CHE QA Model/Approach
The CHE acknowledges and accepts that higher education institutions are ultimately responsible for the quality of their offerings, usually through the use of their own ‘internal’ quality assurance processes. The CHE supports HEIs in their quest for continuous improvement through a process of external quality assurance which includes development and assessment of standards that measure quality and constitute the core of quality assessment. A critical element in the maintenance and improvement of quality is accountability. Part of the CHE quality assurance responsibility is therefore to determine whether or not HEIs serve society, use their money well, and produce the results desired by the various stakeholders.
The approach to Quality Assurance in Lesotho is systemic in nature. In terms of this approach to quality assurance dimensions of input, process, output and outcome variables should be accounted for. Higher education institutions should, therefore, scrutinise and/or review their own institutions and programmes with a view to ensuring the quality of programmes and the effectiveness of internal quality systems but also to consider strategies for quality enhancement or improvement. It is important to emphasise that, in contrast with accreditation, in institutional audits the higher education institution is the unit of analysis.
Quality assurance in Lesotho has, as its purpose, the creation of mechanisms which will ensure that HEIs offer the type of teaching and learning that is both transformative and responsive to the needs of the Basotho people. Quality assurance activities or processes are therefore conducted in a manner that facilitates continuous improvement while simultaneously ensuring HEI compliance with stipulated standards of quality and systematic adherence to stakeholder expectations and requirements. In short, quality assurance activities should enable HEIs to constantly work towards closing the gap between where they are and where they aspire/envision themselves to be.
