The Initiatives for Enforcing the Quality Assurance Standards in Fostering Universities’ Compliance in Tanzania

Abstract

The world university system currently emphasizes strict compliance with established quality assurance standards for enhancing graduates' quality and academic capabilities. In that vein, compliance with university quality assurance standards across the globe requires critical consideration of the adequate and correct application of initiatives for enforcing such standards. Similar to other countries, Tanzania has some initiatives for enforcing its universities’ quality assurance standards. Despite the application of such initiatives, the country is witnessing low to extreme non-compliance cases each year. This study examined the application of initiatives for enforcing quality assurance standards in fostering universities' compliance in Tanzania. It was informed by the qualitative approach and adopting a case study design. Interviews, documentary analysis, and focus group discussion were data collection methods applied in the four universities involving 46 respondents that were purposively chosen. The data analysis was done through a content analysis approach. The analysis revealed that both technical and administrative enforcement initiatives were found to be applied in universities. The technical initiatives are monitoring and evaluation for teaching, examination moderation and strict invigilation, independent examination, self-assessment and academic audits, and accreditation, while administrative ones are improving quality assurance staff motivation and capacity, promoting quality assurance stakeholders’ involvement, and establishing an effective quality assurance leadership system. In applying such initiatives, the deficiencies (i.e., incorrect and inadequate applications), strengths, differences and similarities were found across the involved universities. Besides, very unsatisfactory applications of enforcement initiatives were found in private universities compared to public ones. Due to such unsatisfactory applications, non-compliance cases at various university stakeholders' levels exist in those universities. This study concludes that the existing university non-compliance cases in Tanzania are attributed to the existing inadequate and incorrect application of enforcement initiatives. It recommends that there is a need for the Tanzania Commission for Universities to issue more detailed guidelines to harmonize the application of some enforcement initiatives that have attracted different application practices across universities. Besides, the Tanzania Commission for Universities and university quality assurance agencies must take the strongest punitive measures against non-complying individuals and universities to discourage such behavior.