Department of Philosophy JAHANGIRNAGAR UNIVERSITY
External Peer Review Report
by
Dr. Kripa Shanker Gupta Director, IQAC and Executive Education ISBR Business School, Bangalore-560100, Karnataka, India
Prof. Dr. Md. Abdul Muhit Professor, Department of Philosophy University of Dhaka
Dr. Kazi Bayzid Kabir Associate Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering Additional Director, Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology
Submitted to Institutional Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
April 2018 Preface
The Government of Bangladesh under the leadership of the Honourable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is committed to change the landscape of higher education through enhancement of quality of higher education and research in the country. To achieve the target of quality education, the Government and the World Bank have generously funded the project which is known as Higher Education Quality Enhancement Project (HEQEP). This project has been implemented by the University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh with appropriate assistance from the World Bank. A self-assessment Manual was prepared by UGC to serve as guidelines for the universities to implement the self-assessment and quality assurance at program level, with continuous communication with the Institutional Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) of the respective university.
The mission of all higher education institutions is to produce well trained graduates equipped with essential knowledge of the educational program and ability to effectively apply the acquired knowledge in real world applications. Students are expected to demonstrate positive attitudes and values, together with necessary twenty first century skills to meet the changing requirements for employment. This will ultimately assist in implementing the development plans of Bangladesh.
Assurance of quality in higher education is a process of establishing stakeholders’ confidence that fulfils expectations or measures up to threshold minimum requirements. Quality assurance is an all-embracing term covering all the policies, processes and actions through which quality of higher education is maintained, developed and enhanced. Quality assurance cannot happen automatically or accidentally, it has to be planned. Quality assurance is not any single thing but an aura, an atmosphere, an overpowering feeling that ‘the Institution is doing everything with excellence.
1_Page
Acknowledgement
We, the External Peer Review Team (EPRT) members, would like to thank the Institutional Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) of Jahangirnagar University for giving us the opportunity to review the Department of Philosophy.
Appreciation is also extended to the Honorable Vice Chancellor of Jahangirnagar University for spending her valuable time with us. Our heartfelt appreciation is accorded to all the faculty members of the Department of Philosophy, especially the Head and Members of the Self- Assessment Committee (SAC). Their continuous support and great logistical arrangements prepared for us were simply amazing. They were generous and readily available, fulfilling every request that EPRT made.
Special gratitude goes to the Director and the Additional Directors of IQAC, Jahangirnagar University for their work plan, coordination and constant support from the time of arrival at Jahangirnagar University until departure. The EPRT is also very thankful to everyone who helped us during the three days, including all the stakeholders of the Department.
The EPRT affirms that the content of the report is the result of the analysis of the SAR prepared by the SAC, the presentation by SAC, information received from meetings with stakeholders and their recommendations, site visit of physical facilities, and thoughtful feedbacks from the University administrators.
Dr. Kripa Shanker Gupta Prof. Dr. Md. Abdul Muhit Dr. Kazi Bayzid Kabir
2_Page
Table of Contents
Preface...... 1
Acknowledgement ...... 2
List of Abbreviations ...... 5
Chapter 1: Overview of the Program Review ...... 6
1.1 Main Principles of Program Review ...... 6
1.2 Aspects under Review ...... 7
1.3 The External Peer Review Process...... 8
Chapter 2: Overview of Program ...... 12
2.1 An Overview of Jahangirnagar University...... 12
2.2 Mission and Objectives of the University ...... 14
2.3 Overview of Department of Philosophy...... 14
Chapter 3: Aims, Objectives and Learning Outcomes ...... 17
3.1 Objectives of the Program ...... 17
3.2 Learning Outcomes ...... 17
Chapter 4: Findings of the Peer Reviewers ...... 18
4.1 General Comments ...... 18
4.2 Findings on Quality Assurance Criteria ...... 19
4.2.1 Criterion 1: Governance ...... 19
4.2.2 Criterion 2: Curriculum Content, Design and Review ...... 20
4.2.3 Criterion 3: Student Admission, Progress and Achievements ...... 21
4.2.4 Criterion 4: Physical facilities ...... 21
4.2.5 Criterion 5: Teaching-Learning and Assessment ...... 22
4.2.6 Criterion 6: Student Support Services ...... 23
4.2.7 Criterion 7: Staff and Facilities ...... 24
4.2.8 Criterion 8: Research and Extension ...... 24
3_Page
4.2.9 Criterion 9: Process Management and Continuous Improvement ...... 25
Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations ...... 26
5.1 Conclusion and Recommendations ...... 26
5.2 Judgments ...... 27
4_Page
List of Abbreviations
CLO Course Learning Outcomes EPRT External Peer Review Team GoB Government of Bangladesh HEQEP Higher Education Quality Enhancement Project ILO Intended Learning Outcomes IQAC Intuitional Quality Assurance Cell JU Jahangirnagar University LOF Learner-Oriented Facilitation OBE Outcome-Based Education PLO Program Learning Outcomes PoE Program Offering Entity QA Quality Assurance SAC Self-Assessment Committee SAR Self-Assessment Report SDLs Self –Directed Leaners SWOT Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats TOT Teacher-Oriented Teaching TSC Teacher-Students Centre UGC University Grant Commission of Bangladesh
5_Page
Chapter 1: Overview of the Program Review
This chapter outlines the main principles of program review, the aspects under review and description of the peer review process.
