Page 6 - OPEN CAMPUS QUALITY CIRCLE NEWSLETTER

The UWI Quality Circle
Highlights of Findings of The UWI Quality Policy (2017) Baseline Staff and Student Surveys
T he Quality Assurance Unit collaborated with The University Office of Planning in the design of questionnaires to conduct baseline surveys of staff and student perceptions of quality at The UWI as part of the roll-out of The UWI Quality Policy, 2017.* We offer our most sincere thanks to Pro Vice- Chancellor Professor Denzil Williams for his support for the conduct of the surveys. We are also very grateful to Dr. Halima Sa’adia Kassim, Senior Planning Officer, assisted by Ms. Greer McKenzie, who worked closely with the QAU to develop and administer the surveys, and prepared the reports of the survey findings. This article provides an overview of some of the highlights of the findings of
these baseline surveys.
Baseline Survey of Staff
The survey of staff, carried out over a four (4) week period in 2019, had a response rate of 16.5%. Respondents were mostly Administrative, Technical and Support staff, female, from the St Augustine Campus and in their current job 6-10 years. Using a five-point Likert scale, respondents were asked to rate positive statements designed to communicate staff perceptions of The University’s performance relating to the five dimensions of quality embodied in The UWI Quality Policy, 2017. Respondents rated The UWI’s performance regarding “fitness of purpose” and “adherence to high standards” as ranging from good to moderate, with “fitness for purpose” ranging from excellent to moderate. They perceived the institution’s performance regarding “value for money” and “transformative development of students and staff” as warranting improvement; their rating of performance in these areas ranged from good to poor and moderate to poor, respectively.
1 * The UWI Five Islands Campus in Antigua and Barbuda was established only recently and, therefore, still in a process of settling down, was not included in these surveys.
Dr Sandra Ingrid Gift Senior Programme Officer & Head of the STA QAU
Baseline Survey of Students
There was a response rate of 15.9% for the survey of students conducted over a four-week period in November, 2019. Representativeness of the surveyed population in relation to the actual student population was mixed university-wide. Males were under-represented, and females over-represented across the University except for Cave Hill. At the Faculty-level, respondents registered in the Faculties of Sport and Engineering tended to be representative. The Faculties of Humanities and Education and Medical Sciences were generally under-represented, while the Faculties of Social Sciences and Science and Technology were over-represented.
Across The University, student respondents perceived the “fitness of purpose” and “fitness for purpose” of academic quality and engagement as good. In the case of the Open Campus, student perceptions of these services ranged from excellent to moderate.
“Fitness of purpose” and “fitness for purpose” of academic related services were perceived as moderate. However, library and information services, access to health services and convenience of operating hours of administrative services were rated as good.
2 Survey of Students’ Perception of Quality, Preliminary Report. Prepared by University Office of Planning. March 2020 (Revised).
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