Critical Success Factors for Quality and Accreditation

A number of critical success factors (CSFs) are required for a successful implementation of quality assurance and accreditation in an educational institution namely (i) Leadership and top management support, (ii) Training, Coordination and Orientation, (iii) Autonomy and empowerment (iv) Compliance & Documentation (v) performance improvement.

Leadership and top management support

Quality assurance is most often initiated from top to bottom, but its success mainly depends on the extent to which the top is able to influence the bottom. Strategically, if leadership, which comprises top management or administrators, facilitates quality assurance in an educational institution, faculty and staff are motivated to participate in QA activities and adherence to quality norms and standards is spontaneous and assertive.

Training, coordination and orientation

Training and orientation of staff is a response to the gap identified between the actual and the desired level of competencies. A trained human capital is always prepared for strategic activities. QA standards and accreditation criteria are specifically disseminated through training coordination and orientation, which are also opportunities for interaction and brainstorming. This establishes a professional development framework and nurtures a participative environment.

Autonomy and empowerment

Autonomy and empowerment to faculty and staff develop their ability to face everyday challenges and improve their personal performances without inhibitions and intimidations. However, autonomy and empowerment require "decentralization" of decision-making and delegating tasks and responsibilities to unit and committee heads as well as to individual staff members. If implemented, autonomy and empowerment facilitate even administrative processes and support the operational procedures of the educational institution. This would also enable competent professionals to participate in decision-making on various issues including quality and development.

Compliance & Documentation

Compliance and Documentation refers to the assembling of all program related documents like program specifications, course portfolios/binders of each course consisting of course specifications, exam documents, annual program reports and like. A sub-committee is assigned the role of identifying, suggesting and explaining need based and specific activities that are in compliance with the prerequisites, accreditation standards and all other regulatory affairs.

Performance improvement

Performance improvement refers to providing opportunities of improvement and enhancement of knowledge and skills. This factor is particularly helpful to check such individuals who show resistance and address to those risk areas that retard the developing of a quality conducive environment. A performance improvement mechanism breaks the resistance as well as eradicate all potential risks, leading to great improvement. This technique is often applied in evaluating Key Performance Areas (KPAs) and Key Result Areas (KRAs) of employees in a work scenario. Adopting these best practices in an educational setting undoubtedly initiates a process of continuous quality improvement.

It is suggested to identify CSFs and best practices relevant to an educational institution while it plans to go for an accreditation process. By doing so, it will ensure predictability of events and proactivity of judgments. By putting them in place, it will also automate the quality assurance activities and enable programs to claim eligibility for accreditation.