1.1 Main Principles of Program Review The most important aspects of quality education generally refer to the quality of teaching- learning and research which relate directly to academic activities. In this respect, all academic activities are functionally taking place at the program level. To maintain and enhance education quality of the program, regular program review exercise is necessary for evaluating and continuously enhancing the quality and effectiveness of the program under review. Program review is a cyclical process which is critical for improving its quality of teaching-learning and research and it is also a requirement for program accreditation. Program review exercise needs necessary data from stakeholders to evaluate and reflect the quality of the program through self- assessment.
Program self-assessment is a systematic collection, review and use of information about educational programs undertaken for the purpose of improving student learning. It involves through examination of all aspects and components of the program in respect of stakeholders’ opinions. It is a process of identifying the strengths and weakness of the program in terms of capacity of effective teaching-learning, student performance assessment, program management, ability to provide students support services and adequate physical facilities. Program self- assessment helps the department to: better understand the ongoing programs under assessment; revisit the program objectives and goals; redress the intended learning outcomes of the program, if necessary; identify the areas of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) and emerging changes to make the program updated and need based; assess the adequacy of student support services for effective teaching learning; assess the progress of improvement desired; and develop strategic plan with commitment and priorities for further improvement
An External Peer Review Team (EPRT) was appointed to validate the SAR prepared by the Department, visit the Department to make their own assessments and prepare a report containing 6_Page
suitable suggestions and recommendations. It is expected that the SAR and the External Peer Review Report together would provide a sound basis for the department to prepare their improvement plan.
1.2 Aspects under Review The review was carried out according to the process described in the Self-Assessment manual by UGC and focused on nine aspects, forty-four indicators and seventy standards. The aspects, indicators, and standards of each aspect are presented in Table 1.1.
Table 1.1 Aspects, Indicators and Standards No Aspects Indicators Standards 1 Governance 1. Mission and Objectives 13 2. Management 3. Accountability and Transparency 4. Academic Leadership and Autonomy 5. Stakeholder’ Feedback 2 Curriculum Design 1. Involvement of Stakeholders 05 and Review 2. Need Assessment 3. Content and Structure 4. Defining course learning outcomes 5. Skill development mechanism or strategy 6. Evaluation and review 3 Students: Admission, 1. Entry qualification 09 Progress and 2. Admission procedure Achievements 3. Progress and achievement 4 Physical Facilities 1. Classroom 02 2. Library facilities 3. Laboratory and field laboratory 4. Medical Facilities 5. Other facilities 5 Teaching - Learning 1. Teaching-learning 10 and Assessment 2. Quality staff 3. Appropriate teaching-learning methods
7_Page
No Aspects Indicators Standards 4. Use of lesson plan 5. Technology integration 6. Focus 7. Skill development mechanism 8. Assessment of student performance 6 Student Support 1. Academic guidance and counselling 08 Services 2. Co-curricular and extra-curricular activities 3. Career and placement 4. Alumni services 5. Community services 7 Staff and Facilities 1. Recruitment 16 2. Staff development 3. Peer observation 4. Career development 5. Key performance indicators 8 Research and 1. Research capacity development 04 Extension 2. Research funding 3. Dissemination and transfer system and policy 4. Patent of innovation 9 Process Management 1. Internal quality assurance system 03 for Continual 2. Conduct self-assessment following a cycle Improvement 3. Continuously and systematically review the effectiveness of the procedures to meet the objectives
1.3 The External Peer Review Process The peer review process begins with the appointment of EPRT on the recommendation of the Institutional Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) of Jahangirnagar University Bangladesh (JU) and approval by the Vice Chancellor of the University.
