Abstract:

Student perspectives in optimizing quality has gained prominence in quality Reviews. Quality Assurance (QA) Reviews in Higher Education Institutions (HEI) tend to focus on issues of identity, mission and vision including relevance in respect to internal and external environment. Student engagement in quality assurance in South African University has been a trend that has brought considerable and valuable inputs for improvements in reviews. Student expectations have been paramount in all quality debates in HE. Recently, higher education providers have seen the need to develop instruments for measuring service quality in higher (HE). The perspectives of students and staff have been valuable. In Africa there is a dearth of literature that engages with student engagement in quality reviews. The propensity to engage student in quality assurance required institutions of higher learning to explore innovative ways of gathering student perspective and package them in an easily digestible dashboard information for data driven decision making especially in relations to service quality.

The aim of the study was to gather student perspective on identified quality standards in two colleges at the University and thereafter determine the how the new standards are aligned to student aspirations in the two colleges. The study used mixed method research methodology to ensure the breadth and depth of the students’ views. The results of the study amongst others indicated that there is a need to improve staff and students’ awareness and understanding of assessments congruent with new shifts from traditional assessment methods to harnessing new technologies post the COVID-19 pandemic. The study further recommends a framework for incorporating online surveys as an integral part of quality reviews.

Keywords:

Higher education, quality assurance, distance education, student perspectives, quality standards, quality reviews.