The University of Trinidad and Tobago has been re-registered until the year 2012. During the period however, if UTT were to be accredited by the Accreditation Council of Trinidad (ACTT) and Tobago, it would not be required to re-register while it maintains accreditation. Since registration as required by the laws of Trinidad and Tobago only provides the assurance that an institution meets minimum standards, it is the best interest of all leading institutions in the country to seek institutional accreditation.

Accreditation is voluntary and globally, institutions that demonstrate a strong commitment to achieving and maintaining the highest standards seek to be accredited. Students who have attended accredited institutions are sought after internationally by employers and universities desirous of attracting the best graduates for employment, research and innovation and for pursuing higher degrees. In several countries, only students of accredited tertiary institutions have access to grant funding, scholarships and other financial benefits.

While specialised or programme accreditation focuses on assessing the quality of student learning outcomes for programmes geared towards preparing students for professions in fields such as engineering, medicine, law, teaching and many others, institutional accreditation is broad-based and evaluates all aspects of the university's operations. The effectiveness of teaching and learning; quality of student life and of work life for employees; performance of students; achievement of graduates; strength of governance and leadership; efficiency in the allocation and use of resources and several other indicators are assessed as evidence of the university's attainment of its educational and other purposes as indentified in its mission.

Registration by ACTT is indicative of the fact that UTT has designed and implemented a robust Quality Management System (QMS). During the accreditation process, the QMS will be evaluated for its effectiveness, outcomes and sustainability. The primary purpose of quality assurance within the context of a university is to ensure quality, accountability, transparency and continuous quality improvement.

QUALITY means providing a high-quality learning experience for students, a rewarding work-life for faculty and staff and meeting the needs of stakeholders.
ACCOUNTABILITY relies on taking individual and/or collective ownership of processes and responsibility for outcomes.
TRANSPARENCY refers to ensuring that all of our operations can stand up to effective scrutiny and oversight.
CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT is based on systematically collecting, interpreting and using feedback to enhance performance.

There are three key components of the UTT Quality Assurance Framework:

• Self-evaluation
• Internal Quality Audit
• External Review

This article takes a closer look at self-evaluation.
Self-evaluation or 'self-study' is an integral part of the accreditation process in the Caribbean, North America, Latin America and several other parts of the globe. It is an opportunity for members of the university community to reflect on policies, processes and procedures and assess their success in achieving clearly defined objectives. The university must produce a self-study report that is informed by data providing verifiable evidence that the institution meets the standards set by the accrediting body. Self-evaluation must also be action-oriented and, as problems arise, attempts must be made to analyse the causes and address any shortcomings or weaknesses in the system. Consequently, evaluating and improving organisational systems and processes are core components of institutional self-evaluation.

The criteria for accreditation set the parameters for institutional self-evaluation. These criteria focus on the extent to which the university fulfils its mission, contributes to student learning and overall student development, meets stakeholder needs, sustains itself and improves on its performance. For publicly-funded institutions, government is a key stakeholder and institutional goals are linked primarily to national development priorities.

Article by Ruby S. Alleyne Ph.D.
Vice-President, Quality Assurance & Institutional Advancement