Office of the Vice-Chancellor

The Office of the Vice-Chancellor is the operational center for the Vice-Chancellor who is the academic and administrative head of the University and also the chief disciplinary officer. The office is responsible for driving the overall growth and development of the University under the direction of the Governing Council. The office plays a coordinating role which gives the Vice-Chancellor unrestricted rights of attendance and speech at meetings of all University bodies, whether executive or advisory.

The office of the Vice-Chancellor has other units that report directly to it, namely: Community Engagement, Projects and Innovations Unit, Academic Planning and Quality Assurance Unit and the Procurement Unit. The Community Engagement, Projects and Innovations Unit seeks to:

• Ensure that all Community Engagement activities have clarity of purpose and bring a difference;
• Work together with Faculty where this will improve the quality of Community Engagement;
• Ensure that all Community Engagement projects and activities are done openly and honestly and have integrity;
• Promote flexibility and ensure that Community Engagements are tailored to the people’s needs;
• Work to ensure that resources are well-targeted and using local knowledge and intelligence to plan and deliver Community Engagement projects and activities;
• Treat participants with respect while ensuring that feedback is provided to participants and made publicly available; and
• Ensure that processes are reviewed to ensure efficiency.

The Academic Planning and Quality Assurance Unit provides the overall quality assurance system that guides quality strategies with the overall goal of building and improving the quality of teaching, learning, research, and any other services provided by the University. The Academic Planning and Quality Assurance Unit exists to:

• Build a quality assurance culture at UESD and ensure that quality improvement of our operations become the collective responsibility of all UESD staff, students, and other stakeholders;

• Satisfy both the internal and external stakeholders objectively to ensure that all the services provided across teaching, learning, research, and service delivery are of the highest possible quality;
• Demonstrate that standards of awards are appropriate and that the resources are of globally acceptable quality to meet the requirements of the academic infrastructure and other external benchmarks;
• Ensure strong institutional commitment to quality assurance culture and enhancement of the quality of the student experience;
• Develop and continuously improve the approaches of integrating measures and methods into routine procedures as a means of reinforcing both the philosophy and the practice of quality assurance as an integral part of normal operations in the University;
• Provide accessible and adequate infrastructure for dealing with quality assurance at all levels and for disseminating good practice;
• Ensure that all staff are familiar with the University’s quality assurance strategies, procedures, and mechanisms; and
• Implement the University’s approach to quality assurance and enhancement efficiently and effectively.

The mandate of the Procurement Unit includes provision of advisory and technical support to Management of the University in all aspects and phases of the procurement cycle in a professional, transparent and ethical manner in line with the Public Procurement Act 2003 (Act 663) (Amended) Act 2016, (Act 663) and the Public Procurement Regulation and Guidelines.