Module 5: Quality Assurance and Accreditation

Over the last decades, higher education in Malaysia has been a pivotal force insocioeconomic growth, experiencing significant transformations. As the number of highereducation institutions and student enrolment increases from local to international, Malaysia ispositioning itself as a global educational hub. This effort is part of a broader strategy underthe Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015–2025 (Higher Education), aimed at fostering aknowledge-based economy and society. Despite considerable progress, the Malaysian highereducation system faces multiple challenges and complexity, especially in the post-pandemicera. Addressing these matters requires a nuanced understanding of the global highereducation landscape and learning from how other nations manage their educational systems. To address the complexities and dynamics of higher education, the ‘Higher Education andDevelopment’ module has been crafted to foster a comprehensive understanding of globaleducational trends and their implications for Malaysia. This module features an array ofdistinguished local and international speakers, offering diverse perspectives and rich insightsinto the evolution of higher education systems, their role in global development agendas, andthe challenges they face today.

Higher education’s main objective is to develop a knowledgeable, skilled, and qualified workforce. The way higher education is funded is drastically changing worldwide. The most significant trend globally has been the decrease in governmental investment in higher education. However, the cost of running a university system is considerable, and it faces competition from other demands for public money. As public finances continue to be the primary source of support for public universities, operational efficiency must be carefully considered. Therefore, managing HEIs’ funding and resource management effectively is crucial as governments unintentionally limit the budget for higher education. Most nations are transitioning or are planning to transition away from a system in which the Government primarily provides higher education funding to other potential funding streams. Hence, generating and diversifying HEIs’ income streams is critical for their growth and sustainability.

Higher education policy formulated to support sustainable, quality-driven service providers’ growth must be adopted and applied whenever mandated or necessitated. To support the good governance and management initiated, further policies, rules, and necessary regulations should be formulated respectively at the service providers’ level that needs to be managed. Policies could then be interpreted to organise programmes and activities to meet multiple requirements at all levels. These programmes and activities must be planned strategically for efficient and effective operations by governors, managers, and operators whose decisions could make or break performance and achievements. Practices of informed decision-making are highly recommended in good governance, which requires thinking managers and operators in the industry, including service providers. Regulatory requirements limit the growth of service providers’ goals whose activities and practices sometimes promote unhealthy practices affecting the quality of products and services that are promoted and valued. Hence, an understanding and knowledge of regulatory requirements are highly critical and recommended to middle-level managers and operators to optimise resources, including funds, staff, capacity, and capability to meet multiple good governance requirements.

Higher education leaders are critical in helping their institutions maintain quality and manage continuous change. Hence, they urgently need to possess the competency to manage change. They should be competent at managing current operations and successfully leading their institutions in new directions. Effective higher education leaders not only take an active role in making specific changes happen by engaging people in the process of personal and institutional change and improvement; they also help reshape the operating context of their institutions to make them less change-averse and more efficient, agile, and adaptable. In this regard, the interaction between sound-linked leadership and a directly aligned, agile, efficient, and supportive operating context and culture counts. Ultimately, this module, consistent with Academic Leadership Capability Framework, is delivered via interactive lectures interlaced with discussion sessions to draw upon the collective experiences and viewpoints of participants and facilitators. The training will begin with an overview of theoretical considerations and eventually move toward active participation. This module will help participants explore their capabilities, manage operations, and respond to issues and situations in their own institution’s contexts.