Sabeeh Kaleem

DSU hosts National Seminar on Quality Benchmarking for Teaching & Learning in Higher Education

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The QEC Department of the University hosted a national seminar on Quality Benchmarking for Teaching & Learning in Higher Education on 8th February 2023. The objective of the seminar was to explore various strategies for setting and measuring the quality of teaching and learning in higher education institutions. QECs from all over Pakistan participated in this seminar on-campus as well as online. One of the speakers Mr. Imranullah Khan Marwat (Director Quality Assurance, Higher Education Department, KP HEC) joined the seminar online from Peshawar. The keynote talk was delivered by Dr. Muhammad Abdul Wahid Usmani (Director QEC, Jinnah Sindh Medical University).

The seminar commenced with Mr. Marwat’s session focused on best practices of academic administration in teaching and learning. Mr. Marwat discussed the key foundational quality concepts and terminologies that led to an in-depth dialogue on benchmarking for continuous improvement, academic management in higher education institutions in relation to teaching and learning, various modes of assessment, and the challenges faced by higher education institutions with reference to quality assurance.

The second session by Dr. Usmani focused on best practices in quality assurance of teaching and learning at DAIs. Dr. Usmani discussed the core domains of best practices including curriculum, students, faculty, assessment, management, and learning environment and resources. He apprised the participants of various benchmarking tools that can be used by higher education institutions to gauge quality. These included matrix for mapping Program Learning Outcomes, developing SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) Learning Outcomes, and Table of Specification. He also discussed the various questions/prompts that higher education institutions should ask themselves in order to assess their quality of teaching and learning.

The seminar was kept interactive and participants were encouraged to ask questions and share feedback regarding best practices of quality assurance being observed at their respective institutions. The seminar ended with a vote of thanks to the participants and guest speakers by the honorable Vice Chancellor Engr. Prof. Dr. Muhammad Afzal Haque. The seminar offered a good networking opportunity to participants over refreshments.

For more pictures, please visit: (Facebook album link).

Sabeeh Kaleem

QEC Workshop – Writing Effective Self-Assessment Report

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QEC arranged a day-long workshop on 11th October 2022 for training DSU faculty members as Program Team members for preparing effective Self-Assessment Reports as per the guidelines of the HEC. Program Team (PT) members of selected undergraduate and graduate programs participated in this training by Dr. Muhammad Abdul Wahid Usmani, a seasoned consultant for Quality Assurance, Academic Accreditation & International Ranking of Higher Education Institutions, also presently serving as Director QEC and Sustainability at Jinnah Sindh Medical University.

The workshop commenced with a revision on key foundational quality concepts and terminologies that led to elaboration of the role of quality assurance, QA system in Pakistani universities, the HEC prescribed QA mechanism, and the layout of generic Self-Assessment Report. This also included an in-depth discussion on the SAR’s objectives and details about its various components.

While explaining Standards 1 to 8, Dr. Usmani briefed participants on how to appropriately and accurately deal with each Standard by explaining its spirit along with its genesis and evolution since early 2000. The workshop was kept interactive and participants were encouraged to seek clarifications on a wider scope to understand the core process of preparing SARs. The trainer also reviewed and offered one-on-one advice for improvement in the program SARs already available during the workshop from different participants. The workshop ended certificates for the participants by the trainer and presentation of DSU Shield as a token of appreciation to the trainer on behalf of the Vice Chancellor and also the vote of thanks by Dr. Johar Khurshid Farooqi, Director QEC.

https://www.facebook.com/dha.suffa/photos/pcb.5593253620787668/5593251297454567/

Danyal Mohiuddin

DHA Suffa University Presents a Paper at International Conference on Future Trends of Quality Assurance in Higher Education 2022 at NED University, Karachi

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On May 16 and 17, 2022, DHA Suffa University (DSU) participated in the International Conference on Future Trends of Quality Assurance in Higher Education 2022, organized by NED University of Engineering and Technology in collaboration with Ziauddin University and Sindh Higher Education Commission.

Mr. Zahid Hussain (Director QEC, DSU) presented a paper titled “A Conceptual Framework for Adoption of Quality 4.0 in Higher Education Institutions of Pakistan”, co-authored with Ms. Ayesha Mahmood (Assistant Director QEC, DSU) and Ms. Tatheer Yawar (Lecturer Department of Management Sciences, DSU). The paper addressed the challenges associated with implementing Quality 4.0 in higher education institutions of Pakistan by proposing an adoption framework, based on data analytics, automation, partnership, compliance and leadership, for universities to smoothly transition from traditional processes to a Quality 4.0 approach. The audience lauded DSU for its valuable contribution to research on quality assurance.

The conference was attended by keynote speakers and delegates from prestigious universities of Pakistan, Turkey, Bahrain, Romania and Gibraltar. The conference witnessed the presence of Mr. Ismail Rahoo (Minister for Universities and Boards, Government of Sindh) as the chief guest. Engr. Prof. Dr. Muhammad Afzal Haque (Vice Chancellor, DSU) also graced the occasion on the first day.

Danyal Mohiuddin

QEC Session on Preparation of SARs for MS / PhD Programs

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On 15th February 2022, Mr. Zahid Hussain (Director QEC, DHA Suffa University) conducted an interactive training session on the preparation of SARs for the MS / PhD program teams of Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Management Sciences departments in order to equip them with the necessary knowledge to participate in their respective programs’ upcoming self-assessment reviews. The session focused primarily on the importance of program self-assessment, not only as a foundation for a meaningful review of the strengths and weaknesses of the program, but also as a means to achieving continuous quality improvement as per guidelines of the HEC.

Mr. Zahid Hussain discussed the objectives, benefits and desired outcomes of self-assessment and explained the self-assessment process in detail. He highlighted the need for academic programs to take concrete actions to remedy areas for improvement identified through the self-assessment process. The program teams were apprised of the criteria and standards for self-assessment as per HEC’s self-assessment manual. Mr. Zahid Hussain also discussed feedback and survey forms and emphasized the need for departments to obtain and maintain a proper record of various surveys, particularly the employer surveys.

Danyal Mohiuddin

QA Awareness Seminars for the Students of Electrical Engineering Department

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As per QEC’s practice, a quality assurance awareness seminar was conducted for the first semester students of Electrical Engineering Department by Mr. Asif Gulraiz (QEC Coordinator, EE). Mr. Asif Gulraiz discussed the quality assurance mechanism and the role of students, program mission and objectives, self-assessment of programs, HEC’s self-assessment criteria, the self-assessment model, continuous quality improvement and PDCA. Mr. Asif Gulraiz also emphasized the importance of feedback and survey forms and apprised students of how these forms help maintain quality at program and institutional level. The seminar was kept interactive to encourage participation of students.

Danyal Mohiuddin

QA Awareness Seminars for the Students of Computer Science Department

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On 25th November 2021, a series of quality assurance awareness seminars was conducted for the first semester students of Computer Science Department by Mr. Asif Rafiq (QEC Coordinator, CS). The seminars focused on the IQA mechanism, self-assessment of programs, HEC’s self-assessment criteria and the self-assessment model to help students understand a holistic approach to how quality is maintained at institutional and departmental level. The importance of feedback and survey forms was also emphasized and how they help with assessment was discussed. In the end, the outcomes of assessment were explained to the students. The seminars were kept interactive to encourage participation of students.