Academic Development and Quality Assurance Unit (ADQAU)
Faculty of Agriculture, Food, and Environment
About:
The Academic Development and Quality Assurance Unit (ADQAU) is an integral part of the Faculty of Agriculture, Food, and Environment, operating under the guidance of the Vice Dean for Academic Development and Quality Assurance. The main role of ADQAU is to promote and instill a culture of quality throughout the academic departments, centers, and units within the faculty, as well as across the administrative departments. By doing so, the ADQAU actively contributes to fulfilling the faculty’s mission and aims.
ADQAU plays a crucial role in ensuring and enhancing the quality of education and scientific research within the faculty. ADQAU strives to promote a culture of quality and ensure its realization throughout the academic departments, centers, and units within the faculty, as well as across the administrative departments, contributing to fulfilling the faculty’s mission and aims.
ADQAU is involved in increasing awareness about the significance of quality and its role within the faculty. It strives to enhance the performance of the teaching staff, students, and administrative staff through comprehensive performance evaluation processes. In addition, ADQAU is committed to meeting the requirements of academic accreditation, recognizing that quality is essential in delivering outstanding human resources, research, and services to the community and other institutions. By doing so, ADQAU aims to contribute to the overall progression and success of society.
ADQAU was established within the faculty in 2007 and began its actual activities at the end of 2019. ADQAU is responsible for monitoring and organizing the quality of work within the faculty, with the aim of achieving its academic mission in a distinguished and effective manner at the local and international levels. ADQAU recognizes the significant challenge it faces in implementing a qualitative transformation in the faculty’s strategic plan to accomplish its objectives. It serves as a means for exploring innovative methods that enable the faculty to become a leading and distinguished institution in agricultural education, practical research, and community service, qualifying graduates capable of meeting the needs of the labor market, promoting sustainable development, and enhancing competitiveness at the local and regional levels.
ADQAU Mission
Striving diligently to achieve the highest standards and aspirations of quality in all aspects of the faculty’s operations, whether in the academic field or the development of educational, research, and community service practices, in accordance with comprehensive quality systems.
ADQAU Vision
Elevating the Faculty of Agriculture, Food, and Environment to a distinguished level of quality by keeping pace with scientific advancements, achieving continuous improvement, and adhering to the highest quality standards.
ADQAU Aims:
ADQAU Unit at the Faculty of Agriculture, Food, and Environment aims to achieve the following strategic aims:
Enhancing the overall institutional capacity of the faculty.
Enhancing the effectiveness of the research process within the faculty.
Developing human, financial, and material resources within the framework of professional ethics.
Activating the faculty’s role in serving the community and the environment.
Establishing an accredited performance evaluation and development system.
Developing and activating the faculty’s policies pertaining to students and graduates.
Enhancing the educational effectiveness of the faculty.
Improving and developing comprehensive and continuous evaluation of the educational process.
Qualifying the faculty for academic accreditation.
Message from the Vice Dean for ADQA:
The Academic Development and Quality Assurance Unit (ADQAU) at the Faculty of Agriculture, Food, and Environment is an entity that works towards enhancing and developing the quality of education, research, and social service at the faculty. ADQAU is part of the faculty’s organizational structure and aims to promote academic excellence and improve performance in educational, research, and administrative processes.
ADQAU develops strategies and policies to elevate the quality of teaching and learning within the faculty, implementing programs and projects to enhance the skills of teaching staff and students. This is achieved through organizing workshops, training courses, evaluating academic programs, and adopting best practices in higher education.
Moreover, ADQAU plays a crucial role in fostering a culture of self-assessment and continuous improvement within the faculty, by reviewing and evaluating academic processes and utilizing quality measurement tools and academic indicators. It also monitors and evaluates student satisfaction, identifies skills required by the labor market, and develops specialized training programs to align with the needs of students and the community. In essence, ADQAU serves as a mechanism to uphold the quality of teaching and learning and enhance academic excellence at the Faculty of Agriculture, Food, and Environment
Responsibilities of Faculty's ADQAU:
Disseminating a culture of quality within the faculty/centre through issuing studies, brochures, newsletters, organizing seminars, lectures, and workshops.
Conducting surveys of graduates’ opinions with the aim of improving the performance of the faculty/centre in light of quality standards and academic accreditation.
Conducting surveys of community institutions that benefit from the faculty/center’s outputs to align with community needs and uphold the principle of effective community participation in developing those outputs.
Conducting self-evaluation processes for academic programs, departments, and faculties/centers.
Conducting program descriptions and course specifications for the faculty/center.
Developing specialized models and programs that involve conducting surveys, performing measurement and evaluation operations, and providing a database and electronic services.
Following up on the activities of academic departments, units, and administrative departments to collect data and information related to their performance and plans.
Developing training plans for evaluation processes and quality assurance.
Contributing to the development of the strategic plan project that will bring about the desired change, guide efforts, and utilize resources and capabilities in accordance with the faculty/center’s mission to achieve its aims and future aspirations.
Providing information on quality assurance and accreditation developments and utilizing the best practices of other educational institutions within and outside the Republic of Yemen.
Preparing monthly, periodic, and annual reports on the activities and outcomes of the faculty/center in accordance with quality and academic accreditation standards.
