COMSATS UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY,

ISLAMABAD CAMPUS.
MANAGEMENT SCIENCES DEPARTMENT

TOPIC: QUALITY ENHANCEMENT CELL

SUBMITTED TO: SIR BILAL

SUBMITTED BY:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

AYESHA UMAR REHMAN (FA10-BBA-106)

AISHA BINT TILA (FA10-BBA-224)
BILAL RAZZAK (FA10-BBA-113)
JAVARIA OMER (FA10-BBA-120)
SUNDAS IKRAM (FA10-BBA-121)

SUBJECT: PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY MANAGEMENT.

SUBMISSION DATE: 20th December, 2013.

QUALITY ENHANCEMENT CELL:

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Quality can be defined as the means through which an institution can guarantee with confidence
and certainty, that the standards of its educational provision are being maintained and enhanced.

QUALITY ENHANCEMENT CELL IN COMSATS UNIVERSITY:

Comsats have established quality enhancement cell which is working in the direction for
developing policies and procedures. In this they do assessment by gathering, reviewing, and
using important data from multiple and different sources about educational programs, so that
they can improve learning and can evaluate learning standards.
Activities done in enhancement cell are as following:
1. QEC will be responsible for the review of quality standards and the quality of teaching,
learning in each subject area.
2. QEC will be responsible for the review of academic affiliations with other institutions in
terms of effective management of standards and quality of programs.
3. QEC is responsible to develop qualifications framework by setting out the attributes and
abilities that can be expected from the holder of a qualification, i.e. Bachelors, Bachelor with
Honors, Master's, M. Phil., Doctoral.
4. These are standard set of information clarifying what knowledge, understanding, skills and
5.

other attributes a student will have developed on successfully completing a specific program
QEC is responsible to ensure that the university's quality assurance procedures are designed
to fit in with the arrangements in place nationally for maintaining and improving the quality
of Higher Education.

MISSION AND VISION:

The CIIT is committed to play a multidimensional role in the development of individuals and
society by graduating motivated highly skilled and highly educated graduates. To advance
knowledge and enhance educational process, CIIT strives to become publicly recognized, far
reaching center of excellence in science, technology, and management education, comparable in
standard to the very best in the world.

OBJECTIVES:
1. Improve the quality of staff, of programs, and of support services.
2. To ensure that stated student outcomes are realized.
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3. To take collective responsibility for ensuring that adequate system for quality enhancement
have been developed and are in place

ISO CERTIFICATION
Certification started in 2009 - completed in 2011
On Going Process involves the following: Review/updating of all documents related to all the
campuses and principal seat:
1. Job Descriptions of all the teaching and admin staff.
2. Standard Operating Procedures.
3. Organizational Charts.
4. Selection/Training of the Task Force.
5. Internal Audit by Internal Auditors.
6. External Audit during September each year.

SELF-ASSESSMENT OF THE ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

Self-Assessment Report provides the basis on which the entire structure of quality education is
built. In the following paragraphs the components of the Self-Assessment Report are discussed in
detail.
1. Development of the Criteria and Standards
Development of criteria and standards for various programs offered by our campuses in the
light of the mission and objectives of the programs, loyalty to these standards and
periodically self-assessing the level to which these standards have been met, noting the
reasons for deviations if any and thus help in the development of system of rating of various
programs offered by the Institute. The self-assessment is based on several criteria. To meet
each criterion a number of standards must be satisfied. List of criteria and its standards as
follows:
Criteria
1
2
3
4

Criteria Name
Program Mission, Objectives and Outcomes
Curriculum Design and Organization
Laboratories and Computing Facilities
Student Support and Advising

Standards under Criteria

(4 standards)
(7 standards)
(3 standards)
(4 standards)
3

5
6
7
8

Process Control
Faculty
Institutional Facilities
Institutional Support

(5 standards)
(3 standards)
(3 standards)
(3 standards)

2. Assessment Instruments used by the Department

The department is also required to formulate a system of periodically assessing whether the
mission, objectives, learning outcomes and other criteria and standards are being met by the
department. It is imperative that not only the system of assessment should thorough and fair,
but care must be given as to how the results of the assessment are being used to make the
necessary changes. This assessment allows teachers as well as students a ground for selfevaluation, reflection and enhances teaching quality through transparency and honest
feedback.
Some of the means for assessing the extent to which graduates are performing the stated
program outcomes/learning objectives include the following:
1. Conducting a survey of graduating seniors every semester.
2. Conduct a survey of alumni every two years.
3. Conduct a survey of employers every two years.
4. Carefully designed questions asked during capstone design projects presentations.
5. Outcome assessment examinations Sessionals, terminal, assignments, quizzes, term
papers etc.

