Turfloop Graduate School of Leadership (TGSL) Annual Public Lecture 2014, 17th September 2014, University of Limpopo, South Africa Professor Venansius Baryamureeba, VC UTAMU, barya@utamu.ac.ug

1. HIGHER EDUCATION GOVERNANCE AND QUALITY ASSURANCE
SYSTEMS: EXPERIENCES FROM UGANDA
Turfloop Graduate School of Leadership (TGSL) Annual Public Lecture
2014, 17th September 2014, University of Limpopo, South Africa
Professor Venansius Baryamureeba, VC UTAMU, barya@utamu.ac.ug

2. Overview
• Higher Education (HE)
• HE Governance
• Corporate Governance in HE
• Quality Assurance (QA)
• QA Systems/Frameworks
• Experiences from Uganda
• Way Forward

3. Higher Education
• Education beyond high school
• Education that occurs after secondary education
• Post-secondary education
• Tertiary education
• Third level education
• Often delivered at universities, institutes,
colleges, schools, academies, seminaries

4. Governance
• Focuses on the rules and mechanisms by which
various stakeholders influence decisions, how
they are held accountable, and to whom
• Emphasises on the process of setting policies and
long- term goals as well as the strategies for
reaching these goals
• Encompasses ‘the framework in which an
institution pursues its goals, objectives and
policies in a coherent and coordinated manner’
to answer the questions: ‘Who is in charge, and
what are the sources of legitimacy for executive
decision-making by different actors?

5. HE governance
• HE Governance is the means by which institutions
for higher education are formally organized and
managed/operated
• HE Governing structures are highly differentiated
throughout the world
• Governance of HEIs traditionally has been a
responsibility shared by faculty, administrators,
governing/supervisory boards
• Good Governance calls for specification of areas of
primary responsibility for supervisory boards,
governing boards, administrators, and faculty
• HE Governance  Policies, Structures, Funding, and
Faculty

6. • HE Governance is “the process for distributing
authority, power and influence for academic
decisions among campus constituencies
– The supervisory/governing board
– Administrators
– Faculty
– Students
– Staff
– The academic or education council/senate, and unions
– Committees and sub-committees that include these
representatives may also play a role.

7. HE Governance Model, de Boer, Enders and
Schimank (2007)
• State regulation by directives through the government. It measures the
detail and the rigidity of government direction
• Stakeholder (industry, unions, govt) guidance through goal setting and
advice
• Academic self-governance through collegial decision-making and the
self- steering of academic communities based on peer review
• Managerial self-governance involving the degree and development of
inner HEI managing hierarchies and the internal goal setting, regulation
and decision-making power of key actors, such as Rectors, Presidents,
VCs, Principals and Deans
• Competition dealing with the construction of quasi-markets and the
competition for scarce resources (money, staff and through quality
measures such as rankings, performance evaluations, customer
satisfaction etc.) and their impact on university governance

8. Structures of HE Governance
• Supervisory Board/Board of Trustees –Overseer
body
• Governing Board/Council – Institutional decision
making body
• In some institutions the roles of the Board of
Trustees and Council are merged into one organ
• Academic Board/Senate – Supreme academic
organ
Better governance = more trust = less regulation

9. Management
• The process of dealing with or controlling things
or people
• The process of ensuring that an organization is
able to operate in both the immediate and near
future
• Comprises planning, organising, staffing, leading
or directing and controlling an organization to
accomplish a goal / objectives
• Managers are charged with making decisions
that will impact an organization on every level

10. HE Management
• Refers to the implementation of a set of
objectives pursued by a HEI on the basis of
established rules/policies.
– It answers the question ‘how are the rules/policies
applied’ and is concerned with the efficiency,
effectiveness and quality of services provided for
internal and external stakeholders
• Management is led by the CEO (VC, President,
Rector etc)

11. HE Public Funding Models are based on:
• Use of funding formulas
• Allocation of block grants
• Performance indicators based on students'
results are used in funding formulas in the
majority of countries;
• Public funding is awarded in accordance with a
performance contract
• Public funds for research are allocated according
to various mechanisms

12. HE Private Funding Models are based on:
• Fees (e.g. Tuition fees, Functional fees)
• Fees from service provision
• Donations and legacies from private entities
• Partnerships resulting in research contracts
between HEIs and private contractors
• Loans, revenues from property, sponsorship of
posts, investments and the creation of
companies are also authorised and common in
many countries

13. Tenets underpinning Codes of
Governing/Supervisory Board Members
• Leadership
• Selflessness
• Integrity
• Objectivity
• Accountability
• Openness and transparency
• Honesty
• Fairness
• Independence
• Efficiency and effectiveness
• Value for money
• Quality

