ACADEMIC QUALITY ASSURANCE UNIT (AQAU) FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION WITH STUDENT LEADERS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA

The Academic Quality Assurance Unit (AQAU) on Thursday, 27th of January, 2022, held a focus group discussion with some selected student leaders of the University of Ghana to discuss and assess the relevance of two (2) new surveys the Units seeks to conduct in pursuit of better student experience. The discussion revolved around three (3) key issues which included, Students’ Knowledge on Academic Procedures Survey, Students’ Experiences with UG Administrative Offices Survey and Awareness Creation on the Functions and Relevance of AQAU to Students.

The meeting comprised of the staff of AQAU and some student leaders. In attendance were the Ag. SRC President, Ag. Speaker for Distance Learning Education accompanied by some members of their cabinet and a representative from the Graduate Student Association of Ghana (GRASAG).

The focus group discussion which brought together graduate and undergraduate student leaders was a precursor to the above listed surveys, schedule to be conducted by the Unit.  Discussions with the students revealed some of the some of the difficulties students face when seeking assistance on academic related issues.

 The leaders did not seem to know the due process, and some related instances of bad services from some administrative offices. In addition, some leaders complained that services rendered out to students in some offices were not encouraging and lacked professionalism.

Due to this reason, most students run to SRC presidents for assistance. It was further revealed that some students were not even aware of certain services they could enjoy let alone the location of offices where such services are provided. For instance, some students did not know the procedures of acquiring an internship letter and the importance of doing an internship. Others reported of not knowing procedures on deferring a program and getting scholarships among others.

The student leaders however commended and showed support to AQAU for their hard work and desire to improve students’ experience through the various surveys conducted by the Unit. The leaders and their members then urged the Unit not only to collect the response of students but also, act on the results of the survey to ensure students’ life on campus is improved.

The Director of AQAU, in response, explained that although the Unit does not enact policies or make the changes, he pledged that AQAU will take strategic actions to improve students’ experience through surveys conducted by the Unit.

He appealed for the support and   active partnership of leaders to ensure students participate in the various surveys conducted by the Unit to help improve experiences of students in the University. Prof. Twerefou added that students’ response to questionnaires from the Unit was not encouraging although there had been an improvement over the years and thus, advised all leaders including Graduate and Distance Students to evaluate their lecturers during the evaluation period.