8_Page
The EPRT is comprised of the following members:
Foreign QA Expert Dr. Kripa Shanker Gupta (Team Leader) Director Internal Quality Assurance and Executive Education ISBR Business School Bangalore-560100, Karnataka, India Subject Expert Prof. Dr. Md. Abdul Muhit Department of Philosophy University of Dhaka Dhaka-1000 Local QA Expert Dr. Kazi Bayzid Kabir Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering. Additional Director, Institutional Quality Assurance Cell. Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology Dhaka-1000
As per to the terms of reference, the EPR Team was required to: a. Carry out a desk study of the Self-Assessment Report (SAR) prepared by SAC of the Department of Philosophy. b. Visit the University and the Department to critically observe the various aspects of the program in order to validate the findings of the SAR. c. Identify areas that need to be improved and introduced. d. Prepare and submit an external peer review report based on their findings.
Accordingly, the External Peer Reviewers studied the Self-Assessment Manual and SAR of the program under review, and after having carried out a prior desk-study of the SAR, visited the University and the Department of Philosophy from the 4th April morning to the 6th April afternoon 2018, to confirm and validate information meted out in the SAR. And at the end, a written exit report was submitted to the IQAC in the evening of 6th April 2018.
The EPR process was under taken in three phases. The descriptions of duties and responsibilities in each phase are given below:
9_Page
Before Site Visit: IQAC sends documents, (e.g. agreements and responsibilities of reviewers on the assignment, Self-Assessment Manual, SAR, work schedule) to the EPRT members two weeks before the site visit. Each external peer reviewer studies Self-Assessment Manual prepared by UGC to understand the prescribed guidelines of practices and expected outcomes and follow accordingly. Each external peer reviewer studies and analyses the SAR of the department under review and identifies points that required evidences and clarification during site visit. IQAC introduces EPRT members to get in touch online before site visit. Online communications among members of EPRT and IQAC about transportation and accommodation besides the academic matters.
During Site Visit: The EPRT members select a team leader for the review. The three-day site visit to the Department includes the following activities: a. Meeting with the IQAC, b. Meeting with the Chairman of the Department. c. Discussion with SAC of the department on SAR during which the EPR Team has the opportunity to obtain further details regarding he department and to clarify certain areas. d. Meeting with the five groups of stakeholders: students, non-academic staff, academic staff, alumni and employers using items in survey questionnaire as guideline as well as to confirm validate information on SAR. e. Site visit to physical facilities, Lab facilities, libraries etc. f. Observe classroom teaching. g. Review documentary evidence provided by the SAC. h. Prepare an exit report following categories in the checklist for external peer reviewer in the manual. i. At the end of third day, present exit report containing preliminary findings to the faculty members, SAC, IQAC and VC orally for feedback, if any. j. Finalize exit report by EPR Team, printout, sign, and submit to the Director of IQAC before departure of external peer reviewers.
10_Page
After Site Visit: a. EPR Team leader collects notes from team members and draft the final report following the guideline in SA Manual. b. Share the draft report with team members for addition, subtraction, and modification to complete the report before submitting final EPR Report to the Director, IQAC of Jahangirnagar University Bangladesh.
11_Page
Chapter 2: Overview of Program
This chapter provides an overview of the university, and description of the Program Offering Entity (PoE) – the Department of Philosophy, Jahangirnagar University.
