Institutional perspectives on (a) programme review and (b) portfolio preparation: The agony, the anger and the angst!

Programme review Challenges  The challenge of shared ownership of the process (programme quality is everybody’s business).  The challenge of co-ordination among participants (e.g. quality office, management, staff, support services, students).  The challenge of finding time amidst tight schedules.  The data challenge and the assistance of the institutional audit visit from an institutional perspective.  Physical setup for easy access and communication as well as financial implications of visits.

Programme review Advantages/benefits  Assisted with improving communication within and across programmes.  Assisted in taking a holistic view of a programme.  Assisted in sensitising participants for the spectrum of quality issues/criteria involved in programme offerings.  Assisted in clarifying role differentiation and responsibility for programmes.

Portfolio preparation Staff time: always a problem. Participation and input (writing with and not writing for). Critical readers and inputs. Balancing the report (being “objective”). Obtaining data. Putting everything together in a meaningful way.