Abstract:
To strengthen teaching and learning for university students in the East African
region, universities can employ various strategies many of which resonate best
teaching and learning practices. Around East Africa, good teaching and learning
practices are highly sought by higher education governing bodies such as the
Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) and in-country bodies such
as Ministries of Higher Education (MoHE) and Commissions for University
Education (CUEs). Universities have a variety of approaches they apply to
ensure quality assurance of services they provide to students, who are their
key stakeholders. These include quality manuals and academic procedures,
that if judiciously utilised can ensure effective teaching and learning. These
quality instruments that are informed by the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO), aspiring to quality in teaching and learning, but to date
this pursuit is in its early stages their application. One recent and innovative
way of ensuring quality learning at universities worldwide, is the utilisation
of feedback from graduates for improvement of teaching and learning spaces,
conditions, provisions and programmes. This feedback can be obtained and
used from graduate tracer studies (GTS). Moi University researchers in Kenya
developed and conducted a GTS, which yielded results indicating that there
are challenges in the teaching and learning activities of the university. The GTS
results further, reveal weaknesses in teaching and learning, that the university
should address by aligning improvement plans to the lessons learnt to improve
teaching and learning. The GTS was conducted between 2010 and 2013,
using a survey tool that examined the following objectives: sociobiographic
characteristics of respondents; study conditions, provisions and experiences; job
search and transition to work; employment and work; work and competencies;
study and work link.
