Quality Assurance in Kenyan higher education as a tool for keeping pace with the international standards

Abstract

This paper is a desktop review which presents findings from 32 studies covering quality and Quality Assurance (QA) systems in the Higher Education (HE) sector in the Kenyan context; the choice of the studies was based on relevance, themes and the objectives of the study. The purpose of the paper was to evaluate the determinants of a sustainable quality assurance systems in higher education in Kenya. The selected studies were carefully reviewed, data was gathered and categorized into themes. The emerging patterns from the categorized data was used to answer the research questions. In that regard, this study went beyond the processes of QA, and accreditation to address the question of sustainability which presently stands as one of the key gap in the implementation of QA systems in the HE sector. The main findings of the study are: sustainable QA systems in HE is realizable by addressing the factors identified b) conceptual model is fundamental for clarity and accuracy to avoid confusion and relativism c) the processes of developing and implementing QA should be inclusive and participatory for better results, d) more partnership and collaboration are needed to solve the challenges of implementing QA systems.