2.1 An Overview of Jahangirnagar University Jahangirnagar University is a residential public university of Bangladesh. In the 1960s the Government of Pakistan had a decision to establish a residential university in East Pakistan in the same nature to that of the one built in Islamabad. To ease the student pressure of the University of Dhaka, the Education Department of the Government of East Pakistan framed a plan in June 1964 to establish a residential university near Dhaka. In June 1965 the Executive Board of the National Economic Council approved the plan. On the basis of this plan a place called Salna in Gazipur district was first earmarked and the foundation stone was laid by Field Marshall Ayub Khan, the then President of Pakistan. Due to some administrative difficulties, this site was abandoned and the present site was chosen, and accordingly 750 acres of land had been allotted for the university and the land was taken away from the Government Dairy Farm, east of the present campus in 1967. Later on about 50 acres of the University land was taken away from the Government Dairy Farm again in 1967. The university project started its implementation in April 1968 as Jahangirnagar Muslim University and Professor Surat Ali Khan was made the first Project Director.
Jahangirnagar University was formally launched on 12 January 1970 under the Jahangirnagar Muslim University Ordinance, 1970 and this day is observed as University Day. At the time of starting, its name was Jahangirnagar Muslim University, and the initial plan was to operate this university as like as Aligarh Muslim University. It operated as a project until 1973, when the 'Jahangirnagar Muslim University Act' was amended as the 'Jahangirnagar University Act'. But after the independence of Bangladesh, its name changed as Jahangirnagar University under the act of Jahangirnagar University Act' 1973. On 20 August 1970, an ordinance was promulgated to start the academic programmes of the university. Professor Mofizuddin Ahmed, the then member of the Central Public Service Commission of Pakistan and formerly Professor of Chemistry, University of Dhaka, was appointed as the first Vice-Chancellor. He joined as vice-Chancellor on 24 September 1970. The earlier aim was to establish this university as a science oriented university. For that purpose five faculties, namely, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Faculty of 12_Page
Social Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Applied Sciences were earmarked. However, the university was started later with 4 honours departments called viz. Economics, Geography, Statistics and Mathematics. The university started with 21 teachers in these departments. The first group of students, a total of 150, was enrolled in four Honors departments. The initial class was held on 4 January 1971. Its formal inauguration was delayed until 12 January 1971, when the university was formally launched by Rear Admiral S M Ahsan, the then Governor of East Pakistan and the Chancellor of the University. The university started in full swing when Professor Syed Ali Ahsan joined as the second Vice-Chancellor in 2 February 1972.
The main purpose of the University is promoting research in different fields as well as preparing the students to meet the challenges of future day. The university has 16,781 students, 676 teachers, and 1,430 other employees. At present there are 34 departments under six faculties: Mathematical and Physical Science, Biological Science, Social Science, Arts and Humanities, Business Studies and Law & Justice and two institutes: Institute of Business Administration & Institute of Information Technology.
The two institutes for specialized research and training of the university are those of Business Administration, Information Technology. Wazed Miah Science Research Centre also exits here. Presently the enrolment range of Jahangirnagar University is 15,000-19,999 students based on entrance examinations and students' past academic record and grades. The University (JU) offers courses and programs leading to officially recognized higher education degrees such as pre- bachelor degrees (i.e. certificates, diplomas, associate or foundation degrees), bachelor degrees, master degrees as well as masters of philosophy, doctorate degrees in several areas of study. The university also trains up a large number of researchers in different disciplines. More than PhD and MPhil researchers have obtained their degrees from this University.
With fifteen residential halls (and more under construction), Jahangirnagar University is mandated to provide residential accommodation to every student with separate halls for the female students. JU also provides several academic and non-academic facilities and services to students including a library, housing, sport facilities and/or activities, financial aids and/or scholarships, study abroad and exchange programs, as well as administrative services.
13_Page
The Central Library of the university has a collection of over 100,000 titles. On-line journal browsing and photo copying facilities are also available in the central library of the university. The university has a beautiful Central Mosque, a Temple, a large gymnasium, a swimming pool, and a central cafeteria. The university also has its own medical center. Adequate bus services between the campus and Dhaka city are also provided by the university’s own transports. A 71 feet tall Central Shaheed Minar, by far the tallest in the country, in front of the New Arts Building is one of the main attractions of the university.
