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1 Evolution of OAAA Strategic Planning: Using ADRI as an Analytical Tool to Review its Activities and Strategic Planning Dr Salim Razvi; Susan Trevor-Roper; Tess Goodliffe; Fakhriya Al Habsi; Alya Al Rawahi, Oman Academic Accreditation Authority Abstract: The Sultanate of Oman is a developing country with a higher education sector which is undergoing rapid growth. In parallel with this, the national quality assurance agency for higher education, the Oman Academic Accreditation Authority (OAAA), is also developing as an organization. It is recognized that in times of rapid change and transformation in higher education, both higher education institutions and associated entities such as national quality assurance agencies, need to engage in effective strategic planning. In line with this, the OAAA has embedded a requirement for effective strategic planning in the external quality assurance processes which it is developing and implementing. In addition to having a quality assurance remit, the OAAA has a formal remit to support continuous quality improvement in higher education in Oman. To this end, the OAAA has also embedded use of the analytical tool ADRI (approach, deployment, results, improvement) in its external quality assurance processes. This study considers OAAA’s three distinctive planning phases with the first beginning in 2001 when the OAAA’s predecessor, the Oman Accreditation Council (OAC), was established. For various reasons the OAAA has been slow in the development of its own internal quality systems. OAAA strategic planning has evolved over the years, with limited planning in the first cycle of activities. Comprehensive planning for the quality management of the whole Omani higher education sector was conducted in the second cycle that started in 2006. At the end of 2012, following the acquisition of its status as a fully independent entity marking the beginning of the third cycle, the OAAA conducted a reflective self- study of its own planning and activities using ADRI. This study demonstrates the evolution of strategic planning in the OAC/OAAA and the way in which this reflects the dynamic and developing context in which it is working. This review, based on the use of ADRI, has effectively identified areas where strategic planning in the OAAA needs to be enhanced and it is currently proving effective in guiding the OAAA in developing its strategic planning function. Introduction As has been previously documented (Goodliffe and Razvi, 2011; Chapman et al, 2009; Al Lamki, 2006), since the 1990s there has been considerable growth in the higher education sector in Oman accompanied by the need for national mechanisms to be put in place to assure quality. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority (OAAA) was established as an independent external quality assurance agency in 2010 (Royal Decree 54/2010), replacing the Oman Accreditation Council (OAC) which had been established in 2001 (Royal Decree 74/2001). The

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Evolution of OAAA Strategic Planning: Using ADRI as an Analytical Tool to

Review its Activities and Strategic Planning

Dr Salim Razvi; Susan Trevor-Roper; Tess Goodliffe; Fakhriya Al Habsi; Alya Al Rawahi,

Oman Academic Accreditation Authority

Abstract:

The Sultanate of Oman is a developing country with a higher education sector which is

undergoing rapid growth. In parallel with this, the national quality assurance agency for

higher education, the Oman Academic Accreditation Authority (OAAA), is also

developing as an organization. It is recognized that in times of rapid change and

transformation in higher education, both higher education institutions and associated

entities such as national quality assurance agencies, need to engage in effective strategic

planning. In line with this, the OAAA has embedded a requirement for effective strategic

planning in the external quality assurance processes which it is developing and

implementing. In addition to having a quality assurance remit, the OAAA has a formal

remit to support continuous quality improvement in higher education in Oman. To this

end, the OAAA has also embedded use of the analytical tool ADRI (approach,

deployment, results, improvement) in its external quality assurance processes. This study

considers OAAA’s three distinctive planning phases with the first beginning in 2001 when

the OAAA’s predecessor, the Oman Accreditation Council (OAC), was established. For

various reasons the OAAA has been slow in the development of its own internal quality

systems. OAAA strategic planning has evolved over the years, with limited planning in

the first cycle of activities. Comprehensive planning for the quality management of the

whole Omani higher education sector was conducted in the second cycle that started in

2006. At the end of 2012, following the acquisition of its status as a fully independent

entity marking the beginning of the third cycle, the OAAA conducted a reflective self-

study of its own planning and activities using ADRI. This study demonstrates the

evolution of strategic planning in the OAC/OAAA and the way in which this reflects the

dynamic and developing context in which it is working. This review, based on the use of

ADRI, has effectively identified areas where strategic planning in the OAAA needs to be

enhanced and it is currently proving effective in guiding the OAAA in developing its

strategic planning function.

Introduction

As has been previously documented (Goodliffe and Razvi, 2011; Chapman et al, 2009; Al

Lamki, 2006), since the 1990s there has been considerable growth in the higher education sector

in Oman accompanied by the need for national mechanisms to be put in place to assure quality.

