THE DIRECTORATE OF QUALITY ASSURANCE
Introduction
The Ruaha Catholic University (RUCU) Directorate of Quality Assurance (DQA) was established in 2013. In 2013, RUCU was still a college of the Saint Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT), namely Ruaha University College (RUCO). The DQA has been manned by four different persons since its establishment to this day, Ms. Winniefrida Ngowi (Quality Assurance Officer 2013-15), Mr. Ross Kinemo (Director of Quality Assurance 2015-2019), Dr. Peter Kopweh (Director of Quality Assurance 2019 - 2020) and currently Mr. Martin Noel (Coordinator of Quality Assurance 2020 – to this day).
RUCU quality assurance is founded on negotiation among stakeholders, weight of the course content, achievement of goals, standards of education, and competition. All the five elements are reflected in the vision, mission and institutional motto. The DQA’s responsibility is to monitor and advise on the state of compliance of our internal and external policies, guidelines, directives and principal legislation. RUCU policies translate into practice the philosophy found in the Universities Act 2005 and Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) Guidelines. Below are the seven quality assessing factors that the RUCU DQA uses:
1. Achievement of mission and objectives.
2. Conformity to universal practices; for instance, following the proper channel of decision-making organs including departments, senate and council.
3. Products (graduates) should be in conformity to universal standards and expectation of the general public.
4. Expectation of the students and parents on achieved outcomes.
Client satisfaction
Added value and transformation
Fitness for purpose
Meeting threshold standards
5. Meeting employers’ satisfaction.
Programme content, reviews and specification
There must be continuous programme improvements
Students admission
Academic staff qualifications
Academic staff adequacy
6. Institutional fulfilment of the societal expectations.
7. Perceived value for investment on resources, time and efforts.
Vision, Mission, and Motto of the DQA
Vision: The vision of the DQA is “To become a hub of academic excellence and moral finesse."
Mission: The mission of the DQA is “To provide opportunities for the acquisition, development preservation and dissemination of quality demand driven degree and non-degree programmes to students and other stakeholders so as to enable them to become responsible professionals and leaders with morals and ethical values for a healthy and peaceful lively society.”
In addition, the Ruaha Catholic University Charter seeks to “encourage academic staff and students to learn and seek knowledge and truth; to produce highly educated and adequately trained experts who are well prepared and well equipped with requisite skills for self employment and manning of key positions in public and private sectors. This calls for efficient and reliable quality assurance mechanisms which will gauge and improve the quality of its operations.”
Motto: The Motto of DQA is “Education is Life”.
Core Values and Principles of Quality Assurance at RUCU
To improve the teaching and learning environment
To increase student enrolment and improve the quality of graduates;
To build a God-fearing elite society;
To increase the volume and quality of research, publications and innovations;
To enhance outreach, publicity, linkages and partnerships;
To enhance university financial capacity and sustainability;
To improve management and institutional governance; and
To mainstream gender issues in all RUCU activities and reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS, other communicable and non-communicable diseases.