There is an open-air amphitheater; the very first one in the country, inside the campus is the main venue for the socio-cultural programs. A Teacher-Students Centre (TSC) is also established for various club activities for teachers and students. There are two famous statues, known as Songsaptak, in front of the Central Library and Amar Ekushe in front of the Social Sciences building. The natural beauty of Jahangirnagar University is always attractive for everyone who enters the campus.
2.2 Mission and Objectives of the University The university runs according to 1973 Act and ordinances along with administrative order if necessary but has no structured operational policy. The mission and objectives of the university is not set properly. A well-structured and deeply thought mission and objectives are needed to be formulated.
2.3 Overview of Department of Philosophy Philosophy, as a distinct and independent department at Jahangirnagar University, begun its journey in 1984. There were only ten undergrad students in the first batch and currently more than five hundred students are pursuing their major in philosophy. The department, in its comparatively young age, achieved notable success and unique position in philosophical research and teaching in Bangladesh and beyond. The eminent faculty members, enthusiastic student, comprehensive and modern syllabi, distinguished visiting scholars made this remarkable achievement possible in a very short time. In all areas of philosophy including history of philosophy, Anglo-American philosophy, analytic philosophy, philosophy of science, Indian, Chinese and Japanese philosophy, moral philosophy, symbolic logic, mathematical logic, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, environmental philosophy and deep ecology, department members have a proven track record. The department's most distinctive
14_Page
strength is its several modules in ethics (both theoretical and applied) and logic. In doing non- Western philosophy, in particular, the philosophy of Bengal, the department is among the top. Faculty members continuously publish their works in national and international journals, visit world class institutions, pursue masters or Ph.D. in prestigious research universities worldwide. Apart from four years undergraduate honors and one year masters, the department offers M.Phil. and Ph.D. programs in philosophy. The department publishes research journal Copula with international contributions in a regular basis. It has a modern seminar library with online facilities, digital books and a Centre for Philosophical Research and Activities. Many alumnus of the department won national and international awards for their contributions to different aspects of society. Sharing diversity and unity of views, philosophy department at Jahangirnagar University is now the home of analytical, critical, spiritual and creative thinkers. A summary of the information on the Department of Philosophy is given in Table 2.1.
Table 2.1: Data on the Department of Philosophy
Sl. No. Items Unit / Quantity
1 First year enrollment (recent) 56
2 Average HSC GPA score of enrolled students (recent) 4.40 3 First year retention rate (recent) 8.33 4 Average first year retention rate (recent 5 years) 14.30 5 Average transfer rate (recent 5 years) 26
6 Total number of students at present 384 7 Average pass rate in first year courses (recent 5 years) 67.89
8 Total enrollment in MS Data Not Available 9 Total enrollment in PhD Data Not Available 10 Total number of full time academic staff 23 11 Total number full time academic staff with PhD 08 12 Academic staffs on study leave for PhD in home and abroad 02 13 Number of Graduates passed (average of recent 5 years) 81 14 Number of Masters passed (average of recent 5 years) 95.74 15 Number of PhD passed (average of recent 5 years) Data Not Available
15_Page
16 Total number & amount of external (other than GoB) funded 1 Project research projects 60,000/- 17 Total number & amount of (GoB) funded research projects Data Not Available
18 Number of theses/research monographs /publications Data Not Available 19 Teacher-student ratio 1: 17
16_Page
Chapter 3: Aims, Objectives and Learning Outcomes
3.1 Objectives of the Program The main objectives of the program are to: provide a general introduction to Philosophy and some integrated courses describe a historical perspective of philosophy, ethics and logic analyze the basic concepts and theories of philosophy, ethics and logic develop the understanding of philosophical problems and to formulate defensible stances to the problems examine different philosophical, ethical and logical problems and their applications to the variety of important philosophical and moral issues.