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority (OAAA) was established as an independent

external quality assurance agency in 2010 (Royal Decree 54/2010), replacing the Oman

Accreditation Council (OAC) which had been established in 2001 (Royal Decree 74/2001). The

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OAC/OAAA roles and responsibilities include the accreditation of HEIs and their programs and

to encourage continuous improvement in the management of the quality of higher education.

The need for strategic planning in all areas of higher education is now taken for granted. While

the primary focus in the literature has been on strategic planning in higher education institutions

(HEIs), this paper offers an opportunity to explore the evolution of strategic planning in an

external quality assurance agency in Oman, the Oman Academic Accreditation Authority

(OAAA – formerly the Oman Accreditation Council (OAC)). Strategic planning is crucially

important in creating a dynamic fit between an HEI and its environment (Rowley and Sherman,

2002) and the motives for implementing formal planning strategies are as relevant for the OAAA

as it is for HEIs. In times of rapid change and transformation in the higher education

environment, public entities need to think and act strategically (Machado et al, 2004). As an

external quality assurance agency, the OAAA is expected to carry out regular reviews and

analyses of its own activities (ENQA, 2009; INQAAHE, 2007).

This paper explores the background to strategic planning and its relevance to higher education,

particularly in relation to the OAAA. Within this context, the paper examines the OAC/OAAA’s

activities and planning through three more or less distinctive periods: 2001-2005; 2006-2012;

and 2013-2020. The activities during these periods are reviewed using ADRI – approach,

deployment, results, improvement – as an analytical tool.

Background

For decades, good practice in business environments has dictated that organisations should

engage in strategic planning in order to create a shared Vision, Mission and develop goals for

where the organisation should be in a specified time frame with strategies in place to help the

organisation reach those goals. Strategic planning is seen as enabling an organisation to focus

human and financial resources towards achieving a shared Vision. The strategic planning process

can provide answers to questions such as where an organisation wants to be and what its goals

are; how an organisation can identify when it has reached its goals; where an organisation is at a

given point in time; what an organisation needs to do to meet its goals; and what is changing in

the future external environment that needs to be taken into account (Haines, 2000). There are

many models for developing strategic plans in the literature and organisations use the model that

best suits their organisational culture and structure. Most models include some variation of the

following process: Environmental Scan; SWOT; Vision; Mission; Values; Goals; Objectives;

Tasks, Time Frames, Responsibilities, Indicators; Approval and Monitoring and Evaluation

(Palermo and Carroll, 2006; World Bank, 2001).

In 1983, Keller published his seminal work on academic planning for HEIs in the USA which

has had considerable influence on higher education sectors throughout the world. Recognising

the changing higher education climate, Keller opined that strategic planning was essential for

HEIs to make a successful transition from what they were in the past to what they need to be in

the future. There is no doubt that HEIs are different from business organisations in areas such as

shared governance and collegiality; finance; and the timeframes involved. This has given rise to

an adaptive approach to strategic planning which enables institutions to move forward and

achieve organisational success.

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In Oman, higher education institutions go through a two-stage process: Quality Audit and

Standards Assessment. ‘Fitness for purpose’ evaluation, such as a Quality Audit, is based on the

goals and objectives of an HEI’s Strategic Plan, derived from the institution’s Mission and

Vision. The OAC/OAAA’s Quality Audit Manual (OAC, 2008a) clearly identifies the Strategic

Plan within the scope of the audit and an HEI is expected to describe and evaluate the process of

how its Strategic Plan was developed, is being implemented and how progress towards its

fulfillment is being monitored.

As external quality assurance agency, there is an expectation that the OAAA will have clear and

explicit goals and objectives for its work with adequate and proportional resources (ENQA,

2009; INQAAHE, 2007). However, although it may have had clear roles and responsibilities as

outlined in the Royal Decrees, historically the OAC/OAAA has not had a systematic approach to

strategic planning within the organisation. As this paper will explore, the OAAA has gone

through three cycles in terms of planning in the broadest sense and while these cycles may not be

clear cut, they provide a framework for analysing the evolution of strategic planning.

Method of Analysis

The OAAA’s activities and approach to strategic planning can be analysed over three cycles:

2001-2005; 2006-2012; and 2013-2020. The first cycle started with the establishment of the

OAC and ended when a review of the initial accreditation activities was instigated. The start of

the second cycle began when a major review of quality assurance of higher education in Oman

was carried out in 2006; the end of the second cycle/start of the third cycle is marked by the

OAAA’s appointment of a Planning and Development Advisor in 2012 and the decision to

develop and implement a new Strategic Plan in light of the 2010 Royal Decree.

The analysis of each of these three cycles is based on the ADRI model – approach, deployment,

results, improvement - where results from the previous cycle are used to improve the next one.

