This is a case study of how Tshwane University of Technology is implementing quality assurance of its academic programmes in accordance with the requirements of the Higher Education Quality Committee. The focus of the study is on the activities of the central quality unit, the Directorate of Quality Promotion (DQP) regarding the evaluation of its programme evaluations. This is akin to a question raised regarding parliamentary procedures, not long ago when the Auditor General appeared before the parliamentary committee on public accounts. The question was ‘Who is auditing the Auditor General?’ Before this question could be asked at TUT, a strategic decision was taken by the current director of the DQP regarding what the directorate needed to do in achieving leadership in this regard. An introductory description is made of the current curriculum development practices within the new educational dispensation. The statutory roles of the Department of Education, the South African Qualifications Authority&the Higher Education Quality Committee in this process are described. This is followed by an explanation of the new programme outlay within outcomes-based education. In offering a theoretical framework for the study various evaluation models are treated, and the CIPP evaluation model is adopted for this study. The research design for the study is allied to a literature-based model by Brinkerhoff, et. al. This is a six step framework for conducting meta-evaluation. The qualitative data analysis takes the form of evaluating the evaluation against thirty International Evaluation Standards of the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation. These standards are sub-divided into the following categories, namely, utility, feasibility, propriety and accuracy standards. The study concludes that conducting a meta-evaluation for programme reviews has the potential to expose strengths and weaknesses of quality assurance practice. / Dissertation (MEd (Assessment and Quality Assurance in Education and Training))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Curriculum Studies / MEd / unrestricted

Grounded in the Design Science Research Approach in Information Systems, the goal of this research project was to conceptualise, design, and develop, an innovative framework for Programme Alignment, Implementation, and Reporting (PAIR) in order to facilitate student success at a South African higher education institution (University ABC) . For this study, the researcher applied PAIR to two academic departments at University ABC. Construction of the framework was interpretively considered and informed by the Diffusion of Innovations Theory of Everett Rogers (1995). The Blackboard Learn® Goals Area (BbGA), a feature embedded in the official Learning Management System (LMS) of University ABC, was incorporated into PAIR as it afforded the two departments mentioned above the opportunity to provide proof of evidence that programme outcomes were constructively aligned with course content, course assessment, student digital activities, the tracking of students’ performance, and the monitoring of students’ progress. It was argued that PAIR could also provide a basis for professional programme outcomes in the departments mentioned above when aligned to their respective Professional Boards’ accreditation criteria requirements. It was found that, within a decentralised higher education institution (such as University ABC) where an annual quality review of programme and module outcomes alignment and reporting in departments is not compulsory, that PAIR could facilitate such a process as part of a faculty’s and a department’s teaching goals. It was also concluded that PAIR could afford South African higher education institutions in general the opportunity to contextualise outcomes coverage and achievement reporting to improve programme quality and to inform intervention strategies to advance effective student learning and student success. / Thesis (PhD (Information Systems))--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Informatics / PhD (Information Systems) / Unrestricted

Cette recherche avait pour objectif d’analyser les évaluations de programmes d’études en langues de spécialité de 1er cycle universitaire afin de dégager les enjeux et la pertinence de ces formations. Trois questions de recherche sont poursuivies : • Quels établissements d’enseignement supérieur canadiens offrent des programmes d’études professionnalisant intégrant des compétences langagières sur objectifs spécifiques et le savoir-faire professionnel? • Compte tenu de la nature et de la fonction des programmes et des cours de langues de spécialité au sein des établissements d’enseignement supérieur, - quels sont les enjeux principaux ? - quelles sont les recommandations les plus fréquentes dans les rapports des évaluateurs externes ? L’analyse révèle que les enjeux principaux sont l’apport des formations aux besoins d’emploi ; la correspondance aux besoins des bénéficiaires ; l’évaluation systématique et justifiée lors de la prise de décisions ; la révision, mise à jour et évaluation systématique des programmes ; la collaboration interdisciplinaire et interuniversitaire ; l’enseignement des compétences langagières de la discipline professionnelle sous-jacente ; l’enseignement de la perspective interculturelle ; l’objectif constitutif ou instrumental de l’acquisition des langues ; la professionnalisation de la discipline au lieu de la fonction « service » ; la promotion de programmes, de collaborations et d’échanges internationaux ; l’intégration des TIC ; et la certification en langue de spécialité. Les évaluateurs externes recommandent la modernisation et la réorganisation des cours, la mise sur pied des collaborations, l’amélioration des formules et de l’offre des échanges internationaux, l’élaboration des stratégies pour étudier et planifier le lancement des initiatives, la promotion des bénéfices des connaissances langagières auprès des autres disciplines et facultés, la création des stratégies de révision de programme, et la mise en place des dispositifs pour profiter de nouvelles ressources technologiques. Ainsi, dans un premier temps, les résultats permettent d’apporter à la didactique des langues un éclairage sur la valeur de la fonction formative des mécanismes d’évaluation de programme. Dans un deuxième temps, ils apportent aux praticiens un éclairage sur la qualité, la pertinence et les enjeux des formations en langue de spécialité et un éclairage sur l’importance et l’impact des pratiques évaluatives sur les décisions prises. / This study was designed to analyse undergraduate programme reviews of languages for specific purposes (LSP) in order to discover the stakes and the pertinence of this training offered at Canadian institutions of higher learning. The three research questions are: • Which Canadian institutions of higher learning offer curricula integrating competences in LSP and professional know-how? • Taking into account the nature and function of LSP programs and courses within higher education, what are the major stakes? • What are the most frequent recommendations found in the external reviewers’ program assessments, taking into account the nature and function of LSP programs and courses? The analysis revealed that the most important stakes in providing quality, pertinent training in LSP are contribution of course content to professional training; correspondence to the needs of the learners; systematic programme evaluation including proof for decision-making; systematic programme revision, updating and evaluation; interdisciplinary and interuniversity collaboration; teaching language competences related to the underlying professional discipline; teaching intercultural perspectives; constitutive or instrumental objective of language acquisition; professionalization of the discipline rather than the “service” function; promoting programmes, collaborations and international exchanges; integrating information and communication technologies; and providing learners with opportunities for formal language certification in LSP. The external evaluators recommended modernising and reorganising courses, setting up collaborations, improving international exchanges and methods for promoting them, elaborating strategies for studying and implementing initiatives, promoting the benefits of language study to other disciplines and faculties, creating strategies for programme revision, and formulating plans of action to take advantage of new technological resources. These findings therefore shed light on the value of the formative function of curriculum evaluation mechanisms for the field of language teaching and on the stakes involved for teaching practitioners in providing quality, pertinent LSP training. They also shed light on the importance and the impact of evaluation practices on decision-making.

