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"Quality is our greatest concern!" ABOUT CENTRE FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE & MANAGEMENT (CEQUAM) The Center for Quality Assurance and Management (CEQUAM) was founded in January 2010 with the aim to develop an internal quality assurance management system and coordinate the implementation of this system. The Center is placed under the Office of the Pro Vice Chancellor: Academic Affairs and Research, and it functions as the latter Office’s secretariat on quality assurance issues and its performance is guided by a quality assurance (QA) policy. The Center is responsible for the co-ordination of the University's quality assurance activities and for the provision of support and advice related to the operation of the QA policy. The establishment of this Center marks a distinct step forward in the formalization and improvement of quality assurance at UNAM. This is an institution-wide technical organ with a broader role across multiple departments. As a matter of fact, each department (academic and support) is responsible for systematically and continuously carrying out quality assurance processes based on rationally established and widely disseminated performance standards/benchmarks. The role of CEQUAM is to coordinate these processes centrally and to provide departments with professional support in their perpetual processes of self-evaluation and improvement. CEQUAM also functions as a link organ between the University of Namibia and external regulatory bodies, such as the Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA), National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), Association of African Universities (AAU), International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE), Higher Education Quality Management Initiative for Southern Africa (HEQMISA), as well as other professional bodies and external accrediting agencies. The formalization of the Centre for Quality Assurance and Management enables the University of Namibia to approach quality assurance (QA) in a more systematic way. This system approach enhances the University’s quality of teaching and learning, research, community service and internal support services. It furthermore enables UNAM to assure itself and its stakeholders that the University’s policies, systems and processes for the development, maintenance and enhancement of quality in all its educational provisions are functioning effectively. |