As ADRI is being applied retrospectively in the first cycle, there is not necessarily a neat fit

between the actual activities of the OAC/OAAA and the model. This study also does not include

analysis of how the OAAA has performed against all its strategic goals and objectives due to the

limitations of space. However, this analysis does provide the opportunity to consider the

evolution of strategic planning within this context while at the same time recognising how the

OAC/OAAA has responded to the changing landscape of the higher education sector in Oman.

ADRI

Since the 1990s, established higher education sectors in countries such as the UK, Australia and

New Zealand have been expected to work to clear objectives, develop performance indicators

and achieve value for money (Meade, 2003). While the responsibility for preserving and

enhancing quality has been within the remit for each institution, in the interests of accountability,

higher education institutions are expected to be more explicit and transparent in specifying their

systems for monitoring and controlling quality (Harvey, 2005). Models for a systematic cyclical

approach to quality management and continuous improvement have been well documented (e.g.

Baird, 2006). The ADRI model was first known internationally as PDCA (Plan Do Check Act),

originally developed by Walter Shewhart, an American scientist and the developer of Statistical

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Process Control (SPC) in the 1920s (Carroll and Razvi, 2006). The cycle was later popularised

by Deming who changed the model slightly to Plan-Do-Study-Act, out of concern that “check”

implied halting progress. ADRI was used by the Australian Universities Quality Agency

(AUQA) in its fitness for purpose quality audits of Australian universities.

Figure 1 ADRI cycle (from USP, 2004)

The approach in the ADRI model focuses on what an organisation (such as an HEI) aims to

achieve and how it proposes to achieve these aims, aligning both internal and external purposes;

deployment focuses on how these plans are being followed in practice; results look at the

evidence of whether the approach and deployment are effective in achieving the intended

outputs; and improvement focuses on how the HEI reviews its approach and deployment in order

to make improvements to lead to better results (OAC, 2008a). Self-assessment using ADRI

encourages organisations to highlight and record their strengths as well as highlighting

opportunities for improvement. It has been noted that the language of ADRI supports a

continuous improvement philosophy: a focus on strengths encourages the documentation of

organisational achievements and milestones; instead of using the label “weaknesses” as in

traditional SWOT analyses, the emphasis is on seeking opportunities to improve (Jantti, 2002).

ADRI is a flexible tool: it can be used to review activities at a macro level (such as achievement

against mission and vision statements) as well as at a micro level (a specific area of activity).

Since 2009, HEIs undergoing quality audit in Oman have been expected to use ADRI to evaluate

their internal quality management systems, with OAAA review panels using ADRI as an

analytical tool to assess HEI Portfolios during Quality Audits. According to INQAAHE’s

Guidelines of Good Practice (2007), an external quality assurance agency is expected to adopt a

“system of continuous quality assurance of its own activities that emphasises flexibility in

response to the changing nature of higher education, the effectiveness of its operations, and its

contribution towards the achievement of its objectives” (INQAAHE, 2007, p.7). Thus ADRI is

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Higher Education Council

OAC Technical Secretariat

Ministry of Higher

Education

Reporting line

Communication

OAC Board

adopted in the following sections to analyse the first two OAC/OAAA planning cycles and will

be used as an integral part of the third cycle.

First Cycle (2001 – 2005)

Features

The Royal Decree establishing the OAC indicated clear roles and responsibilities which mainly

included accrediting HEIs and higher education programs through the use of standards,

information, reviews and quality improvement processes, and maintaining the national

qualifications framework (Carroll et al, 2009). The OAC’s governing body consisted of a Board

of ten eminent Omani members from education and industry appointed by Royal Decree and a

Technical Secretariat which consisted of a small number of professional and administrative staff

responsible for the day to day operations of the OAC. Interestingly, the OAC had a semi-

independent structure: while the OAC Board was a fully independent body, the Technical

Secretariat was nested within the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) as illustrated in Figure

1. As a result, the MoHE was responsible for carrying out many of administrative and financial

tasks of the OAC, including the administration of its separate budget. The OAC Board had full

authority in decision making processes and setting general policies as well as the supervision of

Technical Secretariat’s work whilst the Technical Secretariat was tasked with implementation of

these decisions and carrying out operational activities.

Figure 2 The Organisational Stucture of the OAC

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In the mid 1990s, Oman opened the doors for the establishment of privately owned local colleges

and universities, offering mainly imported diploma and degree programs from the United

Kingdom, the United States of America, Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, India, Jordan,

Lebanon, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Portugal (Razvi and Carroll, 2007). As the higher

education sector was evolving, the OAC was simultaneously developing its operational

structures in the period from 2001 to 2005.

