Participants in a group photograph.
As part of the 70th anniversary celebrations, the University of Ghana has organized the 2018 Annual Registrar’s Seminar for administrative and professional senior members on the theme, “70 Years of University Administration and Management in Ghana: Redefining the Roadmap”.
The two-day seminar which spanned from 12th – 13th June, 2018 at the Bank of Ghana Auditorium discussed and recommended innovative ways of university administration and management.
Dr. Paul Effah, President of Radford University College, in his keynote address gave a brief background on the emergence of careers in university administration. In a brief introduction on the subthemes, Dr. Effah noted that the purpose and size of a university does not only determine its administrative structures but also the type of administrative professionals to employ. He further discussed the criteria and challenges in assessing performance and ways of dealing with difficult people at the workplace.
Dr. Paul Effah delivering the keynote address
Dr. Effah entreated all administrative and professional senior members to re-strategize in the face of the complexity of challenges of Higher Education Institutions, as they would increasingly be called upon to perform more challenging roles.
Earlier, the Host of the Seminar and Registrar of the University of Ghana, Mrs. Mercy Haizel-Ashia in her opening address, welcomed participants and commended the organizing team for successfully planning the seminar. She gave a brief overview of Ghana’s tertiary education sector and how competitive it has become in attracting both students and staff. She highlighted the core mandates of the University and recommended that Institutions of Higher Education should aim at collaborations.
Mrs. Mercy Haizel-Ashia giving the welcome address
Day 1
The morning session moderated by Mr. Ernest Boakye, Deputy Director, Physical Development and Municipal Services Directorate (PDMSD) was under the subtheme “Ideal University Administration for Higher Education Institutions”. Participants deliberated on two topics; “Similarities and Differences of University Administrative Structure” and “Factors Influencing Universities’ Administrative Structures” presented respectively by Mr. Frank K. Yeboah, Registrar of Wisconsin International University College, Ghana and Mr. Emmanuel Baidoo, College Secretary, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana.
Mr. Yeboah in his presentation, gave a historical background to the development of the University’s administrative structure dated back to the 1980s which had undergone a number of reforms. He compared the existing administrative structure to the structures of private universities in Ghana and universities in UK and USA. He highlighted some critical factors contributing to effective administration and management of universities.
Mr. Baidoo in his presentation noted that the factors influencing universities’ administrative structures are crucial to the realization of their core mandate and hence suitable administrative structures should be responsive to universities’ demographic pressures and national developmental needs. He also indicated that although universities may not have the ideal structure, they must endeavor to move towards one.
Panelists for the morning session, Dr. Effah, Mr. Yeboah, Mr. Boakye and Mr. Baidoo (From right to left) in a group photograph.
The afternoon session under the subtheme, “Effective Systems for Assessing Performance of Administrative and Professional Senior Members” was moderated by Mrs. Mavis Otoo-Ayeh, College Secretary of the College of Humanities. The panelists for the session were Dr. Ekua E. Houphouet, a Medical Officer with the University of Ghana Health Services who made a presentation on “Evaluation of Existing Performance Standards. Can one Cap fit all?”, Dr. Emmanuel O. Agyenim-Boateng, Deputy Registrar at Presbyterian University College, Ghana delivered on “Emerging trends in assessing senior administrative and professional staff” and Mr. Benjamin N. A. Cobblah of the University of Ghana Computing Systems (UGCS) spoke on “Innovative Ways of Measuring Individual Impact”.
While Dr. Houphouet took participants through the appropriateness or otherwise of using one performance evaluation system for all as well as the possibility of designing evaluation systems to fit the work people do, Dr. Agyenim-Boateng outlined techniques employed by the 21st century organizational leaders in assessing the performance of senior administrative and profession staff. Mr. Cobblah further shared with participants some attributes and innovative ways to track performance and measure individual impact.
Day 2
The second day’s session was moderated by Ms. Monica Mensah, Assistant Librarian and Head of the Cataloguing and Classification Unit, Balme Library under the subtheme, “People Management in Higher Education Institutions”.
The first Presentation on “Dealing with Difficult people in the workplace” was delivered by Dr. Cynthia Sena Kpeglo, Registrar, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho. In her submission, she highlighted the need for self-examination and developing coping and negotiation skills.
Mr. Eric Gaisey, Administrator of University of Ghana Hospital made a presentation on the topic, “Supervisor-Subordinate Relationship in the Workplace”. He encouraged supervisors to mentor subordinates to attain higher heights, as it enhances job satisfaction and productivity. He also entreated participants to maintain trust, foster good communication and practice continuous professional behavior at the workplace.
The Director of the Careers and Counselling Centre, University of Ghana, Mrs. Jocelene Buckman delivered on “Effective Service Delivery”. She indicated that customer service was not a department but an attitude hence there is the need to always project a positive image of the university when executing responsibilites. She also challenged participants to constantly assess their output to determine the effectiveness of their service delivery.
A participant asking question during the interactive session.
Mrs. Diana A. Owusu-Antwi, Research Development Officer at the Office of Research, Innovation and Development (ORID) presented the Executive Summary developed by the Rapporteurs.
The Seminar which was supported by the Economics Department and University of Ghana Guest Centre, brought together over 200 administrative staff of University of Ghana, University of Cape Coast, Accra College of Medicine, Knutsford University College, Presbyterian University College, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho Technical University, Valley View University, African University College of Communications, Western Hills School of Nursing, University of Professional Studies Accra, Narh-Bita School of Nursing, Pentecost University College, Wisconsin International University College, Ghana and representatives of Vice Chancellors Ghana.
The Registrar with members of the planning committee and panelists for the sessions
