Document Type
Open Access Capstone
Publication Date
2017
Abstract
This study investigates how the concepts of quality and quality assurance (QA) standards are understood in the Afghan higher education system. First, I carried out a literature review of the available literature globally and then reviewed the available literature about Afghanistan’s higher education quality assurance system. Second, I conducted a case study at Shaheed Rabbani Education University (SREU), a public higher education institution in Afghanistan, to explore how academic staff at this university understand the concepts of quality and the QA standards. The study included qualitative interviews with seven key respondents at SREU. The findings from the case study suggest academic staff at SREU perceive quality and the fulfillment of QA standards mainly as the need for more inputs and resources such as more classrooms equipped with modern technology, better libraries, and more qualified faculty with Master’s and PhD degrees. In addition, the findings suggest that QA standards and practices at SREU need to be clarified further and should be revised to better match the available resources allocated to it and other public higher education institutions by the government. SREU needs to operationalize quality improvement practices in their daily activities by focusing more on student learning outcomes and improvement in administration using currently available resources.