Approach

The mission, roles and responsibilities of the OAC at this time were outlined in the Royal

Decree:

• Prepare necessary studies and research on the requirements and standards for the

accreditation of HEIs and the programs taught at them and review the basis of their

accreditation in the light of the policies made by the Council of Higher Education.

• Accredit HEIs.

• Accredit programs of study offered by HEIs.

• Evaluate competency requirements demanded for the practice of professions and ensure that

the academic programs of HEIs meet these requirements.

• Gather information and data on programs offered by HEIs and report on their quality to the

Council of Higher Education.

• Lay down the procedures for performance appraisal and quality improvement of HEIs.

• Review amendments pertaining to the national framework of qualifications awarded by HEIs.

While the mandate of the OAC was clear, these goals were not translated into an overarching

strategic plan at that time. The MoHE itself did not have a strategic plan in which the OAC’s

strategic goals could be incorporated. The OAC’s Technical Secretariat, along with other MoHE

departments, was expected to submit an annual plan (in this case against the goals mentioned in

the Royal Decree) to the Directorate General of Planning and Development in order for the

overall progress of the different departments of the MoHE to be monitored. The OAC was

provided with an annual operating budget to support its activities. Efforts were made to build the

organizational and staffing structures necessary to establish the national quality assurance system

(Razvi and Carroll, 2007). This involved the transfer of an employee from the MoHE to run the

Technical Secretariat’s operations and the appointment of an international expert who was

assigned the responsibility of establishing the national quality assurance system with the support

of experts from the MoHE. Attempts were also made at developing internal bylaws for the OAC.

Notwithstanding, the OAC started exerting efforts towards the development of a quality

assurance management system for higher education in Oman in order to fulfill its mandate in

assuring the quality of the wide range of institutions and programs offered. These efforts led to

the publication of a single document called the Requirements of Oman’s System of Quality

Assurance (ROSQA) (OAC, 2004), which included: a qualifications framework; an institutional

classification framework; a set of institutional and program standards; and procedures for

institutional and program accreditation.

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Following an environmental scan, ROSQA was developed based on international benchmarks

and went through a process of localization (Goodliffe and Razvi, 2011). It was also discussed

with representatives from government bodies and a limited consultation exercise was carried out

with the higher education sector. In order to prepare the sector for the accreditation requirements

outlined in ROSQA, a workshop was organized in 2005 on self-assessment. This was the only

nationally-driven training opportunity the sector had in quality assurance processes at that time.

In the absence of a national schedule for accreditation, when the OAC was ready to implement

ROSQA all HEIs were invited to apply for institutional and program accreditation. There was

some cause for concern, as HEIs were unacquainted with the standards and not ready for

accreditation (Carroll et al. 2009).

Deployment

Four institutions submitted their applications for institutional and program accreditation. Only

two were selected to go through the full accreditation process based on their submitted

documents and an initial evaluation of the applications (Carroll et al., 2009). Two institutional

and program accreditation reviews were carried out between 2004 and 2006.

Although institutional and program accreditation activities had been implemented, a number of

roles and responsibilities set out in the Royal Decree had not been put into action. Areas that

were not addressed included the need to evaluate competency requirements demanded for the

practice of professions and ensure that the academic programs of higher education institutions

meet these requirements; gathering information and data on programs offered by higher

education institutions and report on their quality to the Council of Higher Education; and laying

down the procedures for performance appraisal and quality improvement of HEIs.

Results and Improvement

The results of the two accreditation reviews were not fully satisfactory: one institution was

granted ‘provisional accreditation’, a precursor to full accreditation, and the other was not

accredited (Razvi et al., 2011). In view of the initial findings from the first two accreditation

visits, it was obvious that there was a need for full review of the accreditation system adopted by

the OAC. Initial feedback from the higher education sector indicated that it was not ready to go

through the accreditation process as it stood and further contextualisation was needed. In order

for the OAC to fulfill this need, a number of steps were taken reflecting its accreditation

experience. This involved the appointment of a consultant to carry out a full review of the

system; a temporary suspension of all accreditation activities; and the implementation of a needs

analysis of higher education sector in Oman. It was recognised that a quality plan was needed for

the whole sector.

