The ZIMCHE Act of 2006 prescribes that each institution of higher education be issued with a certificate of accreditation if it demonstrates the achievement of acceptable standards in terms of physical, human, financial and material resources; management and operational procedures; and acceptable standards of academic life focussing on teaching, research, public and expert service. ZIMCHE, therefore, carries out institutional and programme accreditation. Accreditation is a process of external quality review to scrutinise institutions of higher education and their programmes for maintenance of quality and quality improvement.
Important Issues of Accreditation
Peer review panels are used by ZIMCHE to look at:
- The provision of appropriate and safe facilities at institutions of higher education;
- Employment of qualified staff;
- The lecturer/ student ratio;
- Library facilities;
- Information Communication Technology facilities;
- Programme documents, among other things.
Preparation for an Accreditation Visit by ZIMCHE
Quality assurance is an ongoing process of each higher education institution and so there should always be structures at these institutions that guarantee that acceptable standards are adhered to. An institution should, therefore, have its own internal quality assurance system.
ZIMCHE WILL:
- Provide criteria for accreditation of higher education institutions and programmes
- Constitute peer review panels to attend to the accreditation applied for by an institution
- Issue a certificate of accreditation if prescribed standards are achieved or deny the issurance of a certificate.