Summary

The Joint AQ Africa project aims to contribute to the harmonization of higher education across Africa by establishing comparable quality assurance (QA) systems through collaboration between national authorities and higher education institutions (HEIs). The project will engage three pilot countries — Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and Côte d’Ivoire — to develop a model for institutional and program-level evaluation. This model will be based on a joint and complementary approach at the national, regional, and African continental levels, with the goal of inspiring joint accreditation processes, particularly in French-speaking Africa.

The project’s methodology involves multiple stakeholders and addresses existing gaps in the targeted countries, focusing on strengthening their QA and accreditation systems:

• Ministries and QA agencies: Enhancing their capacity to agree on a common model for joint assessment.
• Universities: Supporting them in evaluating their performance against these standards and building internal QA processes.
• Regional networks and associations for higher education and QA: Strengthening their ability to collaborate regionally and internationally to promote similar approaches in other African countries and regions.

Key outputs include the development of a joint evaluation model, detailed guidelines for its implementation, and the completion of six pilot evaluations. Additionally, African partner universities will enhance their self-assessment capabilities through training for QA staff. The project will also provide training for ministry staff and create collaborative spaces where ministries and universities co-develop approaches, fostering trust and mutual understanding of their respective QA systems.