Introduction

The establishment of "Quality Assurance and Accreditation" is one of the many initiatives taken by The Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) to improve the quality and standard of higher education in Afghanistan. The (QAAD) is established in the Private and Public Sector Universities and Higher Education Institutions of Afghanistan and they are working under the guidance of Ministry of Higher Education. Al-Taqwa University in pursuit of its vision and per the(MoHE) guidelines, established its Quality Assurance and Accreditation in 2016 which was named as “University level Committee of Quality Assurance and Accreditation”. (QAAD) of Al–Taqwa University is playing an essential role in implementing the Internal Quality Assurance and Accreditation (IQAA) mechanisms of Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) at Al-Taqwa University. These (IQAA) mechanisms include self-assessment process of undergraduate programs. The (QAAD) of Al–Taqwa University also conducts Institutional Performance Evaluation (Self-IPE) to evaluate the performance effectiveness of Al–Taqwa University based on 11 Quality Standards defined in IPE Manual of (MoHE). The standards outline major areas that higher education institutions need to focus on to secure recognition for its good governance and imparting quality education to students. The (QAAD) of Al–Taqwa University also regularly conducts different surveys to obtain stakeholder feedback in order to strengthen the internal quality assurance mechanism and also to improve the quality standards of teaching, research, infrastructure facilities, and Al–Taqwa University processes.

Vision

Department of Quality Assurance and Accreditation aims to make Al-Taqwa University a leading quality cognizant university at national and international level.

Mission

To endeavor for assurance and enrichment of quality in:

• Academic Programs
• Researches
• Academics and Administrative Processes
• Faculty and Staff

Objectives

• To ensure academic affiliations with Regulatory Bodies and Institutions to strengthen the quality of education.
• To improve and maintain Academic Standards.
• To spread awareness about Quality of Higher Education among Faculty, Students and QAAD Staff.
• To ensure Participation of University in National/Regional and International Rankings.
• To ensure effective feedback system for students and faculty.
• To promote collaboration with National and International Institutions.

Functions

The Function & Key Responsibilities are:

1. Promoting public confidence that the quality and standards of the award of degrees are enhanced and safeguarded.
2. Reviewing quality standards and the quality of teaching and learning in each subject area.
3. Reviewing academic affiliations with other institutions in terms of effective management of standards and quality of programs.
4. Defining clear and explicit standards as points of reference to the reviews to be carried out. It should also help the employees to know as to what they could expect from candidates.
5. Developing qualifications framework by setting out the attributes and abilities that can be expected from the holder of a qualification, i.e. Bachelors, Bachelor with Honors.
6. Developing program specifications. These are standard set of information clarifying what knowledge, understanding, skills and other attributes a student will have developed on successfully completing a specific program.
7. Developing quality assurance processes and methods of evaluation to affirm that the quality of provision and the standard of awards are being maintained and to foster curriculum, subject and staff development, together with research and other scholarly activities.
8. Ensuring that the university’s quality assurance procedures are designed to fit in with the arrangements in place nationally for maintaining and improving the quality of Higher Education.
9. Developing procedures for the following:

• Approval of new programs
• Annual monitoring and evaluation including program monitoring, faculty monitoring, and student’s perception.
• Departmental review
• Student feedback
• Employer feedback
• Quality assurance of Bachelor degree programs.
• Subject review
• Institutional assessment
• Program specifications
• Qualification framework