Quality assurance in tertiary agricultural education in Africa.

Abstract

Abstract This chapter focuses on the quality of higher agricultural education as a means of transforming learning and knowledge outcomes, measured in terms of graduates, research products and outreach activities. Learning outcomes include students' competencies - i.e. knowledge, skills and attitudes - and the degree to which they are relevant to workplace needs. Knowledge outcomes take the form of ideas, analyses, inventions and publications; they can be measured based on the extent to which they address current and emerging problems of economic and social importance. The chapter begins by defining key terms and explaining how quality assurance fits within the management and operation of universities. The chapter then explores the role of organizations, networks, associations, activities and initiatives in developing and implementing sound quality-assurance practices across institutional, national, regional and pan-African levels.