3.2 Learning Outcomes The program will examine a broad range of philosophical issues based on various thematic stands, namely Eastern Philosophy, Ethics, Logic, Language and Mind, Social and Political Philosophy. Precisely this program will help the students to:
a. Develop global thinking skill so that students are more confident in: identifying individual and collective responsibilities in a diverse society. achieving the art of good living in a pluralistic society approving diverse cultural and socio-political contexts determining their decision making approaches to the global society
b. Develop critical thinking skill in order to: ask questions about what they read, discuss and understand proper application of ethical theories to solve the contemporary social problems widen students’ perspective of how they see and understand ideas and social issues observe articulated relationships among ideas, decision making processes and judgments. expand communication skill and analytical competency so that students are more skilled and confident in negotiating different opinions in the debate on philosophical issues and sharing their opinions which are both constructive and logical
17_Page
Chapter 4: Findings of the Peer Reviewers
The findings shall be highlighted under the following descriptors: Commendation: Something that the Department is doing well and should be recognized Affirmation: Something that the Department has started or desires to achieve that is positive and should be developed and enhanced Recommendations: Something that the Department should give serious consideration for improvement.
4.1 General Comments Commendation: a. There is an IQAC Office in the university, which signifies the seriousness of the university in the aspects of Quality Assurance (QA). b. The Department took initiative to do self-assessment for quality improvement. c. The IQAC and the Department took great efforts to ensure a smooth flow of the review exercise. d. The roles and responsibilities of each staff and committees are well articulated in the existing law.
Affirmation: a. The SAR submitted by the Department is written according to the format given by the UGC. SAC has taken great effort to write the SAR. The EPR team highly appreciates their commitment and effort in this regard. b. Quality assurance activities have been initiated at Jahangirnagar University Bangladesh and ongoing work is evident. c. Academic and non-academic staff of the Department show partial awareness of the need for continuous improvement, and efforts towards this should be pursued.
Recommendation: a. The Department and IQAC should take necessary steps to keep record of all kinds of ongoing activities at the Department and University levels.
18_Page
b. The SAC has identified some opportunities and threats in Chapter 12 of their report. However, all the factors mentioned here are not external factors. The EPR team suggests the SAC to revise the SWOT analysis in their final report. c. Extended Orientation Program for students should be organised in the department for all fresh students to reorient them from Teacher-Oriented Teaching (TOT) Process (school education) to Learner-Oriented Facilitation (LOF) to make them Self –Directed Leaners (SDLs).
4.2 Findings on Quality Assurance Criteria 4.2.1 Criterion 1: Governance Commendation: a. The University and the Department have the organizational structure with defined responsibilities of the key players of governance system in compliance with the University Ordinance. b. The University has sound leadership to support and encourage the quality assurance culture. c. There is a strong sense of ownership among academic and non-academic staff of the Department and this goes to show a supportive leadership. d. Academic decisions are taken in fair and transparent manner.
Affirmation: a. There is an alumni association for the former students of the Department, which was formed recently and yet to be a registered. The EPRT suggests that the association should take initiatives to complete its registration. The association should also need to be more proactive and take a major role in enhancing the interaction between the students and the relevant industries.
Recommendations: a. University should take necessary initiatives to formulate its vision, mission, goals and objectives. b. Department should revisit it vision, mission, goals and objectives in order to align with the University vision, mission, goals and objectives. c. The EPRT strongly recommends that the Department to formalize the use of an academic calendar and stick to it for its academic activities. 19_Page
d. The Department should take necessary steps to keep documentary evidences of their academic and other activities, since the documentation practice in the Department is unsatisfactory. e. Currently student handbooks are not available for the various Programs offered by the Department. It is highly recommended to prepare and print handbooks and provide those to the students during their orientation to the Department. f. The Graduate Profile should be defined to describe the competencies of the graduates that the program aims to achieve. This should be disseminated to various stakeholders, especially the students, employers and the faculty members. g. Program Learning Objectives (PLO), Course Learning Outcomes (CLO) and Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO) are to be developed in accordance with Outcome-based Education (OBE) to support the Graduate Profile. h. The Departmental website lacks necessary information about the Department, faculty members and its current activities. In order to make the website useful and user friendly, it needs to be redesigned with all necessary information. Individual faculty profile should be uploaded and updated regularly on the website of the department with details related to the experience and research background.
4.2.2 Criterion 2: Curriculum Content, Design and Review Commendation: a. The department has a well-established content based syllabus. b. The syllabus covers most of the areas of the subject. c. The syllabi of all Programs are reviewed periodically as per the ordinance.
Affirmation: a. There is an English course for the 1st year students. This course is not adequate for students for their language skill development. The EPR recommends that the Department should teach English courses also in the second and third years so that the language proficiency of the students gets to the required level.
