The University Council of Jamaica (UCJ) is gearing up for Quality Assurance Week (QA) 2019, to be held this year from March 11-15 under the theme ‘Quality in Higher Education: Managing Expectations and Changes’.

The featured events will be the launch of the UCJ’s Integrated Quality Assurance Management System (iQAMS), and a one-day international symposium on emerging global developments and approaches to managing quality in higher education, set for March 12.

The symposium is aimed at increasing awareness of emerging trends in quality assurance and the impact on higher educational institutions, and will target specific professional bodies. Focus will be given to approaches that are necessary for assuring quality in higher education in a world of disruptive technological and technical developments, and the link with the labour market and employability. It will take the format of presentations from experts in quality assurance and higher education working in disciplines such as engineering, informatics, and medicine.

The launch of iQAMS, meanwhile, will include a half-day sensitisation seminar on March 13, featuring presentations and contributions from a wide range of stakeholders including e-Gov Jamaica, Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Xsomo International, as well as the UCJ’s executive director and chairman.

iQAMS is expected to bring about a significant reduction in the UCJ’s manual and paper-based processes.

Commenting on the plans, Executive Director Althea Heron noted that this year’s QA Week is shaping up to be the best one so far.

“There is a lot of conversation right now in the public space about Jamaica’s future development, with focus on higher education — especially the preparation of work-ready graduates with the requisite knowledge, skills and disposition. This is why we will be engaging all the key stakeholders during the week of activities,” she said.

The University Council of Jamaica was founded in 1987 as the national external quality assurance agency for Jamaica. As the external quality assurance body for higher education in Jamaica, the UCJ accredits higher education institutions, and/or higher education programmes, to determine whether they are meeting or exceeding established standards of educational quality.