UTech, Jamaica 2015-16 Annual Report

Page 90 University of Technology, Jamaica ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016 PLANNING, PROCUREMENT AND IT SERVICES Dr. Kofi Nkrumah-Young Chief Planning, Procurement & IT Services Officer Planning In light of theUniversity’s focus on obtaining institutional accreditation, the 2015 Executive Management Retreat was held under the theme, “The quality imperative on the road to Institutional accreditation” with the clear objective of developing a road map to that destination. Outcomes were to include an implementation Plan for Institutional Accreditation; agreement on the structure to manage the Institutional Accreditation process; and proposals for the appropriation of resources to enable successful implementation of a quality assurance system. Emphasis was placed on the importance of quality and its role in the accreditation process. The main activities at the Retreat involved examination of the quality elements in each of ten (10) Institutional Accreditation standards provided by the University Council of Jamaica. An assessment of the University’s current state in relation to the standards and identification of gaps was also done and consensus reached on strategies to address the gaps. In addition to its responsibility for guiding the strategic planning process, the Division is responsible for ensuring an accessible, reliable and relevant ICT infrastructure that is appropriately resourced, as well as effective technology integration towards operational efficiency and achieving the optimal learning environment. IT Services Economic and Statistical Analysis Having benefitted from its internal strengthening exercise in the previous year, the Office of Institutional Research (OIR) focused on strengthening existing relationships with all stakeholders of the University with the primary objective of developing a better understanding of their data needs and designing systems and programmes to meet the needs. As a result, departments were able to reduce the length of time it took complete their accreditation and self-study documents. Major projects for the year included: