TUNING APPROACH IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN AFRICA Yemi Akegbejo-Samsons University Representative (AU/EU TUNING PROJECT)

Preamble ☞ One of the challenges facing African nations is to be able to produce competent and relevant expertise in a regular, sustained and meaningful way to effect national and regional developments. ☞As in many other regions of the world, African universities have been criticized for producing less relevant and applicable curricula than is needed to have visible and immediate impact socially and economically. Efforts to address this disjuncture have been undertaken in most countries.

Preamble ☞ In order to address this, several initiatives have been taken, including the founding of the International Institute of Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA), by UNESCO. ☞ The largest national initiative of capacity building in higher education is currently run by the Ethiopian Government, the Engineering Capacity Building Programme.

How it all started In implementing the Plan of Action for the Second Decade of Education for Africa, the African Union Commission (AUC) embarked on a process of promoting quality assurance and developing a framework for harmonization of Higher Education programmes in Africa. This formed part of the effort to revitalise HE in Africa, creating a distinctive, attractive and globally competitive African HE space, through enhanced intra‐African collaboration. The Feasibility Study into the Relevance of a Tuning Approach in Higher Education (HE) for Africa was embedded in a broad African‐EU and AU policy context.

How it all started The African Union Strategy for Harmonization having been endorsed by the Third Ordinary Session of the Conference of Ministers of Education (COMEDAF III), Regional Economic Communities (RECs), relevant organizations at continental level, and regional associations of universities who have also been identified as key players for the implementation of the harmonization process. A validation meeting was organized in March 2008 by the AAU, on behalf of and in collaboration with the AUC, to discuss and adopt an effective way towards implementing the African Union Harmonization Strategy, the Quality Rating Mechanism; and the revision of the Arusha Convention.

How it all started At the Conference "Developing links: EU‐Africa Cooperation in Higher Education through Mobility" held on 4‐5 December 2008 in Brussels in the framework of the AU‐EU Joint Strategy, discussions were held with a number of HE stakeholders from Africa and Europe. One of the recommendations from this Conference was to consider how a project which would help to foster curriculum collaboration and understanding at subject level could help to develop mutual understanding and support the HE component of the Second Decade for Education for Africa, the Harmonisation Strategy for Higher Education and the work that was already underway in the framework of the revised Arusha Convention. It was felt that utilising the experience of Tuning Educational Structures in Europe and Latin America projects might be useful to this end.

What is Tuning? (a) Tuning is a collaborative, consultative process involving academics working in subject groups with employers and other stakeholders in curriculum development to enhance student competences. (b) It is a transformation initiative which links institutional, national, regional, continental and international endeavours in HE (c) It uses an internationally established methodology to enhance degree comparability, graduate mobility and employability.

What does it do? Tuning projects help to: improve staff capacity to design and develop curricula (ii) provide opportunities for generation of additional resources (iii) support effective and productive networking.

What does it do? Is basically an harmonization process Does not aim at uniformity of degree programmes Provides points of reference, convergence and common understanding for the various degree programs . Provides reference points at subject area level, in such a way as to make degree program of studies to be comparable, compatible and transparent. . 9

Tuning Methodology The methodology engages the stakeholders – employers, students, academics and institutions – and seeks to ensure that programmes of study are relevant, student-centred, output-focused, and that graduates have acquired generic and subject specific competences relevant to the needs of society. The Tuning approach is an integrative experience, in which academics develop high quality curriculum and teaching and learning for students. It is not a process which can be imported or transplanted – it has to be grown and nurtured by the academics in the subject area working together and engaging with the process – the identification of generic and subject specific competences, seeking the views of academics / employers / students / graduates and sharing understanding with peers from other institutions and other countries.

Core areas of focus The reference points are expressed in terms of : (1) Learning Outcomes, and (2) Generic and Subject-level competences Learning outcomes :What a learner in each degree program is expected to know , understand and be able to demonstrate after completion of a learning experience 11

Core areas of focus Generic and Subject-level competences cognitive and meta-cognitive skills , knowledge and understanding, interpersonal, intellectual and practical skills, Cultural and ethical values to be obtained by the learner, before the learner can earn the degree, certificates or diploma. 12

Major features The major features of the TUNING process are: It focuses on subject areas (b) Employs the process of LEARNING OUTCOMES System and COMPETENCES APPROACH (c) Based on Student Learning , rather than staff-centred teaching. 13

Creates common terminology and understanding in each subject area. (e) Emphasized the continent -wide use of the student work-load based African Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ACTS) – which will facilitates mobility of students through credit accumulation and transfer

FEATURES OF LEARNING OUTCOMES SYSTEM and COMPETENCES APPROACH Minimum Learning Outcomes expected of learners in each subject (what a learner in each degree program is expected to know , understand and be able to demonstrate after completion of a learning experience). Generic competences or transferable skills and subject specific competences (subject –Competences, Cognitive and meta-cognitive skills , knowledge and understanding, interpersonal, intellectual and practical skills,( cultural values ) and ethical values to be obtained by the learner) 15

What Tuning is offering Involvement of the Academic sector and the other stakeholders ( e.g. Employers) Platform for Subject and Program- based interactions (e.g Tuning Engineering, Tuning Agriculture) Minimum Reference points for the various subjects. Paradigm change in teaching ( From staff-centred to Learners-centred teaching, learning and Assessment)

What Tuning will offer For each Subject: Generic and Subject specific competences Transferable Credit System. Modern approach to learning ( Learning outcomes and Competences approach) Relevance and Impact

1. Inter-Regional Networking Expected Outputs of African Harmonization Strategy with Tuning Contents 1. Inter-Regional Networking 2. Harmonization – Through development of frameworks for HE /Minimum Standards 3. Quality Enhancement 4. Comparability of degrees, certificates and diplomas 5. Mobility – Intra-African mobility

What we achieved Getting joint understanding on the area … - Communication and debate on common, diverse and dynamic Defining Competences and Learning outcomes - Defining Generic Competences - Defing Specific Competences

What we achieved Consultation on social needs… - Defining social groups - Discussing Instrument Carrying out the consultation - Collecting Data - Discussing and sharing reflections at different levels

What we achieved From consultation to list of competences … - Consultation process about generic and subject specific competences. - Data analysis of the consultation process. Elaboration of tables, diagrams, and presentations showing the results. From lists of competences to elaboration of profiles design of degree programmes for the five thematic areas involved definition of a validation procedure for each subject area

Where we are so far Our next meeting comes up in Brussels, Belgium. Final publication of each Subject Area (Group) Student voice Research and Good Practices Symposium

Felicitations Thanks for your kind attention