14. Governing/Supervisory Board
• Need for clear responsibilities in:
– Formulating an institutional mission or/and strategic
plans and policies
– Supporting the executive/management in its work
• Need to draw lines between day-to-day
management, strategy and policy formulation
• Need to uphold board’s independence
• Need to avoid mingling in operational matters

15. Governing/Supervisory Board
• Committees
– Delegate authority to committees
– Delegate duties only if there is an advantage
– Clearly explain what can be delegated and to whom
• Chairperson
– Define the role clearly

16. Governing/Supervisory Board
• Members
– Decide on the number of internal/external
stakeholders involved
– Establish clear rules for remuneration
– Decide on the role of members: are they stakeholders
or representatives of the public?
– Decide on whether specialists (finance, etc.) are
needed
– Make sufficient information available to the members
and if appropriate use key performance indicators
– Avoid conflicts of interest

17. Governing/Supervisory Board
• Transparency
– Decide what should be available to the public
– Assure clear internal transparency for sufficient
deliberation, trust and support for the institution‘s
mission
– Standardize available information and improve its
readability

18. Governing/Supervisory Board
• Supervision
– Risk management system
– Sound financial accountability
– Self-evaluation
– Internal quality assurance system
– Supervision of the institution

19. Governing/Supervisory Board
• Head of Institution/CEO
– A clearly defined role
– Clearly defined tasks as head of the institution
– A clear election/selection process of appointment
– Accountability to the governing/supervisory board
• Academic Board
– A clearly defined role
– Clear responsibilities

20. Governing/Supervisory Board
• External Stakeholders
– Clearly articulated relationships with the community
and industry
– Definition and evaluation of policies towards external
stakeholders (e.g. donors, alumni)

21. Governing/Supervisory Board
• Institution
– To ensure deliberation so that all constituencies have
been consulted in decision- making processes
– To identify actors in HEI governance and, if necessary,
propose policies (e.g. affirmative action)
– To establish grievance and whistle-blowing procedures
– to define values (such as academic freedom and
consideration of a code of conduct)
– To determine clear delegation of authority and limits of
discretion for positions and their accountability structure
– To promote consistency and transparency in internal
actions and decision-making by comprehensive internal
policies and procedures, e.g. committee review,
moderation processes for assessment

22. Corporate Governance
• The system of rules, practices and processes by
which a company/corporation is directed and
controlled
• Provides the framework for attaining a company's
objectives
• Encompasses practically every sphere of
management, from action plans and internal
controls to performance measurement and
corporate disclosure
• Essentially involves balancing the interests of the
many stakeholders in a company - these include its
shareholders, management, customers, suppliers,
financiers, government and the community

23. • As Hoare (1995:41) noted, universities must
recognize they have important differences from
other public and private sector enterprises-they
need to maintain autonomy and protect and
enhance academic freedom of staff
• Universities, represent several professions which
make it even harder to get cohesion in a set of
goals.

24. • The commonly agreed elements of good
governance in any organization apply to
universities:
– Accountability
– Transparency
– Efficiency
– Equity
– Participation, and
– Effectiveness

25. • Supervisory/Governing Boards: Supreme organ
(final authority);
• President/Vice-chancellor/Rector: holds
delegated authority with his team of
administrators
• Academic Board –supreme academic organ
• Faculty: Creators of new knowledge. In practice,
faculty is supreme in academic matters such as
curriculum, appointment of academic staff,
admission requirements, etc.

26. In a University cont’d
• Students: Key partners in the university, variously
described as consumers or customers in the
academic enterprise;
• Unions: Sometimes referred to as network
leaders; and
• Non-academic staff, particularly senior
administrative and professional staff.

27. Quality Assurance (QA)
• Maintenance of a desired level of quality in a service or
product, especially by means of attention to every stage of
the process of delivery or production
• A process-centered approach to ensuring that a company
or organization is providing the best possible products or
services
• Administrative and procedural activities implemented in a
quality system so that requirements and goals for a
product, service or activity is fulfilled
• The systematic measurement, comparison with a
standard, monitoring of processes and an associated
feedback loop that confers error prevention
• Two principles in QA: Fit for purpose’’ and ‘’Right first
time’’

28. Enforcing QA
• Institutional assessment (evaluation & outputs)
• Institutional audits
• Value for money audits
• System audits (qualitative description of processes)
• System accreditation (comprehensiveness of
programmes/systems)
• External Audits e.g. by Regulatory Bodies
• External stakeholder involvement (professional
bodies, potential employers, government
departments, alumni, parents, local communities)
• Internal stakeholder involvement (faculty, students)

29. QA Indicators
• Quality indicators are statistical measures that
give an indication of output quality and can also
give an indication of process quality
• Quality indicators are formally recognised figures
or ratios used as yardsticks to judge and assess
quality performance