Second Cycle (2006 – 2012)

Features

The beginning of the second cycle of the OAC’s planning and activities was marked by the

appointment, in February 2006, of an international consultant charged to review ROSQA. In

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terms of planning, this cycle was clearly distinguished from the first cycle by a departure from

the OAC’s activities being guided by direct reference to the Royal Decree. A major consultative

and inclusive exercise was conducted in order to produce an overarching plan, aligned to the

Royal Decree, for quality assurance in higher education in Oman. The resulting plan, termed the

Quality Plan (OAC, 2006), was then published to serve as a guide to the OAC and other

stakeholders (such as the MoHE). The Quality Plan clearly acknowledged the requirement for

development and training within the higher education sector in Oman; this was deemed a

prerequisite (and, subsequently an ongoing requirement) to achieving higher education of an

international standard. This developmental requirement was captured in the design of a cyclical

(8-year), two-stage, institutional accreditation process: Quality Audit followed by Standards

Assessment. This accreditation model brought with it two specific demands: the need for HEIs

to develop comprehensive strategic plans, inclusive of Vision and Mission statements, against

which fitness-for-purpose Quality Audits could be conducted; and the need for the analytical tool

ADRI to be used both by HEIs to undertake effective self-studies, and by the OAC to conduct

external evaluations of institutions. This focus on strategic planning and also on the use of

ADRI thus became defining features of the second cycle. The use of ADRI also highlighted a

further defining feature of this cycle: an emphasis on the importance of continuous quality

enhancement (in addition to quality assurance). Continuous quality improvement was part of the

conceptual framework of the Quality Plan.

Much of the second cycle was dominated by anticipation of a second Royal Decree relating to

the OAC. The requirement for this (and its subsequent issue) was prompted by a study

conducted by OAC. Benchmarking and consideration of international good practice covered in

this study strongly supported the requirement for the OAC to become fully independent from the

MoHE (OAC unpublished report, 2008b). The Royal Decree was finally issued in 2010 (Royal

Decree 54/2010); this Decree established the OAAA in place of the OAC and granted it full

independence of the MoHE. Although the Royal Decree states that OAAA is to have “full

financial and administrative independence”, for the remainder of this cycle the OAAA continued

to depend on financial and administrative support from the MoHE while working towards

gradual independence. A specific budget was requested annually from the Ministry of Finance

to support Quality Audit activities but the need for other sources of finance was identified. This

was recognised in the 2010 Royal Decree which gave permission to the OAAA to charge for its

services, which will be implemented in the third cycle.

Approach

The second cycle began with the external consultant leading an environmental scan and carrying

out a comprehensive national needs analysis that included consideration of:

• Benchmarking with international quality assurance systems;

• Consideration of the Guidelines for Good Practice published in 2005 by INQAAHE.

• Comprehensive review of ROSQA and other Omani decrees and regulations;

• Consultations with senior officials in the MoHE and OAC;

• Consultations (including visits) with the leadership and staff at HEIs;

• Study of existing systems and reflections of accreditation processes conducted to date. (Razvi

and Carroll, 2007)

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The needs analysis showed the need for: greater contextualization of ROSQA; expansion of

ROSQA to cover all elements required for a national quality management system; greater

consultation with the sector in any new system development; alignment of the quality

management system with international good practice; national training on quality issues and

OAC quality assurance processes; a two step institutional accreditation system in order to

provide public accountability and at the same time support HEIs in building their internal quality

management systems.

Informed by the results of the needs analysis, the Quality Plan was developed through extensive

consultation with the higher education sector and other main stakeholders (such as the MoHE).

The final Quality Plan (OAC, 2006) included 12 goals relating to the following:

1. Educational Frameworks 2. Standards for Higher Education Providers 3. Standards for Student Learning 4. Provider Quality Audit 5. Provider Licensing and Accreditation 6. Program Licensing and Accreditation

7. Appeals 8. Foundation Program Quality Assurance 9. Research Training Quality Assurance 10. Teaching Quality Assurance 11. National Quality Management Information 12. General Capability and Capacity

The overarching nature of this national plan for quality assurance in higher education in Oman

resulted in shared responsibility for implementation of a number of the goals (each made up of a

number of objectives), including responsibilities for bodies such as (a yet to be formed) sector

driven quality network and the national Research Council (which was established in 2005). Both

the higher education sector and the OAC Board expressed concern that the plan was perhaps too

broad and, indeed, because of the number of different parties involved, the plan was not formally

approved as a whole. However, it served to guide the OAC/OAAA activities during this second

cycle, and has remained in the public domain (on the OAAA website).

The Quality Plan itself was also distinctive; whilst it did not include a number of elements which

may be typically expected in a strategic plan (such as explicit time-frames and key performance

indicators) it did include a theoretical basis and comprehensive rationale for each of the goals

and objectives. In this way, the Quality Plan also served the function of supporting the

development of a quality assurance knowledge base amongst relevant stakeholders in Oman.

