The President of Regent University College (RUC), Prof. N. N. Nsowah-Nuamah, has commended the University of Cape Coast for introducing novelty in mentorship of tertiary institutions in the country.
Prof. Nsowah-Nuamah made the comment when RUC hosted a training workshop organised by UCC for some affiliate institutions in the Greater Accra Region. Lecturers from Pentecost University College, School of Anaesthesia and Ophthalmic Nursing School, Public Health Nurses’ School, School of Peri-Operative & Critical Care Nursing School, Nurses’ Training College Pantang and Methodist University College participated in the workshop.
Prof. Nsowah-Nuamah said unlike other chartered universities, “UCC continue to provide good mentorship in the form of conducting pre and post moderation exercises, supervision of examinations, regular institutional visits and building the capacity of staff its affiliate institutions”. “I must say that all these standard procedures are aimed at nurturing affiliate institutions to offer quality training to students and also grow to become autonomous someday” he added.
The President of Regent University College advised participants to apply the knowledge they had acquired to help their students gain understanding of the courses they teach them. He said they should also be guided by the principles of assessment so that they could set unambiguous questions which would challenge become critical thinkers.
For his part, the Director of the Centre for Teaching Support, Prof. Douglas D. Agyei, said UCC as a mentoring institution would always ensure that its affiliate institutions conform to standards so that quality was not compromised. He indicated that the format for moderation had been reviewed so that lecturers would apply the basic principles of Assessment and supervision of students’ research work. “I believe we have shared some knowledge and experiences that will help all of us in our work as academics and it is our expectation that you make good use of what you have learnt for the past four days,” he noted
The Head of Institutional Affiliation Office, Mr. Justice Agyenim Boateng, said that at the tertiary level, students were matured in their sense of reasoning and therefore, the lecturers had a critical role to play in ensuring that they produce quality graduates comparable to any world class university. “This training you have received has provided you with hands-on experience to make a great impart in your students,” he urged.
Mr. Boateng said the team of moderators from UCC would expect the lecturers to set standardized questions with a precise and concise marking scheme. He added that “Our team should not find any cause to complain about the questions you present for moderation”.
A similar workshop was held concurrently at Kings University College which also brought together lecturers from Perez University College, Marshalls University College, Hopkins Health Training Institute, West end University College, Maranatha University College and Bimaks College.
During the four-day workshop, the participants were taken through “Types of Assessment and Assessment Criteria (Feedback Mechanisms)”, “Learning Outcomes/Blooms Taxonomy of Cognitive Learning”, “Table of Specification”. Others included “Types of Multiple Test Items”; “Essay Type Questions”; “Preparation of Course Outline” and “Effective Project Work Supervision.
The Resource persons for the two workshops were Dr. Samuel Essien-Baidoo, Dr. Eric Anane, Dr. Christopher Y. Kwaah, Dr. Godwin Aboagye and Dr. Kofi Acheaw Owusu.