Quality Assurance (20)
The Quality Department (QD) from the Ministry of Manpower (MoM) paid a three-day visit to Ibri College of Technology from 11 to 13 February 2020. The purpose of the visit was to discuss theQD feedback on Institutional Standards Assessment Application (ISAA) version 4.0,observe if the Operational Teams have incorporated their feedback and answer queries, if any, for clarification.The QD team who visited the college included:
- Mr Younis Ali Al Balushi
- Dr Nida Mallare
- Dr Bennet Ebenzer
- Mr Waseem Hashim
The three-day schedule was arranged as per the respective standards.
On Day 1, 11 February 2020, the first session was conducted in the Dean’s meeting room to welcome the visitors and update them about the progress of each standard. The Chairs of the standards attended this meeting and presented the ongoing progress of their respective standards to the QD team. Then they were escorted to the VIP room. Every standard had a session of two and a half hours with the QD team.
Day-1: Standards 1, 5 and 9
Day-2: Standards 8, 6 and 4
Day-3: Standards 7 and 2
At the beginning of every session, the Dean introduced the QD team to the Operational Team members. In general, he briefed about the objective of the session and emphasizedon the session’svalue for improving the upcoming version of ISAAv5.0. He requested the members of Operational Teams to seek any clarification if required.
The Operational Team members and the QD team discussed general comments on ISAA version 4 and the specific comments on each criterion. The use of ADRI and the write-up flow was examined during discussions. The QD team entertained all queries of the Operational Team members comprehensively.
The QD team appreciated the considerable college progress in enriching the ISAA and discussed the next steps that could be taken.
On Day-3 at 3:00PM all sessions were completed successfully. The Dean extended his thanks to the QD team for their valuable and continuous guidance. The QD team members appreciated the cooperative and active participation of the Operational Teams and the hospitality of IbriCT management. They added that they would be glad to provide additional assistance such as providing supporting materials or further clarification.
The Dean concluded the sessions by thanking the unlimited support, guidance and cooperation of the Directorate General of Technical Education (DGTE), Dr Abdulhakim Al Ismaili, Asssistant DGTE,Dr Ali AlMugheri, Experts and Performance Enhancement Team (PET) on Quality Assurance in particular and other processes in general.This support has resulted in a positive impact and added value to the ongoing progress of the college performance.
With the successful completion of ISAA Gala 2 that consisted of four sessions in semester 1 of AY 2019-2020, the Quality Assurance Department (QAD) has started the first session of ISAA Gala 3 for semester II. The event, aimed at raising awareness of staff and students on the ongoing accreditation process of GFP and QA updates, was held at the Multipurpose Hall on 28 January 2020.
Dr. Abdulsalam Al Manthari, QAD officer and anchor, welcomed the attendees and enumerated the following session highlights:
- General Foundation Programme (GFP) Quality Audit 2020 orientation
- Awarding of certificates to students who participated in the ISAA Gala 2 Sessions 3 and 4
- Updates from the QAD
- Discussion among the staff and management on the feedback received in previous ISAA Galas
Dr. Hamdan Al Manthari, College Dean and QAD Chair, reminded the staff to understand the essence of quality assurance. He emphasized that quality is not merely the work per se but embedded in everyone’s daily work.
Dr. Sultan Al Ghafri, ELC Head of Section for English Language Programme (ELP), oriented the attendees about the importance of the GFP Audit this year, its process and its impact on the College.
For actively participating in the QA short drama presentation on policies related to students in the ISAA Gala 2 Session 3 held on 26 November 2019, the Dean awarded the certificates to the following student participants:
Moderation Policy
- Alaya Said Rashid Al Azizi
- Kothar Khalifa Salim Mohammed Al Ghafri
- Aryam Ali Al Mamari
Student Grievance Policy
- Noor Badar Salim Al Gharibi
- Carmel Ghani
- Bader Said Masoud Mohammed Al Azizi
Academic Integrity Policy
- Abdullah Ali Salim Al Abri
- Mohammed Nasser Salim Al Blooshi
- Omaima Hafedh Mohammed Al Shaiban
Meanwhile, another group of student participants (listed below) were recognized for their active participation in the ISAA Gala 2 Session 4 which was held on 23 December 2019.