Deployment

Within the OAC, priorities (high, medium, low) were assigned to all 51 objectives in the plan,

and broad time-frames were developed for some of the objectives falling within the OAC’s own

or shared remit (in Goals 1-6, 8, 11 and 12). A number of objectives fell outside the

OAC/OAAA’s remit, such as those addressing research (Goal 9) and teaching quality (Goal 10).

In terms of deployment, for Educational Frameworks (Goal 1), a working group was formed by

the OAC to develop Oman’s Standard of Classification of Education Framework (OSCED). For

the development of Foundation Standards (Goal 8) a national Committee was formed, along with

four working groups from the higher education sector in each of the areas of study: English;

Maths; IT; and Study Skills. The project also involved the holding of a National Symposium in

early 2007.

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Some parts of the Quality Plan were modified before implementation. For example, the OAC

Board approved the implementation of Provider Quality Audit (Goal 4) as the first stage of a

two-stage approach rather than as a stand-alone process as indicated in the Quality Plan. This

decision effectively addressed two issues. Firstly, it overcame the fact that Quality Audit per se

was not identified specifically as one of the OAC’s responsibilities in its first Royal Decree

(74/2001). Secondly, it reflected the OAC’s thinking post publication of the Quality Plan on the

potential strength of integrating the goals of Provider Quality Audit and Provider Accreditation

to create an ongoing, cyclical, two-stage model of provider accreditation (Quality Audit followed

by Standards Assessment) in supporting the attainment of international standards and continuous

quality improvement in HEIs in Oman. Implementation of quality audits started in 2009. To

fulfill its responsibility regarding public accountability (and adhere to the Good Practice

Guidelines of INQAAHE (2007) which OAC had become a full member of in 2001), the OAC

needed to make the findings of its Quality Audits public. This requirement, which was not

addressed in the Quality Plan, was met with initial resistance from some HEIs before being

overcome through discussions with the OAC.

Results

The OAC Board approved some of the goals and objectives that fell within its remit and a

number of the objectives were implemented as planned. The Quality Plan did not include

specific time-frames or key performance indicators and did not define specific responsibilities in

cases where responsibility for addressing goals and objectives was shared by one or more party.

Nevertheless, progress reporting by the OAAA in relation to the Quality Plan (and the priorities

assigned by the OAC to the various goals and objectives), shows the following main outcomes of

OAC/OAAA activities in the second cycle. OSCED (an objective in Goal 1) was published in

2009 (OAC, 2009a). The approaches to institutional and program licensing (objectives in Goals

5 and 6) were revised, with input from the OAC. An Appeals process (Goal 7) and manual were

developed (OAC, 2009b). National standards for General Foundation Programs (GFPs) were

developed in support of Goal 8 of the Quality Plan (Carroll et al, 2009). The objectives in

relation to data management (Goal 11) were addressed by the MoHE in the forming of a Higher

Education Data Management Committee. In relation to Goal 12 (General Capability and

Capacity) the objective to establish an Oman Quality Network (OQN) was achieved. The OQN

has since played its own role in the implementation of the Quality Plan Goal 12 objectives

through its provision of training and professional development activities. The OAC also

responded to meeting this goal by developing and maintaining a register of external reviewers as

well as through the delivery of a National Quality Training Program, which included specific

training modules on areas such as Strategic Planning and ADRI. This progress indicates the high

priority issues and areas which may be considered as fundamental to both HEIs and the OAAA’s

further development in the effective implementation of institutional and program accreditation

processes and success of HEIs in achieving accreditation.

The establishment of Quality Audits as an integral part of the institutional accreditation process

raised the profile of this activity in Oman. The OAC/OAAA has kept pace with the national

schedule for conducting Quality Audits such that by the end of 2012 around 30 of approximately

60 public and private institutions in Oman offering higher education programs have undergone

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audit. The process itself has been subject to ongoing review by the OAAA (Goodliffe and Razvi,

2011). In terms of its role regarding public accountability, the reports of each Quality Audit are

published on the website, although currently only in English. The impact of Quality Audits in

supporting quality enhancement has yet to be thoroughly investigated, although as noted in an

earlier paper (Goodliffe and Razvi, 2008), evaluating impact is a challenge. However,

widespread, positive feedback has been received by the OAAA from HEIs who have undergone

Quality Audit (regarding implementation of the Quality Audit process itself and benefits gained

by HEIs through the process and from the Reports). The OAAA has also published an analysis

of the results of the first 25 reports (Goodliffe and Razvi, 2011) which served to highlight

common strengths and areas where improvements are required and also to dispel a widespread

misconception that there was a clear divide between the quality of private and public HEIs.

