The Abbottabad University Quality Assurance Policy (AUSTQAP) is the University's governing document for quality assurance. It was prepared by the Directorate of Quality Enhancement and aligns the University's procedures with national and international standards — in particular PSG-2023, the Pakistan Precepts, Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Higher Education promulgated by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan.
Policy statement. Abbottabad University aims to promote excellence in higher education and research by using self-assessment systems that match with its vision and objectives.
The complete policy document is available on the Downloads page.
The nine principles of the policy
- Compliance with statutory requirements — the University adheres to the applicable acts, legislation, regulations, rules and policies, providing a robust legal foundation for its activities.
- Basic principle of quality assurance — to serve society and meet the changing demands of national and international markets through an effective quality assurance system that prioritises teaching, learning and research while instilling ethical principles in students to promote responsible citizenship.
- Students' focus — students are the major beneficiaries of the University's programs and are central to its goal; the University addresses their professional demands and promotes their participation in a dynamic learning environment.
- Stakeholders' focus — a supportive, adaptable and empowered environment for knowledge generation, absorption and analysis for the benefit of academia, business, government and society.
- Knowledge creation and dissemination — multidisciplinary research addressing political, social, technical and environmental challenges, disseminated through training sessions, workshops, conferences and publications.
- Business startup — promoting entrepreneurship by supporting startups and establishing commercial possibilities across diverse sectors.
- Linkages and networking — active collaboration with national and international quality assurance organisations including INQAAHE, APQN and PNQAHE, and extensive relationships with other institutions, industry and government agencies.
- Optimisation of resources — efficient use of human capital, infrastructure and finances to maximise and sustain benefit.
- Environment friendly — a secure, green and clean campus that offers a satisfying environment for teachers, staff and students.
Objectives of the policy
- Implementing the HEC Quality Assurance Framework and ensuring compliance with the applicable accreditation bodies.
- Operating an effective self-assessment system across all faculties, departments and affiliated colleges for every approved programme.
- Defining clear and unambiguous standards as benchmarks for internal review, verified through internal quality audits in all departments and divisions.
- Developing and upholding academic standards that meet HEC and accreditation body criteria.
- Aligning the University's educational standards with recognised international benchmarks.
- Improving the quality of teaching, research publications and student and staff support services through internal audit.
- Verifying that programme objectives align with institutional aims, and continuously monitoring student learning outcomes.
- Building the capability of faculty and staff engaged in quality assurance processes, and accepting joint responsibility for quality improvement.
- Promoting public confidence that educational standards and quality are continually enhanced.
- Seeking collaboration with local and international organisations on mutually beneficial projects.
- Collecting and submitting institutional data for national and international rankings.
- Enforcing the plagiarism policy and guiding ethical research practice, using licensed similarity-checking software to assure academic integrity.
Establishment of the Directorate
The office was founded as a Quality Enhancement Cell (QEC) in 2017 vide AUST Notification No. Acad 8(17)/AUST-REG/2017/853 dated 29 November 2017, and its status was raised to a Directorate of Quality Enhancement (DQE) in 2020. Posts for the Directorate were sanctioned by Registrar Notification No. 4(1)-AUST/Reg/2011/1524 dated 10 June 2011, under the 16th and 17th meetings of the Finance Committee and item 17 of the 21st meeting of the Syndicate dated 22 December 2011.
Quality assurance toolkit
The main toolkit of the policy is PSG-2023, applied through:
- RIPE — Review of Institutional Performance and Enhancement, and S-RIPE, its self-review form.
- PREE — Programme Review for Effectiveness and Enhancement.
- PGPR — Postgraduate Programme Review for PhD and MPhil/MS equivalents, and S-PGPR, its self-review form.
- SARs — programme self-assessments.