Agency releases tough university listing rules
Former president Mwai Kibaki (seated), ex- Higher Education Minister Margaret Kamar and Commission for University Education secretary David Some (left) when the University of Eldoret was granted a charter last year. CUE will now have sole authority to grant charters. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- The regulations also state that all open and distance learning centres will be subjected to the same regulations as those of campuses.
- This is a shift from the past where a university college could take several years before being upgraded to a fully-fledged university. Its upgrade was determined by the government of the day.
Universities will not be allowed to run learning centres once tough government regulations are gazetted.
According to the new university regulations, a campus should be the lowest unit of any local university, which puts many teaching centres in the country at risk of closure unless they are upgraded.
The regulations that were developed by stakeholders led by the Commission for Universities Education specify that the campus must have localised administrative structures clearly linked with the main institution.
“A campus may retain the status in perpetuity or university may initiate the process to be a constituent college after five years,” the regulations say.
The regulations also state that all open and distance learning centres will be subjected to the same regulations as those of campuses.
Any university wishing to establish a campus will be required to apply to the commission. Previously, university councils and senates did so on their own. However, to set up a campus, a university will be required to table evidence that its council and senate have approved it. The regulations also require the universities to identify the location of the campus, academic resources, staff dedicated to it and what it will be teaching.
The mode of teaching in the campus will have to be disclosed and it will only be a constituent college for three years after which it will be upgraded to a fully-fledged university. But it has to be awarded a charter by commission.
This is a shift from the past where a university college could take several years before being upgraded to a fully-fledged university. Its upgrade was determined by the government of the day.
The regulations also require universities to submit a list of what they teach or will be terminated within four years.
The new regulations also state that academic courses of proposed universities and those with a letter of interim authority will only be launched once the evaluation process was complete.
Charted universities would develop new academic courses but have to submit them for review within six months.
Each university is expected to have an internal quality assurance policy. It will be expected to undertake the need for such a course and market survey.
