NCAAA Quality Standard
Management of quality assurance and improvement is an essential requirement in the NCAAA system. It underpins specific sub-standards that are:
- Institutional Commitment to Quality Improvement: An institution must be committed to maintain and improve quality through effective leadership and active involvement of teachers and other staff in the quality assurance process.
- Scope of Quality Assurance Processes: Quality assurance activities that are necessary to ensure good quality are applied to all functions carried out in the institution, that involve teaching and other staff, in particular performance evaluations and planning for improvement.
- Administration of Quality Assurance Processes: The institution must make adequate arrangements for the leadership and administrative support of quality assurance processes throughout the organization.
- Use of Performance Indicators and Benchmarks: Specific indicators and appropriate comparative benchmarks must be identified for performance monitoring and achievement evaluation of the goals, objectives and the quality of major institutional functions.
- Independent Verification of Evaluations: Evaluations of performance must be based on evidence (including but not restricted to predetermined performance indicators and benchmarks). Conclusions based on this evidence must be independently verified.
Evidence and Performance Indicators
Evidence about the quality assurance processes can be obtained by looking at the extent of different department’s involvement in the quality assurance processes across KSAU-HS, evaluation reports performed, and the adequacy of responses made to these evaluations. The needed quality evidences can be obtained from surveys, discussions with staff or students, independent review, or quality reports on performance by various departments within the institution. Assessment of the appropriateness of this evidence provided to the Deanship of Quality based on the approved indicators and benchmarks need to be confirmed prior to disclosing it to external organization. This assessment can be based on various sources such as client surveys, rates of participation in these surveys, and reports on the effectiveness of the department quality activities, and some others. In return, the Deanship should make sure that the KPIs identified by NCAAA are used as a minimum requirement; however, additional indicators linked to particular institution missions may also be used.