Cette recherche avait pour objectif d’analyser les évaluations de programmes d’études en langues de spécialité de 1er cycle universitaire afin de dégager les enjeux et la pertinence de ces formations. Trois questions de recherche sont poursuivies : • Quels établissements d’enseignement supérieur canadiens offrent des programmes d’études professionnalisant intégrant des compétences langagières sur objectifs spécifiques et le savoir-faire professionnel? • Compte tenu de la nature et de la fonction des programmes et des cours de langues de spécialité au sein des établissements d’enseignement supérieur, - quels sont les enjeux principaux ? - quelles sont les recommandations les plus fréquentes dans les rapports des évaluateurs externes ? L’analyse révèle que les enjeux principaux sont l’apport des formations aux besoins d’emploi ; la correspondance aux besoins des bénéficiaires ; l’évaluation systématique et justifiée lors de la prise de décisions ; la révision, mise à jour et évaluation systématique des programmes ; la collaboration interdisciplinaire et interuniversitaire ; l’enseignement des compétences langagières de la discipline professionnelle sous-jacente ; l’enseignement de la perspective interculturelle ; l’objectif constitutif ou instrumental de l’acquisition des langues ; la professionnalisation de la discipline au lieu de la fonction « service » ; la promotion de programmes, de collaborations et d’échanges internationaux ; l’intégration des TIC ; et la certification en langue de spécialité. Les évaluateurs externes recommandent la modernisation et la réorganisation des cours, la mise sur pied des collaborations, l’amélioration des formules et de l’offre des échanges internationaux, l’élaboration des stratégies pour étudier et planifier le lancement des initiatives, la promotion des bénéfices des connaissances langagières auprès des autres disciplines et facultés, la création des stratégies de révision de programme, et la mise en place des dispositifs pour profiter de nouvelles ressources technologiques. Ainsi, dans un premier temps, les résultats permettent d’apporter à la didactique des langues un éclairage sur la valeur de la fonction formative des mécanismes d’évaluation de programme. Dans un deuxième temps, ils apportent aux praticiens un éclairage sur la qualité, la pertinence et les enjeux des formations en langue de spécialité et un éclairage sur l’importance et l’impact des pratiques évaluatives sur les décisions prises. / This study was designed to analyse undergraduate programme reviews of languages for specific purposes (LSP) in order to discover the stakes and the pertinence of this training offered at Canadian institutions of higher learning. The three research questions are: • Which Canadian institutions of higher learning offer curricula integrating competences in LSP and professional know-how? • Taking into account the nature and function of LSP programs and courses within higher education, what are the major stakes? • What are the most frequent recommendations found in the external reviewers’ program assessments, taking into account the nature and function of LSP programs and courses? The analysis revealed that the most important stakes in providing quality, pertinent training in LSP are contribution of course content to professional training; correspondence to the needs of the learners; systematic programme evaluation including proof for decision-making; systematic programme revision, updating and evaluation; interdisciplinary and interuniversity collaboration; teaching language competences related to the underlying professional discipline; teaching intercultural perspectives; constitutive or instrumental objective of language acquisition; professionalization of the discipline rather than the “service” function; promoting programmes, collaborations and international exchanges; integrating information and communication technologies; and providing learners with opportunities for formal language certification in LSP. The external evaluators recommended modernising and reorganising courses, setting up collaborations, improving international exchanges and methods for promoting them, elaborating strategies for studying and implementing initiatives, promoting the benefits of language study to other disciplines and faculties, creating strategies for programme revision, and formulating plans of action to take advantage of new technological resources. These findings therefore shed light on the value of the formative function of curriculum evaluation mechanisms for the field of language teaching and on the stakes involved for teaching practitioners in providing quality, pertinent LSP training. They also shed light on the importance and the impact of evaluation practices on decision-making.