OAC/OAAA achievements in relation to other objectives of the Quality Plan were impacted by

various factors. The impact of OAC/OAAA activities and the rapidly evolving context in which

the sector is operating indicated the need for some objectives in the Quality Plan to be

reconsidered. For example, the external review of GFPs (Goal 8) and the accreditation of

academic programs (Goal 6) have been identified as areas requiring further reflection and

benchmarking. Implementation of the Quality Plan has also been responsive to feedback from

the sector. For example, an objective to develop a research methods course as a required

component of an Omani degree (in Goal 9) was not implemented because of insufficient support

from the sector.

The OAC/OAAA’s limited capacity impacted significantly both on its rate and extent of

achievement of objectives. During this time it remained heavily dependent on administrative

support from MoHE. Specifically, work toward further development of educational frameworks

as well as institutional and program accreditation standards and processes (Goals 1, 5 and 6) was

seriously compromised and thus progress in developing main elements of the quality

management system has been slow.

Improvement

It is evident that the development of the Quality Plan, and the activities carried out in relation to

it, has had a major impact on higher education in Oman. However, there is clear scope for the

OAAA to improve its strategic planning for the next cycle ensuring that these features are

included. This will provide for a means to systematically monitor and evaluate progress and

achievement in relation to the plan. In terms of the cycle itself, this needs to be pre-determined

and aligned with other relevant national plans.

The Quality Plan, as a national plan for quality assurance in higher education, served a number

of stakeholders. Enhanced maturity of both the OAAA and other national bodies (such as the

MoHE and The Research Council) indicates that the next strategic plan for the OAAA should

align with the strategic plans of these bodies but include goals that are related only to its own

mandate (as identified in Royal Decree 54/2010). It is anticipated that a specific goal relating to

effective liaison with other national bodies will be required in the new plan.

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The Quality Plan was not formally approved as an overall plan and nor was it aligned with a

budget. For the OAAA, funding for specified projects to address the Plan was sought at various

times. This coincided with the OAAA’s anticipated and then actual transition period towards

independence. A major area for improvement to the OAAA’s planning is therefore to ensure

alignment of the plan for the next cycle and a budget. The new Royal Decree facilitates this as it

will now be possible to charge institutions fees.

Lack of capacity was one of the main reasons for lack of OAC/OAAA progress and achievement

against some of the objectives in the Quality Plan. This needs to be addressed in the next plan

through specific goals which also align with the OAAA’s new, independent status and the

additional administrative and financial responsibilities that this presents. As a full member of

INQAAHE, the new plan also needs to support the development of quality assurance systems

internal to the OAAA in line with the INQAAHE Guidelines of Good Practice (2007). OAAA’s

development and activities, and the planning for these, also need to be considered in relation to

other appropriate international benchmarks such as the European Standards for External Quality

Assurance Agencies (ENQA, 2009). The plan also needs to specifically address effective public

access to the outcomes of OAAA accreditation activities and ensure that appropriate use of

English and Arabic supports this. During both the first and the second cycle, resource limitations

included a lack of capacity to oversee planning in the OAAA. This has already been addressed

through the development of a new organizational structure which recognizes the importance of

this and the appointment of a suitable candidate to lead planning in the OAAA.

With respect to its external quality assurance activities, the OAAA Board has approved a

proposal for the development of an approach to program accreditation which is based on generic

standards (rather than the development of learning outcomes for narrow fields of study called for

in the Quality Plan – Goal 3) and which will also require accredited programs to be subject to

systems which bring about continuous quality improvement. This will need to be captured in the

new plan. Another key area where a specific new objective is likely to be required is the external

review process for GFP programs. Following the Ministerial Decision 13/2008 for all HEIs to

implement the national standards for GFPs, whether or not accreditation is the best form of

external review for these programs (at this time, or in the future) requires further consideration.

Third Cycle (2013 – 2020)

Based on the above the OAAA has now placed planning and monitoring as an integral function

of its organization. As can be seen in the proposed organizational structure (see Figure 3),

Planning and Development has now been included as the third pillar of the organisation with

Technical Affairs and Administration and Finance forming the other two pillars.

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Figure 3 The Organisational Stucture of the OAAA

The higher education environment in Oman has developed considerably, with around 60 public

and private HEIs operating in 2012. The government of Oman has placed a high priority in the

development of human resources and has allocated a significant percentage of the government

annual budget for 2012 to higher education. It has also recognised the importance of

coordinating all educational endeavors by establishing a national level Education Council in

September 2012 (Royal Decree 48/2012), with one of its mandates being to develop a National

Education Strategy for 2030. This will mean that any OAAA Strategic Plan will need to clearly

align with the national strategy. The Research Council of Oman has also undergone changes

with a new Royal Decree in 2010 (30/2010) expanding its mandate and increasing its budget in

order to promote research and innovation in Oman in all sectors. The results of the second cycle

together with the results of an Environmental Scan will be used to inform the third cycle of

OAAA Strategic Planning.

