The AKU Academic Quality Framework was implemented in Pakistan following its implementation in East Africa. For the first time, on September 20-23, 2016, international experts reviewed Medical College graduate programmes in Pakistan. This review entailed a cluster review of 3 masters programmes: Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Health Policy and Management, and Health Professions Education.  

Dr Stephen Pearson from the University of Leeds, UK, chaired the External Review Team. He is also a Senior Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy. Two other External Review Team members were from American University of Beirut, Lebanon, and United Arab Emirates University, UAE, and an internal-external member was from AKU in East Africa. 

As part of the external review process, an internal self-assessment review took place. These were carried out following QAI_net's day-long training session, "How to conduct self-assessment of a programme." The participants of this self-assessment training included programme directors, Community Health Sciences Vice-Chair of Education, and faculty, staff and student representatives of the 3 programmes under review.  Hearing the voices of students is vital and the student representatives were integral to the review process.  

Using the AKU Academic Quality Framework, its standards and criteria, the Peer Review Team identified best practices and suggested areas to be enhanced on the improvement plans.

During the 4-day review process, the External Review Team met with the dean, department chair, programme directors, faculty members who taught courses in the programmes, thesis supervisors, students and alumni to understand and explore the programmes. In addition, it analysed the self-assessment reports. The Team will submit its report in 6-8 weeks' time. Following that, the respective programme teams will use the reviewers' recommendations to revise their improvement plans and monitor and present an annual improvement plan to the University's Quality Assurance Review Committee.  

"Initially we felt threatened and defensive towards having to participate in the cyclical review process. However, as we went through the self-assessment process, the act of identifying our own issues means we are more likely to make the needed changes for improvement. It was a very useful process!" Department Chair, Pakistan, 2016 

In its role to enhance the culture of quality across all campuses, QAI_net continues to assist entities to monitor their revised improvement plans.