Quality assurance in higher education is a holistic approach spanning all the processes in a university that ensure that students and other stakeholders are served at the expected quality standard. Quality assurance is, therefore, an ongoing process through which a higher education institution strives for excellence.
The Faculty of Business Quality Assurance Cell (BFQAC) of the University of Moratuwa aims to enhance the quality of programs conducted by the Faculty and ensure a rewarding learning experience for its students. The Faculty currently conducts one undergraduate program in Business Science, which offers three paths for specialization, and two postgraduate degree programs.
The Business Faculty has three departments: Decision Sciences, Industrial Management and Management of Technology, each of which has a Quality Assurance Coordinator to oversee the general quality management within the department. The QA coordinators are members of the Faculty Quality Assurance Cell, which is chaired by the Director of the BFQAC. The QA Committee of the Faculty meets once a month, with meetings convened by the Assistant Registrar of the Faculty. The agenda for the meeting covers routine reporting on quality related activities within each department, including the collection of student feedback and peer reviews on teaching as well as the moderation of examination papers, as well as QA related matters pertaining to the Faculty as a whole. In addition, given that students are the key stakeholders in most quality related efforts, the Faculty’s student representatives are also invited to QA Committee meetings at regular intervals.
Quality assurance is a dedicated agenda item in the Faculty Board meeting, with reports of the FQAC being discussed and proposals made for improvements to the Faculty’s QA processes. In addition, the reports of the routine QA activities of each department are collated and submitted to the Senate via the University Quality Assurance Centre at the end of each semester.
Given its status as a young Faculty in the University of Moratuwa, the Faculty QAC has the mandate to develop and implement processes that will ensure the continuous improvement of quality in the Faculty. The BFQAC, therefore, plays a vital role in enhancing and maintaining a high level of quality in the academic programs carried out by the Faculty of Business.