The University Council of Jamaica (UCJ) celebrated its 12^th Annual Quality Assurance in Tertiary Education Week under the theme, Enhancing and Sustaining a Quality Culture: Preparing for Institutional Accreditation from March 6-10, 2017.

The week of activities commenced with training for UCJ Assessors and Accreditation Officers, led by Dr Carol Lynn Anderson, Vice President, The Commission on Institutions of Higher Education, New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), Burlington, Massachusetts, on Tuesday, March 7, at the Jamaica Conference Centre, in the capital city of Kingston.

More than 50 Assessors and UCJ staff took part in the workshop, which examined features of an Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) system and the Role of the Assessor.

The UCJ hosted training for tertiary institutions in Kingston on Wednesday, March 8, and in Mandeville (central Jamaica) on Thursday, March 9. Over 180 participants including Presidents, Principals, Deans, Senior Administrators and Quality Assurance personnel, and a representative from the Ministry of Education, Youth & Sport in St Maarten took part in the workshops, which explored Quality Assessment and Institutional Accreditation.

Mrs Althea Heron, Executive Director of the UCJ, said: “The workshops were geared toward providing training for UCJ’s assessors and assisting the institutions in developing their Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) systems.

“The UCJ recognises the diversity and creativity of the Institutions that operate in Jamaica. The week was an opportunity to work with the Institutions towards ensuring they maintain a robust quality-assurance system that ensures excellence, transparency, integrity and adherence to minimum standards.”

Dr Anderson, the facilitator for the workshops, shared her 25 years’ experience in enhancing strategic and institutional effectiveness, by highlighting case studies and taking institutions through key areas such as: Developing a Culture of Assessment to Enhance Internal Quality Assurance; The Self-Study and the Standards for Institutional Accreditation; and Writing to the Standards.

The UCJ also published supplements in two national newspapers, and participated in television and radio interviews, as part of its public education drive to inform and educate students, parents, employers, the general public and other stakeholders about its role as the national External Quality Assurance Agency for tertiary education in Jamaica.