Fifth INQAAHE Talks webinar on November 16

A joint webinar of INQAAHE and the Southern African Quality Assurance Network (SAQAN) 
 

This joint webinar session with the Southern African Quality Assurance Network (SAQAN) will focus on issues surrounding quality assurance of online and blended higher education within the Southern African context. As online and blended education becomes a more prevalent mode of delivery to support access and opportunity for a wide range of students across the region, issues surrounding quality become paramount. The need to share regional and international experiences of online and blended learning and the quality assurance thereof is opportune as we emerge from a time of significant change and now settle into planning of the future.  

Invited speakers will share findings from a survey report on how students accessed and used learning materials during the Covid-19 pandemic. We will further hear about the quality assurance of online learning from the Southern African perspective, and views on student-teacher experiences in online learning in Lesotho. Finally, they will share their insights on academic integrity and quality assurance of online and blended learning and will consider the global trends and best practices surrounding online and distance education.

Join us on November 16 (Wednesday) at 14:00 UTC (16:00 Johannesburg time) to learn more about the insights and expertise from:

Dr Whitfield Green

Chief Executive Officer of the Council on Higher Education, an organisation mandated to conduct research on higher education, monitor trends in higher education, provide advice to the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, and the apex organization for quality assurance of higher education in South Africa. 

Prof Richard Siaciwena

Vice Chancellor of the Zambian Open University (ZAOU) where he previously served as the Director of the Directorate of Quality Assurance and Extension Services

Dr Paballo Mokenela

Lecturer and Head of the Adult Education Department at the National University of Lesotho (NUL). She is responsible for the management and administration of the Diploma, Degree and Masters in Adult Education programmes which are delivered through the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode. 

Dr Godson Gatsha

Deputy Vice Chancellor Student Services at Botswana Open University (BOU). He is responsible for student support services and regional operations at BOU’s five regional campuses spread across Botswana.

Dr Deb Adair

President of INQAAHE and Executive Director of Quality Matters, an international non-profit organization providing a scalable quality assurance system for digital learning. 

This session will be chaired by:

Mary Catharine Lennon

Board Director of INQAAHE and Senior Policy Advisor at the Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board of Ontario (PEQAB) and Research Associate with the Centre for Canadian and International Higher Education (CIHE).

Press Release

The Southern African Quality Assurance Network (SAQAN)
Announces the New Executive Committee

SAQAN is pleased to announce the new Executive Committee. At its April 26, 2022, biennial general assembly, the Network elected:

PresidentProf. Stephen Simukanga, Director General Higher Education Authority: Zambia
Vice- PresidentDr Lits’abako Ntoi, Chief Executive Officer Council on Higher Education: Lesotho
TreasurerDr Whitfield Green, Chief Executive Officer Council on Higher Education: South Africa
Executive SecretaryMs Sylvia Demas, Deputy Executive Director National Council for Higher Education: Namibia
Additional MemberDr. Hardson Kwandayi, Director for Academic & Institutional Audits: Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education

The Executive Committee is, among others, responsible for implementing the Strategic Plan, the bi-annual plans and policies as approved by the General Assembly.

The Committee members began their four-year term effective 26 April 2022 and may be eligible for re-election for one more term only.

SAQAN was founded in 2015 as a voluntary and non-profit organisation made up of membership from quality assurance agencies, higher education institutions and professional bodies in the SADC region.

Issued by the Executive Secretary

Click to Here Download Press Release

SAQAN mourns Prof. Narend Baijnath

It is with great sadness that we learned of the sudden passing of Prof. Narend Baijnath, which occurred on 01 May 2022. Prof. Baijnath was the former CEO of the Council on Higher Education, South Africa, and was a founding member of the Southern African Quality Assurance Network (SAQAN).

Narend was a scholar and an organic intellectual of note with theoretical depth, rigour, and breadth in understanding and articulating critical issues in higher education and quality assurance in our region. His understanding of transformation issues in higher education was unparalleled, as was his knowledge of, and engagement with government departments and other higher education stakeholders. He was an outstanding university manager and leader.

He served as a member of the SAQAN Executive Committee from 2015 to 2020 and as acting president between December 2017 and November 2018. Prof. Baijnath contributed excellently to strengthening the SAQAN family and in many areas in higher education in South Africa, the region and globally.

In South Africa, his last senior university position was as Pro. Vice Chancellor at the University of South Africa (UNISA). Upon leaving the South African Council on Higher Education, he worked with the University of Johannesburg’s SARChI in Higher Education Teaching and Learning. He was also on the Board of the Commonwealth of Learning where he championed the cause of higher education in Africa

We extend our deepest condolences to his wife, children, family and the higher education community in South Africa, and the Southern African region where he was revered and respected as a leading theoretician and practitioner in higher education. The fraternity of higher education in the Southern African region will miss his counsel and leadership on Quality Assurance in Higher Education.

May his soul rest in peace!

Prof. Stephen Simukanga

SAQAN President

5th Southern African Regional Conference

Dear SAQAN Members and Friends

The Southern African Quality Assurance Network (SAQAN) is pleased to announce the 5th Southern African Regional Conference on Quality Assurance in Higher Education hosted by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) of Namibia.

The event will be held virtually under the theme: Quality assurance in higher education during times of disruptions

Representatives from Quality Assurance Agencies, Higher Education Institutions, Professional Bodies and Governments are all welcome.

Registration is open.

The conference programme comprises of an official opening ceremony; plenary session; and SAQAN General Assembly

English to Portuguese translation will be available for the conference.

For more information contact the SAQAN Secretariat at: saqansec@nche.org.na