Key Achievements of ADQAU: October 2019 – April 2024
First: Program and Course Specifications
The specifications for all undergraduate academic programs offered by faculty departments were completed and submitted to the university’s Center for Academic Development and Quality Assurance.
The specifications for all undergraduate courses for all academic programs offered by faculty departments were completed and submitted to the university’s Center for Academic Development and Quality Assurance.
The development of course specifications for some postgraduate programs within the faculty’s active departments has begun. An internal review is currently underway to finalize the accreditation procedures according to established mechanisms.
Teaching workload distribution schedules for the teaching staff in the faculty have been prepared for the second semester of the academic year 1445 Hijri (2023-2024), aligned with the study plan, in collaboration with the Vice Dean for Student Affairs. These schedules, along with a summary of the workload for all teaching staff in the faculty, following the template provided by the Center for Academic Development and Quality Assurance, have been submitted for review by the designated committee for accreditation.
A list of undergraduate course names, aligned with the approved study plan for all academic programs within the faculty’s departments, was submitted. The list also included the names of those involved in the course specification process, following the template provided by the Center for Academic Development and Quality Assurance.
Second: Professional Development for Teaching Staff
Several workshops and training courses were conducted to enhance and develop the teaching staff’s capabilities in program and course specification processes, teaching strategies, and assessment methods. These activities aligned with the ongoing updates and development of academic programs and course specifications. More than 75 teaching staff from faculty departments participated in these workshops and courses, organized by the university’s Center for Academic Development and Quality Assurance in collaboration with the faculty’s Academic Development and Quality Assurance Unit (ADQAU).
Third: Self-Assessment Process
Final program self-assessment reports for the faculty’s nine currently running academic programs were submitted in accordance with the standards of the Council for Academic Accreditation and Quality Assurance (CAQA). These reports consisted of 90 file boxes.
The faculty’s improvement and development plan was submitted to the Center for Academic Development and Quality Assurance. The university presidency has been informed of the necessary requirements for improvement.
Fourth: Updates to the Faculty Webpage Content on the University Website
Specifications for all currently offered undergraduate programs and courses were uploaded to the university’s website.
Bios of all teaching staff in each department of the faculty were uploaded.
A student guide to the faculty, its departments, academic programs, and services has been compiled and submitted to the website administrator for uploading to the faculty’s webpage on the university’s website, following review by the dean of the faculty.
Informational brochures for each department in the faculty were prepared and submitted to the website administrator for uploading to the faculty’s webpage on the university’s website, following review by the dean of the faculty.
A complete list of course names, in both Arabic and English, was submitted to the Systems Unit and uploaded to the SAR system. The list aligned with the university presidency’s approved plan and encompassed all courses offered at all levels within the faculty’s departmental programs.
A total of 1,121 research papers were uploaded to Google Scholar for 104 teaching staff, ranging from instructors (holding Master’s degrees) to professors.
Fifth: Follow up with the University Presidency to Secure the Necessary Requirements Outlined in the Improvement Plan
The follow up resulted in the following:
Five educational display screens were received for the classrooms.
The postgraduate studies and seminars hall was prepared and equipped.
Nameplates have been installed to name several lecture halls after Palestine, Al-Quds, and Al-Aqsa Mosque, as directed by the university president.
Maintenance of lecture halls and laboratories has begun.
Repair and installation of chairs have begun.
Maintenance of toilets in some facilities has begun.
The electricity outage has been resolved, and electricity has been connected to all laboratories.
The water network has been maintained and connected to most laboratories and faculty facilities.
The data is currently being updated and translated to be uploaded to the website after review by the dean of the faculty.This includes:
Regarding Facilities and Infrastructure for Academic Programs: The needs of some departments, including equipment maintenance, the purchase of new equipment, and the provision of supplies for practical applications, have been submitted. A portion of the requested supplies has been provided based on the faculty’s current budget. The remaining needs have been submitted to the university presidency for provision, and they are being followed up on.
Regarding the follow-up on course specifications and the distribution of teaching workload among teaching staff, the following has been done:
An Excel electronic and hardcopy report was submitted to the Center for Academic Development and Quality Assurance, listing all courses offered in both semesters across all academic programs within the faculty. The report lists the following information:
Names of the teaching staff and teaching assistants for both the theoretical and practical components of each course.
The number of credit hours assigned to the course, aligned with the university-approved study plan.
All other relevant and required data, as specified in the approved schedule circulated by the Center for Academic Development and Quality Assurance.
The course names listed in the study schedules were cross-checked against the approved study plans from the university presidency.
The teaching staff names listed in the study schedules were cross-checked with those actually teaching the courses.
Follow-up with department heads was conducted to ensure a fair and equitable distribution of teaching loads among all teaching staff in the different departments. This involved the following actions:
Ensuring no teaching staff member was excluded from the teaching process.
Collecting and submitting weekly teaching load data for each teaching staff member based on the approved load distribution schedules from the departments.
Reviewing the submitted data in accordance with the relevant circulars from the university presidency.
At the beginning of the semester, the course plan specifications, including both theoretical and practical components, were distributed at the level of each course to all department heads in accordance with the approved course plan for further distribution to their teaching staff.