Kyambogo University (KYU) in Uganda has recently established quality assurance practices for its open distance education programme. Despite operating in an environment poor in resources, the Department of Distance Education has developed a ‘culture of care’ that focuses on students’ needs and places them at the centre of the provision of quality materials and student support.

Distance education has long been a method of study in Uganda, beginning in the Colonial period. It gained new popularity in the 1980s, however, when the National Resistance Government liberalised the Ugandan economy and social services, which created more private schools and job opportunities for teachers. As a result many have been encouraged to study teaching through this method of delivery.

KYU was formed in 2001 following the mergers of several institutions. The university’s Department of Distance Education inherited a distance education programme, the Diploma in Education, Primary, External (DEPE), which currently has several thousand students. Although the university does not have a quality assurance system across the board, the Department of Distance Education is in the process of setting up its own system and has effectively led the way for the institution.

This study examines quality assurance practices at KYU, considers the Department of Distance Education’s approach and presents the lessons learned. It finds as follows:

• Training has had a substantial impact on Kyambogo University’s staff and collaborating partners providing the DEPE programme – they have developed confidence in the value of their programme, understand students’ needs and work as a team with shared goals.
• The open and distance-learning course provides participants with skills that can be adapted to their work situation across the faculties and colleges. 
• Staff feel encouraged by the improved attitude towards and greater credibility of distance education as a method of delivery, and benefit from working in a supportive network.
• The distance education programmes are backed by senior academic and administrative staff in the university, and will be developed further as a result of their improved status.
• The university has increasingly been recognised for its quality of staff and distance learning programmes, with advice being sought within Uganda and outside the country.

While KYU is lacking in resources, what is extraordinary is that it has managed to turn ideology into practice, its greatest strength being its ‘culture of care’. However, the university has experienced a number of difficulties in putting quality assurance into practice:

• KYU has no history of a defined function for quality assurance, and quality assurance is not being documented or monitored. Staff are working without guidance or a reference point.
• Although the university has political backing for its distance education programmes, it does not have sufficient financial backing and staff, which are crucial for establishing quality.
• When the university’s external funding comes to an end, prioritising the spending of limited resources will be difficult. Quality assurance may not seem a priority compared with replacing trained staff who leave and updating methodology and practice.
• Staff may be put off by the increasing bureaucracy of quality assurance, which slows them down. Frustrating delays may be caused by tendering and procurement procedures.

Source(s):
‘Quality Assurance in Open Distance Education – Towards a Culture of Quality: a Case Study from the Kyambogo University, Uganda’, by Felicity Binns and Aron Otto, in ‘Towards a culture of Quality – From Quality Assurance to a Culture of Quality in Open Distance Education: Case Studies and Inferences’, pages 31-44, Commonwealth of Learning, edited by Badri N. Koul and Asha Kanwar, 2006 Full document.

Funded by: UK Department for International Development (DFID)

id21 Research Highlight: 8 November 2007

Further Information:
Felicity Binns
EID Department
Cambridge Education
Demeter House
Station Road
Cambridge CB1 2RS
United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)1223 463755
Contact the contributor: felicity.binns@camb-ed.com

Cambridge Education, UK

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