QEC arranged a day-long workshop on 11^th October 2022 for training DSU faculty members as Program Team members for preparing effective Self-Assessment Reports as per the guidelines of the HEC. Program Team (PT) members of selected undergraduate and graduate programs participated in this training by Dr. Muhammad Abdul Wahid Usmani, a seasoned consultant for Quality Assurance, Academic Accreditation & International Ranking of Higher Education Institutions, also presently serving as Director QEC and Sustainability at Jinnah Sindh Medical University.

The workshop commenced with a revision on key foundational quality concepts and terminologies that led to elaboration of the role of quality assurance, QA system in Pakistani universities, the HEC prescribed QA mechanism, and the layout of generic Self-Assessment Report. This also included an in-depth discussion on the SAR’s objectives and details about its various components.

While explaining Standards 1 to 8, Dr. Usmani briefed participants on how to appropriately and accurately deal with each Standard by explaining its spirit along with its genesis and evolution since early 2000. The workshop was kept interactive and participants were encouraged to seek clarifications on a wider scope to understand the core process of preparing SARs. The trainer also reviewed and offered one-on-one advice for improvement in the program SARs already available during the workshop from different participants. The workshop ended certificates for the participants by the trainer and presentation of DSU Shield as a token of appreciation to the trainer on behalf of the Vice Chancellor and also the vote of thanks by Dr. Johar Khurshid Farooqi, Director QEC.

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On 15^th February 2022, Mr. Zahid Hussain (Director QEC, DHA Suffa University) conducted an interactive training session on the preparation of SARs for the MS / PhD program teams of Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Management Sciences departments in order to equip them with the necessary knowledge to participate in their respective programs’ upcoming self-assessment reviews. The session focused primarily on the importance of program self-assessment, not only as a foundation for a meaningful review of the strengths and weaknesses of the program, but also as a means to achieving continuous quality improvement as per guidelines of the HEC.

Mr. Zahid Hussain discussed the objectives, benefits and desired outcomes of self-assessment and explained the self-assessment process in detail. He highlighted the need for academic programs to take concrete actions to remedy areas for improvement identified through the self-assessment process. The program teams were apprised of the criteria and standards for self-assessment as per HEC’s self-assessment manual. Mr. Zahid Hussain also discussed feedback and survey forms and emphasized the need for departments to obtain and maintain a proper record of various surveys, particularly the employer surveys.