30. QA Frameworks/Policies
• There are QA policies/frameworks at:
– HEI level e.g. University QA policies/frameworks
– National/Country Level e.g. NCHE of Uganda
– Regional Level e.g. Inter-University Council of EA
– Continental level –AU Commission
– Global level e.g. UNESCO/OECD Guidelines on “Quality
Provision In Cross-Border Higher Education”: UNESCO’s
Capacity Building Activities In Qualifications Recognition,
Quality Assurance And Accreditation-- Towards A
Coherent Framework
• QA Frameworks/policies guide HE at these levels
• QA frameworks/policies provide QA indicators that
are used to measure quality

31. Experiences from Uganda
• Externally HEI work with the National Council for
Higher Education (NCHE) on a variety of
functions
• NCHE mandate is to regulate higher education
and guide the establishment of institutions of
higher learning as well as ensure that quality and
relevant education is delivered
• NCHE has structures through which it operates
• NCHE has several statutory instruments:
www.unche.or.ug

32. Experiences from Uganda Cont’d
• National Council for Higher Education (NCHE)
– Composition – more than 50% of the members are
from tertiary institutions and Universities it regulates
– Since inception NCHE is chaired by one of the Vice
Chancellors from one of the institutions it regulates
– Since inception the Quality Assurance and
Accreditation Committee is chaired by a Vice
Chancellor from one of the institutions it regulates
– The above composition compromises independence
of NCHE and presents a serious conflict of interest

33. Experiences from Uganda Cont’d
• In all Universities, Governing Board is University
Council
– Public University Councils
• Composition – more than 50% are internal members (staff and
students)
• Making independent decisions is not easy as the majority of the
members are internal to the institution
– Private University Councils are subject to oversight from a
supervisory board/board of trustees
– Private University Council composition varies from
institution to institution
– Councils of both public and private Universities perform
similar functions
• Responsible for directing the academic, administrative and
financial affairs of the University

34. Experiences from Uganda Cont’d
• Supervisory Board
– Public Universities have the University Council that
serves as both the supervisory and governing board
– For private Universities, the Supervisory Board is the
Board of Trustees (BoT)
– The BoT oversees the University Council
– The BoT is not involved in policy and strategy
formulation
– BoT is not involved in directing the academic,
administrative and financial affairs of the University
– The BoT main function is to provide advisory services
and oversight to the University council

35. Experiences from Uganda Cont’d
• The Academic Board/ Senate is the Supreme
Academic organ and is chaired by the VC or
equivalent
• The chairperson and Vice Chairperson of Council
are external to the institution (they are neither
staff nor students of the institution)
• All the members of the Board of Trustees (BoT)
are neither staff nor students of the institution
• Bi-annual and annual reports of the University
are the basis the BoT uses to provide guidance
and oversight to the University council

36. Way Forward for Uganda
• Need for Management, Senate, Council and Board of
Trustees Manuals
– Conflict and poor relations may arise from
• Lack of clarity on the mandate of the different organs
• Lack of clarity on how the different organs relate to each other
• Lack of clarity on the implementation strategy of the different
mandates
• Manuals aside, there is need to have experienced and
strong CEO/VC, Chairperson of Council and Chairperson of
BoT to ensure the independence of the different organs
and ensure that mandates of the different organs are not
commingled
• Need to define the role of the faculty and students in
governance of the HEI
– For example should students be represented on the governing
councils?

37. Way Forward for Uganda
• The Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions, the law
governing HEI in Uganda needs an overhaul
• Need to review the composition of the National
Regulatory Body (NCHE), BoT, Council and Senate
– Majority of NCHE members should be independent and
external to the institutions it regulates
– Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and Committee Chairpersons of
NCHE should be independent and external to the institutions it
regulates
– BoT should comprise 100% of independent and external
members to the institution
– Majority of University Council members should be
independent and external to the institution
– Senate should comprise of at least 1/3 of independent and
external members to the institution knowledgeable in HE
matters

38. Way forward: Regional
• Some of the recommendations on way forward
for Uganda are applicable regionally
• Need for national and regional qualifications
frameworks; Not yet in place in EAC
• Need for harmonized national and regional QA
frameworks
• Need for legislation to integrate corporate
governance principles in HE governance

39. Way Forward: Globally
• Some of the recommendations on way forward for
Uganda are applicable globally
• Need to have global Governance standards in HE like
it is in other sectors
• Corporate Governance in HE is a necessity that
should be embraced
• Quality Assurance (QA) policies/frameworks at
global level are needed to guide frameworks at
continental, regional, national and institutional level
• Effective QA policies/frameworks will ensure a
competitive global workforce

40. Till we meet
again!
I THANK YOU