Divine Word University (Dwu)
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OFFICE OF HIGHER EDUCATION DIVINE WORD UNIVERSITY (DWU) Report of a Post-Audit Implementation Review May 2014 Copyright © Office of Higher Education 2014 Level 2, Mutual Rumana Building, Waigani Drive, Port Moresby, NCD PNG PO Box 5117, Boroko, NCD, PNG Website: www.ohe.gov.pg CONTENTS 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Summary of Findings ..................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Organisation of this Report ........................................................................................................... 1 2 CONDUCT OF THE POST-AUDIT IMPLEMENTATION REVIEW ............................................... 2 3 FINDINGS AGAINST THE TERMS OF REFERENCE .................................................................. 3 3.1 ToR 1 – Extent of Implementation ................................................................................................ 3 3.2 ToR 2 – Strategies for the Future .................................................................................................. 4 3.3 ToR 3 – Towards International Standards ..................................................................................... 5 3.4 ToR 4 – Further Actions ................................................................................................................. 6 3.5 ToR 5 – Lessons Learnt .................................................................................................................. 7 4 OBSERVATIONS BY THEMATIC AREA .................................................................................. 8 4.1 University Vision and Strategic Plan ............................................................................................. 8 4.2 Governance ................................................................................................................................... 9 4.2.1 University Council ........................................................................................................... 9 4.2.2 Risk Management ........................................................................................................... 9 4.2.3 Diwai Pacific .................................................................................................................... 9 4.2.4 Succession Planning ...................................................................................................... 10 4.2.5 Academic Governance .................................................................................................. 10 4.3 Leadership and Management ..................................................................................................... 10 4.4 Finance ........................................................................................................................................ 12 4.5 Human Resources Management ................................................................................................. 12 4.6 Academic Standards .................................................................................................................... 13 4.7 Physical infrastructure ................................................................................................................ 14 4.8 Student Services and Student Affairs .......................................................................................... 15 4.9 Research ...................................................................................................................................... 15 5 BRIEF COMMENT FOR EACH AFFIRMATION AND RECOMMENDATION.............................. 17 5.1 Affirmations ................................................................................................................................ 17 5.2 Recommendations ...................................................................................................................... 19 APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................ 25 APPENDIX A: THE POST-AUDIT IMPLEMENTATION REVIEW TEAM ....................................................... 25 APPENDIX B: ACRONYMS ....................................................................................................................... 26 © OHE 2014 DWU Post-Audit Implementation Review Report 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 Summary of Findings This Report provides the outcomes of a review of the progress made by Divine Word University (DWU) in implementing affirmations and recommendations from its November 2011 Audit Report, two years after the Report was completed. The review took place between September and November 2013. The Review Team finds that Divine Word University has addressed the affirmations and recommendations vigorously and comprehensively. The reasons for non-implementation of a small number of recommendations have been explained adequately. The Review Team notes that urgent recommendations were attended to immediately by the University. The University has made very substantial progress over the past two years. A more measured pace is encouraged for improvements through to 2016 but the Review Team concludes that the actions taken by the University since November 2011 have lifted it to new levels of achievement in both management and academic programs. Major areas of improvement include academic staff capabilities, especially in program and unit design and delivery, which have been the focus of substantial professional development support by DWU since 2011. New senior appointments have been made. A good Learning and Teaching Plan has been developed, together with a Research Plan. The establishment of a policy library, updating of program documentation, empowerment of deans, and establishment of a new performance management approach are other significant achievements. These achievements have changed the nature of academic discourse at DWU to one that more closely resembles contemporary discussions of good practice in well- established universities. Over the period, the University has maintained its commitment to transparency to external parties and massively improved its already good ICT facilities, especially its learning resources. Staff of the University are to be commended on their adoption of the new Learning Management System and their efforts to improve English language support for students. The overall trajectory of the University is very good. Some activities and programs are expected to be of international standard by 2016. However, the Review Team considers that it would be unreasonable to expect all aspects of DWU’s operations to be of this standard by then. The University is encouraged to sustain its strategy of continuous improvement, which will take it to new heights of achievement over time. 1.2 Organisation of this Report The Report is organised into five sections. Following this Executive Summary, Section 2 contains a brief account of the conduct of the review. Section 3 provides the Review Team’s findings against the each of the five Terms of Reference, while Section 4 contains observations by the Review Team under various thematic areas. Section 5 gives a brief comment on implementation of each affirmation and recommendation in the 2011 Audit Report. A list of Review Team members and observers of the Site Visit is at Appendix A. A list of acronyms is at Appendix B. © OHE 2014 1 Post-Audit Implementation Review Report DWU 2 CONDUCT OF THE POST-AUDIT IMPLEMENTATION REVIEW In May 2013, Divine Word University (‘DWU’ or ‘the University’) invited the Office of Higher Education (OHE) to conduct a two-year review of the University’s progress in implementing the recommendations and affirmations from its 2011 external institutional and academic audit. In June 2013, Terms of Reference were signed and the process for the review agreed on by OHE and DWU. The scope of the review is DWU’s operations at its Madang Campus, consistent with the scope of the 2011 audit, which did not examine in detail the operations of DWU’s other campuses (e.g. Wewak, Port Moresby) or of DWU’s affiliated institutions. OHE appointed a three-person Post-Audit Implementation Review Team (‘Review Team’) for the review, drawn from members of the PNG Register of Experts for University Quality Assessment, including the chair of the Review Team for the 2011 audit. On 17 September 2013, DWU provided a self-assessment Progress Report plus supporting documents. Other members of the 2011 audit Review Team were invited to provide comments on DWU’s Progress Report and three of the four did so. The review team found their comments to be insightful and helpful and thanks these people for their input. In October 2013, OHE issued a Request for Further Information to DWU, which provided additional information in early November and on-site at the Site Visit. The Site Visit to the University’s Madang Campus took place between 11 and 15 November 2013. In all, the Review Team spoke with over 90 people in the course of the review, including the Chair of Council, the University President, Vice-Presidents, Deans, heads of department, academic and professional staff, student leaders, and undergraduate and postgraduate students. The Review Team expresses its appreciation to the President, the Vice-Presidents, the Director Academic Quality Assurance, the Director ICT Services and others at DWU for their assistance throughout the process and