- Miaad Saif Mohammed Ali Al Farsi (IT student)
- Noor Bader Salim Abdullah Al Gharibi (Business student)
- Althuraiya Rashid Said Al Maqbali (Engineering student)
Ms. Heba Qureshi, QAD Head, updated the team about the important information they must know regarding the following:
- Staff Performance Management System (SPMS)
- Strategic Objective Map
- SP Cycles
- College Document System (CDS)
- Operational Plans
The aim of QAD updates was to orient the staff about their expected role related to the information provided. The last activity of the event was staff and management discussion on the questions/comments raised in the previous ISAA Galas.
Participants were involved in this session enthusiastically and the college management answered the queries effectively. Another fruitful session would be arranged to discuss recurring questions/comments with GFP and non-academic staff.
Ibri College of Technology conducted a 2-day end of semester staff gathering on 24-25 December 2019 to recap the achievements of the College and to foster camaraderie and enjoy recreational activities through games and fashion walk.
On day 1, the morning session consisted of indoor games, such as balloon blowing, face the cookies, treasure hunt, stack attack and fashion walk while the afternoon session consisted of outdoor games, such as tug of war, 100-meter race, cycle race and spoon walk.
On day 2, the awarding and closing ceremony was held at the Multipurpose Hall to sum up the College achievements in Semester 1, AY 2019-2020 and to distribute prizes to the games’ winners. During the ceremony, Dr. Hamdan Al Manthari, College Dean, encouraged staff to work in harmony, to do the work within one’s ability and to be happy. Then Dean, Assistant Deans, academic and non-academic HoD/HoCs and the QAD Head gave a brief summary of their achievements.
Assistant Deans and HoD/HoC attendees were the following:
- Hafedh Al Rahbi, Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs
- Rashid Al Hinai, Assistant Dean for Administrative and Financial Affairs
- Nawal Al Sawafi, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs
- Abdulrahman Al Ismaili, Business Studies Department Head
- Nasser Al Shammakhi, Engineering Department Head
- Ms Heba Qureshi, Quality Assurance Department Head
- Moza Al Balushi, Admission and Registration Department Head
- Mohammed Al Sakiti, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Unit Head
- Sultan Al Ghafri, English Language Centre Head of Section (ELP).
Ms. Heba thanked the QAD Officers, QA Coordinators and College Level Committee Chairs for their valuable contributions.
The next part of the event was the prize distribution to the winners. The table below shows the list of winners for the indoor and outdoor games:
|
SN |
Indoor Game |
Winner |
|
1 |
Balloon Blowing |
1st Mr. Rashid Al Kalbani (SA) |
|
2nd Dr. G. Kumarvel (ENG) |
||
|
2 |
Face the cookies |
1st Ms. Heba Qureshi (ELC/QAD) |
|
2nd Mr. Devasenapathy (ENG) |
||
|
3 |
Treasure Hunt |
Mr. Santhosh Byatappa (ENG) |
|
Mr. Akram Pasha (BUS) |
||
|
Mr. Ali Al Ghafri (SA) |
||
|
Mr. Rashid Al Kalbani (SA) |
||
|
4 |
Stack Attack |
1st Mr. Rashid Al Kalbani (SA) |
|
2nd Mr. Arnel Rayos Del Sol (ETC) |
||
|
3rd Ms. Amal Ashour Awad (ELC) |
||
|
5 |
Fashion walk |
1st Mr. Enthiyaz Khan (BUS) |
|
2nd Dr. Vijay Paduguri (BUS) |
||
|
3rd Mr. Mohammed Riyaz (ENG) |
|
SN |
Outdoor Game |
Winner |
|
1 |
Tug of war |
Mr. B. Santosh (ENG) |
|
Mr. Devasenapathy (ENG) |
||
|
Dr. Pugalarasu Rajan (IT) |
||
|
Mr. Mohammad Faisal (BUS) |
||
|
2 |
100-Meter race (Male) |
1st Dr. Mohsen Amiri (ELC) |
|
2nd Dr. Abdulsalam Al Manthari (ELC) |
||
|
3rd Mr. Ali Al-Ghafri (SA) |
||
|
3 |
100-Meter race (Female) |
1st Dr. Laly Antoney (BUS) |
|
2nd Ms. Heba Qureshi( ELC) |
||
|
4 |
Cycle race |
1st Dr. Abdulsalam Al Manthari (ELC) |
|
2nd Mr. Ali Al-Ghafri (SA) |
||
|
3rd Mr. Aron James (ENG) |
||
|
5 |
Spoon walk (Male) |
1st Mr. Aron James (ENG) |
|
2nd Mr. Krishna Kumar (ENG) |
||
|
3rd Mr. Devasenapathy (ENG) |
||
|
6 |
Spoon walk ( Female) |
1st Dr. Ammani Ammal (BUS) |
|
2nd Dr. Michelle Mendoza (ELC) |
||
|
3rd Ms. Heba Qureshi (ELC) |
Staff feedback was taken at the end of the second-day event to improve the upcoming end of semester staff gatherings.
The QAD conducted a series of awareness session for Business, IT and ELC students in order to inform them of the importance of QA and in order to prepare them for the upcoming OAAA audit 2020. These awareness sessions were conducted on September and October.
The awareness sessions oriented the students on OAAA audit, policies related to students, the quality audit in 2013 outcomes, the actions taken following the audit, the importance of QA to students and the college. Several other issues related to QA were also discussed.
This awareness session was conducted by QA officers Dr. Abdulsalam Al-Manthari and Ms. Basma Al-Alawi.
Dean of the College, Dr. Hamdan Al-Manthari graced the sessions and emphasized the importance of student engagement and being aware of QA and the OAAA Audit. Students actively interacted with the College Dean and with QAD officers during the sessions. Mentimeter was used to get feedback from students and it showed that 90% of students benefited from the sessions and believe that future awareness sessions should be conducted.
QAD will continue conducting awareness sessions for all College students and staff in order to increase their awareness of QA and increase their preparedness for the OAAA audit.
The Ministry of Manpower organised a 3-days workshop for the Colleges of Technology from 4 to 6 September 2019 in the Higher College of Technology at Muscat. The workshop involved staff members from the seven Colleges of Technology: Higher College of Technology, Ibri College of Technology, Shinas College of Technology, Salalah College of Technology, Nizwa College of Technology, Al Musanna College of Technology and Ibra College of Technology. In addition to staff from the Colleges of Technology, staff from the Ministry of Manpower attended the workshop.
This workshop, which was conducted by strategic planning and balanced scorecard experts, aimed at developing strategic and operation plans for the colleges of technology based on balanced scorecard. This interactive workshop will be followed by individual workshops conducted in college of technology.
The workshop participants from Ibri College of Technology were the College Dean, Dr. Hamdan Al-Manthari, the Assistant Dean for Administrative and Financial Affairs, Mr. Rashid Al-Hinai, Head of IT Department, Dr. Dhuhai Al-Shukaili, Ms. Heba Qurashi, Dr. Abdulsalam Al-Manthari and Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Ismaili.
The workshop was interactive and practical. In the first day, the workshop focused on strategic planning, selecting and prioritizing objectives, building strategy maps, showing relationships between strategic objectives and defining strategic objectives. The second day was about process identification and linkages and ontology, KPIs and target development. In the third day, the workshop focused on strategic initiatives and operational planning. Each college had the opportunity to discuss their strategic plans with the instructors and all inquiries were answered.
Ibri College of Technology staff planned to conduct training for all departments and centres at the College in order to develop the College SP and OP based on balanced scorecard. Each individual department will develop a Strategic Plan and an Operational Plan based on the balanced scorecard workshops conducted.
On September 22, Ibri College of Technology Strategic and Operational Plans will be reviewed by the experts. In this review, strategic objectives, definitions, priorities, strategy maps, process linkage, strategic linkages, strategic initiatives, KPIs and operational plans will be reviewed. Based on this review, Ibri College of Technology will plan for the next steps that need to be followed.
The Quality Assurance Department conducted the Second Gala at the Ibri College of Technology on Tuesday 01 of October 2019 at 12:00 pm at the VIP Room involving staff from all departments and centres. The purpose of the second ISAA Gala was to equip the staff with the required awareness of quality assurance and the OAAA accreditation.
Dr. Hamdan Al-Manthari welcomed the staff and gave an orientation on the essence of QA and accreditation process. He motivated the staff and encouraged them to take part actively in all QA related activities.
Ms Heba, QAD Head, welcomed the audience and gave an overview of the event.
Mr. Abdullah Al Shukeili talked about the positive feedback received from the ministry on ISAA V.4 and he thanked and appreciated the members of the team as this results was attributed to their committed work. He asked the staff to continue working on ISAA V.5 based on the comments received from QD from the Ministry of Manpower.
After, that Mr. Waseem presented a very interactive talk that focused on Standard 6. In addition to that he oriented the staff on the importance of the OAAA accreditation. Moreover, he provided additional information about the key documents with respect to QA e.g, ISAA, ISAM, QAM and policies and where to find them.
In conclusion, the event was informative and interactive. The majority of College staff attended the event and gave their valuable feedback on the event. The feedback showed that there was very positive feedback from staff on the event and they requested for more similar events in the future. Other sessions will be held regularly to raise the awareness among the stakeholders.
The Quality Assurance Department conducted the Second ISAA Gala session 2 at Ibri College of Technology on Tuesday, 29 of October 2019 at 12:00 pm at the Multipurpose Hall with staff from all departments and centres. Dr. Hamdan Al-Manthari, College Dean and QAD Chair; Mr Rashid Al-Hinai, ADAFA; Dr Hafedh Al-Rahbi, ADAA; Ms Heba Qureshi, QAD Head; Mr Omar Al-Balushi, Business Studies Department Head; Dr Duhai Al-Shukeily, IT Department Head and QAD Officers attended.
Dr. Hamdan Al-Manthari welcomed the staff. Then, Dr Duhai Al-Shukeily, Standard 4 Chair, briefed them about Standard 4: Research and Consultancy.
Mr Jabez Syam, Standard 4 EAT Lead, explained his presentation on Standard 4. He expounded the ISAA structure for CoTs, standard 4 criteria and their respective writers.
Dr. Laly Antoney, IP policy co-developer, gave a brief orientation on Awareness on IP Policy.
Ms Heba Qureshi informed the attendees about the OAAA workshop and shared what she and the rest of the team learned. She also mentioned that OAAA and other HEIs regarded IbriCT as a very promising CoT based on the excellent presentation they made on the task given to them.
After the learning sharing, the most awaited quiz was conducted. Ms Heba, the quizmaster, requested each D/C to nominate one representative. The following were the D/C nominated representatives:
1. Dr Rehna Jameela – Engineering Department
2. Ms Naga Raja Kumari – English Language Centre
3. Ms Buthaina Al-Marshoodi – Educational Technology Centre
4. Dr Mohammed Abed – Business Studies Department
5. Ms Fatma Al-Ghassani – Registration Department
6. Ms Saada Al-Shukri – Human Resources Department
7. Mr Shaik Asif Basha – Information Technology Department
The quizmaster explained the mechanics of the quiz. Questions were focused not only on Standard 4 but on ISAA as well. Each contestant was given 40 seconds to answer the question. If no answer or if the answer is wrong, the next contestant gets the chance to give the correct answer. The staff from each D/C were also allowed to coach their representative. Scorers were Dr Shaik Mastan and Dr Ansarul Haque, QAD officers and timekeeper was Mr Erick Oandasan, ETC staff.
After the quiz, Dr Hafedh Al-Rahbi and Ms Heba Qureshi distributed the prizes and certificates.
Quiz winners, namely Ms Fatma Al-Ghassani, first placer, Ms Naga Raja, second placer and Dr Mohammed Abed, third placer, received exciting prizes. The quiz was not only a test of knowledge but also a promotion of camaraderie among D/C staff.
Certificate of recognition was awarded to Dr Pugalarasu Rajan, ISAA Gala 1 speaker; Mr Wasim Raja, ISAA GALA 2 session 1 speaker; Dr Duhai Al-Shukeily, IP Policy developer and Dr Laly Antoney, IP Policy co-developer.
As a final point, Dr Abdulsalam Al-Mantahari, event anchor, requested the audience to give their feedback through Mentimeter. The result shows that 95% of the staff learned from and enjoyed the session. They even requested for more similar interesting and helpful events in the future. Other sessions will be held regularly to elevate awareness among stakeholders.
The session ended at 2 PM.
The Performance Enhancement Team (PET), under the supervision of Dr Abdulhakim Al-Ismaili, Director General of Technical Education, selected Ms Heba Al-Qureshi, QAD Head, Dr Abdulsalam Al-Manthari, QAD officer and Dr Abdulrahman Al-Ismaili, Business Studies Department Head and QAD officer, to become their members and to help them in the facilitation of workshops to be conducted to other CoTs.
The decision was made because IbriCt has been very engaged in the accreditation process. Accordingly, IbriCt's accreditation experiences could be shared with other CoTs and would aid and inspire them in preparation for the accreditation of their own colleges.
To create awareness on ISAA Writing and Review for Al Musana College of Technology staff, a two-day workshop was conducted by the PET from 13-14 November 2019 at Al Musana College of Technology.
Dr Hamdan Al-Manthari, Dean and QAD Chair, Ms Heba Al-Qureshi, Dr Abdulsalam Al-Manthari and Dr Abdulrahman Al-Ismaili, IbriCT PET facilitators and Dr Michelle Inciso-Mendoza, QAD officer, participated in the event.
Activities on the first day were divided into three parts:
First part: a) Presentation on ADRI model b) Team-building activity c) Practical session on statement areas and d) Feedback session in groups.
Second part: a) Practical session on ADRI template and b) Feedback session in groups.
Third part: a) Practical session on ADRI case study and b) Feedback session in groups.
Activities on the second day were divided into two parts:
First part: a) Narrative writing b) Team building activity and c) Practical session on ADRI case study and narrative writing.
Second part: a) Mock review session b) Feedback session in groups and c) Conclusion and moving forward.
The last day of the workshop concluded by sharing the learnings that were gained from the workshop by the participants and by showing a video which summarizes the two-day workshop.
Technical experts from Bahwan CyberTek gave a proposal to IbriCT on the use of their software 'DropThought' to help the College improve its process of conducting surveys or capturing any feedback.
QAD arranged a meeting with the experts from Bahwan CyberTek on Tuesday, 22 October 2019 at the VIP Room to orient the staff about this software. Dr Hamdan Al Manthari, College Dean and QAD Chair, Mr Rashid Al-Hinai, ADAFA; Ms Heba Qureshi, QAD Head; Mr Omar Al-Balushi, Business Studies Department Head; Mr Abdullah Al-Shukeily, ETC Head; Mr Nasser Al-Shammakhi, Engineering Department Head; Ms Moza Al-Balushi, Registration Department Head; Dr Maryam Al-Ghafri, ELC HoS; Dr Sultan Al-Ghafri, ELC HoS; Research Team; Self-appraisal Technical Team and QAD Officers attended.
Mr Rashid Al-Hinai, ADAFA, welcomed Mr Tahir and Mr Satya, the Bahwan CyberTek delegates.
Mr Tahir started his presentation by describing the DropThought key features, such as any-channel feedback collection across touch points, text analytics, easy and instant identification of what is working and what is not and its way of enhancing every aspect of the classroom. Moreover, he enumerated what sets DropThought apart, reasons why students love it and their experience journey.
Dr Hamdan Al-Manthari requested the staff to see its features and check if it fits what the College requires.
Ms Heba Qureshi, QAD Head, thanked the Bahwan CyberTek delegates for orienting the college regarding the software.
Dr Abdulsalam Al-Manthari, QAD Officer, asked the attendees to answer survey questions regarding the software through Mentimeter. The results show that speakers are good at explaining the features of the software, but staff need to understand better how the software could address college survey and data collection needs.
On 26 October 2019, the College decided not to use the DropThought software presented and suggested by Bahwan Cybertek, but instead to develop its own software on Staff Development Management System.
The QAD conducted an awareness session for IT students in order to inform them of the importance of QA and in order to prepare them for the upcoming OAAA audit 2020 on Tuesday 24 September 2019 in the VIP Room.
The awareness sessions oriented the students on OAAA audit, policies related to students, the quality audit in 2013 outcomes, the actions taken following the audit, the importance of QA to students and the college. Several other issues related to QA were also discussed.
This awareness session was conducted by QA officers Dr. Abdulsalam Al-Manthari and Ms. Basma Al-Alawi.
Dean of the College, Dr. Hamdan Al-Manthari graced the session and emphasized the importance of student engagement and being aware of QA and the OAAA Audit. Students actively interacted with the College Dean and with QAD officers during the session. Mentimeter was used to get feedback from students and it showed that 90% of students benefited from the sessions and believe that future awareness sessions should be conducted.
QAD will continue conducting awareness sessions for all College students and staff in order to increase their awareness of QA and increase their preparedness for the OAAA audit.