Recommendations a. The Department, under the guidance of the IQAC, should take initiative to develop a complete curriculum for its programmes.
20_Page
b. Adequate time allocation should be included to the curriculum to accommodate IT and soft skill development of the students such as communication skill, interpersonal skill, work ethics, etc. c. Feedback from the students, alumni and employers need to be considered in curriculum designing and reviewing to address the gaps after analysing and identifying the market needs.
4.2.3 Criterion 3: Student Admission, Progress and Achievements Commendation a. Current admission policies and procedures are well established. The students are admitted through a fair admission test process. b. Online application for admission exists in the university.
Affirmation a. The Department has an orientation program for the newly admitted students. However, in addition to the orientation students should be given a Student Handbook which contains vital information they will need during the duration of their studies at the university.
Recommendations a. The Department needs to devise a system to ensure that the students interested in Philosophy are admitted. This can be done by introducing an aptitude test as a secondary screening among the preliminarily selected students. b. Continuous monitoring system should be developed to access the students’ performance. c. There should be an institution/department level set policy towards the students who show poor progress.
4.2.4 Criterion 4: Physical facilities Commendation a. There are five classrooms in the Department. One of the classrooms is equipped with multimedia projector and sound systems. b. The Department has been granted two HEQEP projects which are supporting the Department in capacity building and infrastructural development.
21_Page
Affirmation a. The University provides basic facilities such as library, sports, accommodation and healthcare for all students. b. The University has limited Internet facilities. c. The department has a seminar library with approximately 1000 books. However, this collection is not enough to meet the necessity of the students and the faculty members.
Recommendations a. The Central Library should increase the number of books for Philosophy department with automation as a priority. b. Common rooms for both male and female students need to be arranged. c. The seminar library should be improved by having more space, book collection, proper management and automation to enable greater access to the students and staff. d. The Department should have a separate computer lab with internet connectivity.
4.2.5 Criterion 5: Teaching-Learning and Assessment Commendation a. The teaching and learning is supported by a suitably qualified team of academic staff. b. Moderation of Question Papers is in practice. c. The Department uses two-examiner system for the marking of the final exam scripts, which is commendable. d. The students are well aware of the present assessment method. e. Both formative and summative assessment approaches are followed.
Affirmation a. There are some evidences that faculty members attempt to engage students during the classes. b. Only a few faculty members use multimedia tools for their lectures.
Recommendations a. All faculty should be trained to transform from Pedagogy (teaching children) to Andragogy facilitating for Self-Directed Learners (adult learners) and Heutagogy (for facilitating Self-Determined Learners.
22_Page
b. The faculty members should provide the students the results of continuous assessment before the final exam. c. Course outlines and lesson plans should be given at the beginning of the session for all course units. d. EPR team, from the discussion with the students, came to know that not all teachers are providing enough classes for the students. It is recommended that the sufficient number of classes should be conducted for each courses offered by the Department. e. Faculty members must be trained to make them aware of Bloom’s taxonomy for preparation of examination question papers to avoid the Repetition of questions as observed by EPRT. f. A learning dairy for every subject must be introduced in which students should be asked to write the learning points at the end of every class.
4.2.6 Criterion 6: Student Support Services Commendation a. The students are involved in extra-curricular activities. The faculty members take the lead role to mentor the students and oversee the performance of the students.
Affirmation a. The Alumni Association is in the process of introducing a scholarship for the poor students of the Department. In addition, the Alumni Association is also trying to organize seminars for the students to be run by the employers.
Recommendations a. Academic and social counselling need to be introduced. b. Extra and Co-curricular activities could be incorporated within the academic calendar. c. There is a need to create a fund for the best and poor students. d. Career counselling sessions for the students need to be introduced by the Department. The University should consider starting a Career Centre to guide the students and fresh graduates of the Department.
23_Page
4.2.7 Criterion 7: Staff and Facilities Commendation a. Well qualified teaching staff. 22 full-time academic staff members are in the department. 8 of them hold PhD. b. The University has a well-defined recruitment policy and criteria specifying entry requirements for every category of academic and non-academic staff.
