The Update(Focusing on Excellence)
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Date
2017
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Tangaza University College
Abstract
T
February 2017
Focusing on Excellence
he terms ‘quality’, ‘integrity’ and ‘academic
excellence”
feature
prominently
in
Tanga-
za’s statements of its Vision, Mission and Core Values.
These
attributes
do
not develop by
themselves,
but
need our constant efforts to make them a reality.
As you are aware, after the Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred
Matiang’i recently managed to produce credible KCSE
results in record time, he turned his attention to tertiary
institutions, ordering that a “quality audit” of all universities
and constituent colleges in Kenya be completed
within one month. The
Commission for University
Education (CUE) was given the daunting task.
On 19-20 January 2017 it was our turn to be inspected!
Overall, the five-member inspection team from
the CUE was pleased with what they found: adherence
to the requirements on class hours, academic work in
courses, supervision of postgraduate students, and so on.
They were particularly impressed by the diversity of our
students and academic staff. But at the same time they reminded
us
to be
very
vigilant
in
following
the
required
admission
standards, since it is one of the key areas they
will look at in considering our application for a university
charter. They also advised us to accelerate the approval
of programmes in the pipeline for CUE accreditation; to
clarify and standardize policies on credit transfers, supplementary
exams,
and other matters; to
establish a director
and
directorate
of postgraduate studies; and to improve the
ratio
of full-time to part-time academic staff. We assured
them that, In fact, we are already hard at work on improving
in each of these areas, and will redouble our efforts.
Throughout all of this, the process of applying for
a university charter continues. We submitted our detailed
response to the Commission’s Technical Inspection Report
back in November, and we are awaiting a confirmation visit. The CUE review of our draft charter and statutes
should commence soon; we were fortunate to have someone
from the CUE legal office on the inspection team!
But meeting the highest academic standards would
mean little without a framework of moral integrity. That is
one of the reasons why, at Tangaza, we are constantly trying
to improve our system of checks and balances. It should be
clear to everyone that Tangaza is a “corruption-free zone”,
whether we have signs to that effect or not. More than that,
we need to ensure and environment where everyone is treated
with dignity,
where everyone feels safe, respected and
valued.
We
are
diligently
working
on
these
issues
as
well.
I sometimes hear it said that Tangaza should not
become overly preoccupied with following government
rules and regulations but should focus instead on service
to the poor and marginalized. After all, to paraphrase what
Jesus said in the Gospels, the rules were made for human
beings, not human beings for the rules! I would be the
first to agree that we need to keep our priorities straight!
Still, I don’t believe we are faced with an “either-or”
choice.
The
directives
of the Commission and other guidelines are intended to improve the quality
of what we offer to our students, not to create unnecessary
hurdles. And
would we really be
helping needy
students,
for example, if
we were to be shut down because
we
had admitted
some
of
them
irregularly?
So I see it as a dialogical process. By working
with
rather
than around
the Commission
and
other
regulatory bodies,
while at the same time holding
fast
to our Gospel-based values, we can make sure
that Tangaza’s ‘quality’, ‘integrity’ and ‘academic
excellence’
do not remain mere words
on paper.
Description
Keywords
Excellence, Leaders of integrity, A forum for the youth, Printing in progress, Web Ranking