SELF-ASSESSMENT PROCEDURE
Each academic program shall undergo a self-assessment (SA) every two years (assessment
cycle). The Quality Enhancement Cell (QEC) is responsible for planning, coordinating and
following up on the self-assessment (SA) activities. The steps of the procedure for SA are as
follows:
1) The QEC initiates the SA one semester prior to the end of the assessment cycle through the
Vice Chancellor / Rector Office in which the program is offered. However, if the program is
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undergoing the SA for the first time, the department will be given one academic year for
preparation.
2) Upon receiving the initiation letter the department shall form a program team (PT). The PT
will be responsible for preparing a self-assessment report (SAR) about the program under
consideration over a period of one semester. They will be the contact group during the
assessment period.
3) The department shall submit the SAR to the QEC through the concerned Dean. The QEC
reviews the SAR within one month to ensure that it is prepared according to the required
format.
4) The Vice Chancellor / Rector form a program assessment team (AT) in consultation with the
QEC recommendations within one month. The AT comprises of 2-3 faculty members from
within or outside the university. The AT must have at least one expert in the area of the
assessed program.
5) The QEC plans and schedules the AT visit period in coordination with the department that is
offering the program.
6) The AT conducts the assessment, submits a report and presents its findings in an exit meeting
that shall be attended by the QEC, Dean and PT and faculty members.
7) The QEC shall submit an executive summary on the AT findings to the Vice Chancellor /
Rector.
8) The Department shall prepare and submit an implementation plan to QEC based on the AT
findings. The plan must include AT findings and the corrective actions to be taken,
assignment of responsibility and a time frame for such actions.
9) The QEC shall follow up on the implementation plan to ensure departments are adhering to
the implementation plan. The academic department shall inform the QEC each time a
corrective action is implemented. QEC shall review the implementation plan once a semester
to assess the progress of implementation.

FLOW CHART OF QEC

Selection of
team

Train the
team

Assessment

Arrangemen
t of logistics

Statisticl
Report

Rating

Summaries

Highlight the
medium

Submittig
the report to
rector

Present

SCOPE OF QEC:
The scope of QEC is focused on building quality culture in the university by creating,
implementing and managing quality assurance and enhancement processes and practices to
ensure competitive excellence nationally and internationally. These processes and practices
involve an effective implementation of Quality Standards, processes of Quality Assurance and
Management System, and continual review of progress for enhancement of quality, including
development of various standards for the institution, departments and programs by involving all
stakeholders including teachers, students, staff; analyzing needs, identifying areas for
improvement, developing new procedures that ensure the quality of higher education is
maintained, developed and enhanced.

THIRD PARTY QEC AUDIT BY WORLD BANK TEAM

The Third Party Evaluation of Quality Enhancement Cell (QEC) at CIIT was conducted on
October 29, 2013 by World Bank team. The objectives of the evaluation were to review the
program Self- Assessment process and implementation at CIIT and to identify associated issues,
challenges and proposing solutions. Dr. Sohalia Javed, Additional Director QEC, presented QEC
image in a very positive and impressive way. The World Bank Team appreciated QEC efforts and
validated QEC Quantitative Assessment by HEC. The CIIT management, faculty and students
also extended their support in conducting the successful audit.

OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES OF COMSATS:

1. Decentralized system information is slow
2. Data is not collected on standards thats why weightage does not represent actual study
3. Tasks are subjective not objectives
4. Feedback process is weak
5. Commitment from stake holder & then bearing it
6. Compromise is done and it is bias.

IPE of CIIT by HEC:

Institutional Performance Evaluation (IPE) by HEC on December 11-12, 2013.

Development of University Portfolio Report (UPR) on IPE Standards-

comprising almost 200 pages

Preparation of the Islamabad Campus and the Principal Seat for the

HEC Review Panels visit.

Collection of relevant information from all departments of Islamabad

Campus and Principal Seat

Preparation of evidences in line with UPR
Logistical arrangements for the visit of IPE review Panel of HEC
Assisting the evaluating teams

CHALLENGES OF QUALITY ENHANCEMENT CELL OF CIIT

CIIT established the Quality Enhancement Cell (QEC) to introduce and implement the
procedures and systematic standards for monitoring and evaluation of the various aspects of a
degree program, a project, a service, or a facility to ensure that standards of quality are being
met. HEC has designed a Self-Assessment Manual, which also gives eight major criteria
subdivided into related standards to be achieved. QEC is aggressively working in this direction
for developing policies and procedures. Assessment is a systematic process of gathering,
reviewing and using important quantitative and qualitative data and information from multiple
and diverse sources about educational programs, for the purpose of improving student learning,
and evaluating whether academic and learning standards are being met. The process culminates
when assessment results are used to improve student learning as well as enhance delivery and
assessment mechanisms. A successful assessment program includes purpose identification,
measurements and evaluation design, outcomes identification, data collection, analysis and
evaluation and decision making regarding actions to be taken. There are many challenges which
quality enhancement cell of CIIT has to face. Some of the challenges are as following:

Decentralization of the system

Campus to campus reporting is strong
Not well organized
Director is responsible for everything alone
Lack of resources
No continuous improvement
Need to make things objective
Data not available
Feedback process not strong
No retention policy
Employees are not well trained and organized
QEC better in Islamabad not in at campuses
Not efficiently following ISO standards
Not doing research of the people