African Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ASG-QA)

Harmonisation seeks a shared view on quality criteria and standards and an equivalent way of assessing the quality. It is crucial to harmonise the standards and criteria so that all universities will be regulated according to comparable standards. Indeed, harmonisation does not mean that every institution or country is forced into a uniform system. It rather means that the basic framework for quality assessment is equivalent. A key milestone for fostering harmony within the diverse African higher education system is the establishment of a continental quality assurance framework. The AUC, therefore, initiated the development of the Pan-African Quality Assurance and Accreditation Framework (PAQAF) to provide a continental platform for enhancing the provision of higher education quality and promoting compatible methodologies. One of the necessary instruments for the appropriate functioning of PAQAF is the development of the African Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ASG-QA). Proper implementation of the ASG-QA can contribute to the provision of quality higher education and ensure that the qualifications obtained by students and their experience of higher education remain consonant with programme requirements, institutional vision and mission, and the objectives of higher education. In order to optimally achieve this, a fundamental prerequisite is that HEIs inculcate a culture of evidence-based quality in all their activities. The AUC believes that the ASG-QA provides an overarching framework for quality assurance and that its implementation will be supported by the African Quality Rating Mechanism (AQRM).