5 October – December 2022 | VOICES Bi-Monthly Magazine of the University of Technology, Jamaica The Office of Quality Assurance (OQA), in partnership with College of Health Sciences (COHS), hosted the inaugural Quality Assurance Conference, on November 17, 2022, in celebration of World Quality Day. Themed “Engendering a Culture of Quality: Everybody’s Business”, the Conference followed the launch of the Quality Policy in August, 2022, which “provides guidelines for the development and implementation of a Quality Management System in order to enhance quality across all areas of operation within the University.” The Conference was convened by the OQA team, led by Dr. Janet Campbell Shelly, Acting Associate Vice President, Quality Assurance, who noted its thrust “to stimulate widespread interest and engagement in the quality agenda of UTech, Jamaica.” The day’s activities included a panel discussion and research presentations aimed at engaging members of the University Community in understanding their role in ensuring quality at the University, encouraging the application of quality assurance principles and actions in all transactions, and stimulating efforts to achieve and maintain quality standards. Professor Colin Gyles, CD, Acting President, in emphasizing that all members of the University Community have a role to play in quality assurance, highlighted the role of quality in the award of Institutional Accreditation to the University in 2018, and called on staff, members of faculty and students to “work together in our commitment to improving and sustaining a culture of quality in all operational areas at UTech, Jamaica.” Keynote speaker, Mrs. Venessa Buchanan-Williams, Examinations Officer, Council of Community Colleges of Jamaica (CCCJ), in her presentation noted that quality standards are usually associated with manufacturing companies, “but we are now in the era where educators and educational institutions are singing the song of quality and are proving it.” Encouraging widespread adoption of quality standards across UTech, Jamaica, Mrs. Buchanan-Williams highlighted that “customer satisfaction is key in creating a quality culture and being able to maintain the business, and in this case, the business of education.” She called on the University Community to invest in quality, Inaugural Quality Assurance Conference Among the graduating Class of 2022 were four PhD graduates from the Faculty of Education and Liberal Studies and from the Faculty of Engineering and Computing. Doctoral Graduates Officers of the University share a photo with Doctoral graduates during the graduation ceremony. From left are Chancellor Mr. Lloyd Carney, Acting President Professor Colin Gyles, CD, Dr. Balvin Thorpe (Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering), Dr. Greg-Louis Austin and Dr. Courtney Garrick (Doctor of Philosophy in Education Leadership and Management), Dr. Craig McNally (Doctor of Philosophy in Education Leadership and Management) and Vice President and University Registrar Miss. Marion Brown. no matter the cost, to “speak the same language” with regard to quality controls and adherence to standards, and to continue to work together to achieve a culture of quality.
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