Association of European Universities, as well as some institutions in the United States) as a model for portions of its recent Capacity visit and centrally for its upcoming Educational Effectiveness visit. Although WASC has recently removed the audit model from the possible formats for the Educational Effectiveness report, the audit model has been useful in linking aims with strategies and outcomes and demonstrating those links through the evaluation process. Three areas will be highlighted: Assuring student and institutional learning in all academic and non-academic departments, aligning student expectations with institutional expectations and departmental self-assessment data with data from outside the department, and evaluating the important issues for faculty satisfaction and retention on campus.

Date: 
Apr 16 2009 - 4:45pm