Affirmation a. There is a Centre of Excellence in Teaching & Learning. The Centre runs Programs to train newly recruited faculty members on teaching methodologies and student assessment.
Recommendations a. The use of key performance indicators (KPI) for the appointment or promotion of the academic staff is not in practice. The university should use well-defined KPIs for the appointment or promotion of the academic staff. b. Training program for non-academic staff need to be introduced either by the Department or by the University.
4.2.8 Criterion 8: Research and Extension Commendation a. There are enough abilities to conduct research. Some of the academic staff publish research papers and books. b. The Department publishes a peer-reviewed annual journal titled Copula.
Affirmation a. The teachers and students of the Department have a positive frame of mind to get involved in community services.
Recommendations
a. The Department should work with IQAC and other Departments to formulate a research policy as no Documentary evidences for policy and program on research and development is available in the Department..
24_Page
b. For Copula, the Department may consider having editorial members from outside the Department. c. The Department and the University should encourage faculty members to publish more in peer-reviewed journals. d. A fund should be created by the University for the participation of faculty members in the seminars/conferences. e. All faculty members must be encouraged to obtain research funds. Need to create more opportunities for research funding by establishing linkage with industries, alumni, NGOs, and professional organizations as well as international collaboration.
4.2.9 Criterion 9: Process Management and Continuous Improvement Commendation a. IQAC is well organized and very dynamic to arrange required quality development programs. b. University administration is committed to provide conducive learning environment for the students and faculty members. c. The Department of Philosophy has taken the initiative to complete their self-assessment for the first time.
Affirmation None
Recommendations a. Based on the findings of the self-assessment and the recommendations from the EPRT, the Department should prepare and implement a specific action plant for next four years. b. The Department should take necessary steps to introduce students’ feedback as well as peer observation on teaching and learning. c. Feedback from relevant stakeholders is to be obtained to identify the potential areas for improvement regularly.
25_Page
Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations
5.1 Conclusion and Recommendations This report is prepared with the view to support the QA initiative of the Department of Philosophy of Jahangirnagar University. The EPRT identified some commendable practices at the Department. At the same time, study of the SAR, observations and interactions with the representatives of stakeholders, the EPRT has identified a few areas for further improvement towards quality assurance in education (Recommendation subsections in Chapter 4). The SAC will now be required to review this report and incorporate the findings, especially the Affirmations and recommendations, into the improvement plan. The EPRT recommends that the improvement plan may be divided into components with specific, reasonable and achievable time line.
The EPRT realized that the Department of Philosophy is committed towards the Quality Assurance of education at the Department by providing better support to both the students and staff. The EPRT observed that the academic and non-academic staffs are sincere in the job assigned to them and to adopt standards good practices. The EPRT believes that through strong and effective co-ordination and commitment, and under strong leadership of the Head of the Department, it will become a centre of excellence in the region and world.
26_Page
5.2 Judgments Based on the observations during the peer review visit by the Review Team following aspects were judged using the given rating scale:
Aspects Reviewed Judgment Given Numerical Weight Governance Good 3 Curriculum Design and Review Good 3 Physical Facilities Good 3.5 Student: Admission Progress and Achievements Good 3 Teaching and Learning Good 3 Assessment of Student Performance Good 3 Student Support Services Good 3 Staff and Facilities Very Good 4 Research and Extension Good 3.5 Process Management for Continual Improvement Good 3 Total Good 33
Final Score Overall Judgment 0 – 15 Unsatisfactory 16-25 Poor 26-35 Good 36-45 Very Good 46-50 Excellent
Considering the judgments given for the different QA aspects, the Review team is able to give an overall judgment of Good for Department of Philosophy, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Dr. Kripa Shanker Gupta Prof. Dr. Md. Abdul Muhit Dr. Kazi Bayzid Kabir (Foreign QA Expert) (Subject Expert) (Local QA Expert) Director Professor, Department of Associate Professor, IQAC & Centre for Executive Philosophy Department of Chemical Education University of Dhaka Engineering ISBR Business School, Tel: +8801715522171 Additional Director, IQAC Bangalore-560037, India BUET, Dhaka-1000 Tel: +919886012146 [email protected] Tel: +8801919190800 [email protected] 27_Page
28_Page