PEBL Project Team visits UNCHE to present a Quality Assurance Rubric for Blended/Online Learning.

 

On 14th Dec 2018, the VC represented by the DVC AA, Dr. Umar Kakumba, led the Partnership for Enhanced and Blended Learning (PEBL) Project Team to the Uganda National Council for Higher Education (UNCHE) to present a Quality Assurance Rubric for Blended/Online Learning. The aim of the visit was to present the Rubric to the NCHE for adoption or adaption for national use.

The Rubric is one of the outputs of the PEBL Project. PEBL is one of the Projects funded by DfiD under its Strategic Partnership for Higher Education Innovation and Reform (SPHEIR) Programme. PEBL aims at sharing scarce faculty within the East African Region using Blended Learning. PEBL is being implemented in 6 EA universities, Makerere University inclusive. While presenting the Rubric, the DVC AA emphasised the need to go blended learning and problem based learning especially in the wake of technology infusion in all sectors of society. He reaffirmed Makerere University's support to blended learning.

The Director Quality Assurance, Makerere University, Prof. Ssembatya indicated that Uganda's higher education enrolment is below global set target for a developing nation, and as such delivery approaches with potential to widen access to education, namely: blended learning, should be embraced. "We can’t wait for all Ugandans to own a laptop and Internet before we embrace blended learning", the Director Quality Assurance advised.

On their part, the NCHE applauded Makerere University for developing the Rubric. They said the NCHE was planning to develop capacity indicators for blended/online/distance/e-learning and Makerere University's effort of the developed Rubric is a God sent opportunity that has solved this conundrum. NCHE pledged to expand on this course level rubric to as a programme level and later institutional level assessment rubrics. "The Rubric has solved the challenge we have been having in assessing blended learning courses for accreditation", said NCHE. PEBL Project is being implemented at Makerere University by a Team of multi-disciplinary staff drawn from Makerere University Directorate of Research and Graduate Training, Institute of Open, Distance and e-learning, College of Education and External Studies and Quality Assurance Directorate (QAD).

 

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