Approach

The OAAA is now in the process of reviewing the 2006 Quality Plan in order to provide a

foundation for the development and implementation of a seven-year 2013-2020 Strategic Plan.

Internationally recognised strategic planning models have been considered (such as the World

Bank, 2001) along with the OAAA’s own training module on Strategic Planning (Palermo and

Carroll, 2007) offered to the higher education sector as part of the National Quality Training

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Program (http://www.oaaa.gov.om/Training.aspx#Train). An OAAA Strategic Plan Review and

Development Proposal has been developed to guide the process. The technical staff members of

OAAA are functioning as a Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) and will be responsible for

drafting and monitoring the Plan.

The process will include the following:

Environmental Scan

SWOT, Vision,

Mission and Values

Goals and Strategies

Objectives, tasks,

timeframes,

responsibilities and KPIs

Review and consultation

Underway – OAAA technical staff

are reviewing documents, meeting

Stakeholders and gathering data on the

HE landscape in Oman

An “Away Day” is planned for December

2012. Draft Vision, Mission and Values

will be further developed by the SPC and

circulated to all staff.

Drafted by the SPC and circulated

to OAAA staff for review

Drafted by the SPC and circulated

to OAAA staff for review

Draft Strategic Plan 2013-2020 will be

distributed to all stakeholders for review

and comment plus external QA

consultants

Figure 4 OAAA approach to developing 2013-2020 Strategic Plan

The final version of the OAAA Strategic Plan 2013-2020 will be sent to the OAAA Board for

approval. The future Assistant CEO for Planning and Development of the OAAA will lead the

monitoring of indicators on an annual basis and give feedback to the SPC. Based on this the plan

will be adjusted accordingly. It is expected that all functional heads such as the Assistant CEO

for Administration and Finance, Assistant CEO of Technical Affairs and Assistant CEO for

Planning and Development will develop operational plans in relation to their respective

responsibilities in the Strategic Plan. They will report back to the CEO on an annual basis and

the CEO will report progress on implementation of the plan to the OAAA Board. The intention

is for this plan will be an organic plan that will be developed by all staff with input from all

stakeholders and will be adjusted in order to address the changing needs of the OAAA and also

changes in the educational environment. Although the steps of the plan have been depicted

vertically the SPC will be continuously reviewing and adapting the plan over time. Two major

national planning activities are scheduled to take place during the period of the proposed OAAA

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Strategic Plan 2013-2020: the approval of the national Education Plan 2030, and in 2015 when

the national 5-year budget is developed and approved.

Conclusions

OAC/OAAA strategic planning can be considered to have completed two cycles. The OAAA is

now on the verge of starting the third cycle. Although the lengths of the first two cycles were not

predefined they are identified by their distinctive features. These cycles, and the planning that

guided them, have been analyzed using ADRI. The use of ADRI is embedded in the OAAA’s

external quality assurance activities as an analytical tool to support continuous quality

improvement. Through its self-study of its strategic planning, the OAAA has been able to reflect

on its activities in line with international good practice. The value of using ADRI for evaluation

and improvement of the OAAA’s own activities has been highlighted. The OAAA also

recognises, however, that ADRI should be used as a template but not a “straightjacket”

(Woodhouse, 2003), and the importance of flexibility in the stages of implementation needs to be

recognised.

OAC/OAAA planning has evolved in the context within which it has operated; Oman is a

developing country with a higher education sector that has undergone rapid growth and change

over the period spanned by the first two cycles. Each planning cycle has benefited from the

previous one. The third cycle is to be characterized by more comprehensive, and more

conventional strategic planning, in line with the enhanced maturity of the OAAA as an

organization (and the enhanced maturity of the sector that it serves).

In the dynamic context in which it works, the OAAA has learned that frequent reviews of

strategic goals are required to consider, for example, changes in the environment, results of

implementation, feedback from stakeholders, and self reflection. This responsiveness needs to

be retained in the third cycle, but within a system of regular monitoring and review. The planned

establishment of a comprehensive OAAA strategic planning process and systematic review

mechanism for the third cycle of OAAA activity will support the OAAA in both “practising what

it preaches” to the sector and in meeting international standards for quality assurance agencies.

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Abbreviations

ADRI Approach, Deployment, Results, Improvement

ENQA European Network of Quality Agencies

HEI Higher Education Institution

INQAAHE International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education

MoHE Ministry of Higher Education

OAAA Oman Academic Accreditation Authority

OAC Oman Accreditation Council

OQN Oman Quality Network

SPC Strategic Planning Committee

SWOT Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats