Education Quarterly Reviews
ISSN 2621-5799
Published: 15 December 2023
Nurturing Excellence: An Evaluation of the Higher Education Quality Assessment Model from the Perspective of Undergraduate Students in Somalia’s Benadir Region
Abukar Mukhtar Omar, David Onen, Irene Etomaru
SIMAD University, Makerere University
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10.31014/aior.1993.06.04.791
Pages: 121-132
Keywords: Higher Education Quality, Quality Assessment, Validation, Undergraduate Students, Instrument
Abstract
This study validated the Higher Education Quality Assessment Model (HEQAM) within the undergraduate educational milieu of universities in the Benadir region of Somalia. Originating in 2013, the HEQAM model, introduced by Noaman et al., represents a notable progression in evaluating the quality of higher education. Despite its decade-long existence, the model's validity and reliability have remained largely unexplored, with a solitary prior validation study conducted at a university in Saudi Arabia in 2017. This research addressed this lacuna by critically scrutinising the applicability of Noaman et al.'s HEQAM tool in assessing the perceived quality of higher education among students in the Benadir region. Employing a quantitative approach and a cross-sectional survey research design, data were garnered from 1,803 undergraduate students through electronic questionnaires across diverse universities in the Benadir region. The study's outcomes affirm the robustness and consistency of all eight dimensions within the HEQAM model as efficacious measures for evaluating higher education quality. The findings underscore substantial positive correlations among the dimensions, underscoring their significant interconnectedness. Thus, this investigation asserts that Noaman et al.'s HEQAM instrument is a reliable and cohesive tool adaptable to diverse educational settings. The discernible correlations and alignment with traditional conceptions of educational quality substantiate the construct validity of the HEQAM model. In light of these findings, the validated HEQAM instrument is recommended for standardised adoption in assessing and enhancing educational quality across various institutional and programmatic contexts. Comprehensive data and nuanced recommendations are available in the complete report.
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