Contrasting Faculty Quality Views and Practices over a Five‐year Interval

Abstract

This study explores possible changes in the views of six faculty quality committees at a South African university. The initial investigation was replicated after five years and relates to the extent to which these committees perceive: (i) quality improvement as an indicator of faculty effectiveness; and (ii) faculties as the owners of quality. It was found that besides a far greater awareness of quality promotion, the committees also realised that quality must be shown to exist and that the processes of quality improvement are important. However, five years since their inception, most quality committees still view quality as ‘something that exists out there’. The implication of the study is that higher education institutions should not only promote institution‐wide quality cultures internally, but should expect it from each faculty.

Keywords:

• Quality promotion
• quality structures
• quality improvement
• quality cultures

Notes

1 Faculties offer short learning programmes (non‐curricular being additional to their ‘normal’ curricula) to the market for financial gain purposes. In one of the faculties, only academics that have shown excellent teaching competence in the curricular programmes are ‘allowed’ to offer and financially gain from these short learning (non‐curricular) programmes. The faculty thus consider this measure as a kind of recognition of teaching and learning excellence.