FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

5.     How does the Commission carry out its work?    
The Commission executes its operations through specialist committees and the Secretariat. The Committees examine and determine specific issues and advise the Commission on the course of action to be taken. The Committees and the Secretariat engage the services of resource persons to perform specialized tasks where necessary.  There are 13 committees, based on the broad activities of the Commission.

 6.  What is Accreditation?
Accreditation may be generally defined as a process of quality control and assurance whereby, as a result of inspection or assessment, an institution or its programmes are recognised as meeting minimum acceptable standards.
Forms of accreditation
Subject Accreditation where the focus is on specific subject matter, whatever the programme is;
Programme Accreditation focuses on study programmes; and
Institutional Accreditation which focuses on the overall quality of an institution.

The concept of practices in Accreditation and Quality Assurance are based on two (2) main approaches namely:

• the “Standard-based” approach where quality is measured against pre-defined standards. It focuses on standards and the extent to which they are being met.
• the “Fitness for Purpose” approach which assumes that quality is equal to objectives and goals as established by the institution.

Commission’s Principles of Accreditation
The Commission applies and uses the above concepts and forms of accreditation and quality assurance based on the following principles:

• the Commission recognises that quality and quality control are primarily the responsibility of higher education institutions themselves but they partner with the Commission for better results;
• the Commission respects the autonomy, identity and integrity of the institutions;
• the Commission applies standards which are in line with international developments and best practices and international benchmarking;
•  the Commission aims at contributing towards quality enhancement and accountability;
• the Commission uses peer review and attempts to involve international experts in the external assessment processes.

 Key features of accreditation

It is a continuous process;
• Periodic review is the life-line of accredited institutions and programmes;
• Institutions seeking accreditation must undergo a number of stages as outlined in the Universities Rules, 1989;
• It is compulsory in Kenya;
• Use of peer review/ consultative process in subject/discipline/profession;
• Self-assessment/evaluation by institutions based on an institution’s vision, mission, philosophy and objectives;
• Site visits/ inspections to verify academic resources;
• Action/judgment by the Commission which adapts a developmental and advisory approach to ascertain that the institution achieves the desired standard after which a new institution is granted a Letter of Interim Authority, an existing institution is awarded a Charter and an accredited institution receives a Re-inspection Certificate.
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