Perceptions and satisfaction of Faculty towards Quality Unit: College of Medicine, Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia

Introduction:

The World Bank stated that in the context of globalization, the quality of higher education (HE) is significantly considered as highly important for the national economic development [1] . Quality management is a recent phenomenon important for both organizations and clients [2-5]. Every quality expert defines the term differently. Definitions vary between academicians and services, between industries and practitioners. Definitions vary just because of the intangible nature of the components associated with quality [6-8].

Quality in higher education is defined as “the set of activities that should lead to the identification of sources that cause problems or defects in the educational process, and to deal with these sources to avoid problems or defects in the educational process before they actually occur" [9]. It is a way of describing the extent that available learning opportunities for students assist them to fulfil their objectives. It is about getting sure that effective and appropriate teaching, technical support, assessment and learning opportunities are insured for them [10].

The quality of teachers shows a stronger relationship [than school facilities and curricula] to student achievement. Furthermore, it is progressively greater at higher grades, indicating a cumulative impact of the qualities of teachers in the college on the student’s achievements [11].

Public expenditure per HE student has not kept pace, Indeed, while enrolments and overall spending have increased [12-14]. Labor markets are not responding to the dynamic expansion of HE systems, so graduate unemployment has become a major concern particularly in developing countries. Therefore, there is a general perception of declining academic standards and a questioning of the relevance of HE to labor market needs [15-17]. To address these concerns, many countries have created mechanisms for external quality assurance (EQA), such as accreditation and review or quality audit [18].

Medical colleges all over the world is adopting quality measures and standards through quality units to meet accreditation standards. The primary objective of accreditation and quality improvement is to adjust medical education to changing environment in the healthcare delivery system, to prepare high quality graduates that fulfil the needs and expectations of the community, to help graduates cope with the explosion in scientific knowledge and technology, and inculcate in them the desire for lifelong learning [19-22] .

Accreditation was not existed in KSA until the year 2004. The National Commission for Academic Assessment and Accreditation (NCAAA) was introduced in 2005. All institutes of higher education are to be accredited by the NCAAA. The NCAAA has developed a comprehensive quality assurance and accreditation system that benefited from international experience while keeping its national features and characteristics. NCCAM responsibilities include establishing standards, criteria and procedures for accreditation, reviewing and evaluating performance of existing and new institutions, accrediting institutions and programs, and supporting improvements in quality [23-26].

High Quality in education is a target for Majmaah University to graduate high quality graduates to the labor market in Saudi Arabia and the whole world. College of Medicine is one of the programs in Majmaah University that was applied and working to acquire the National Accreditation. The quality unit in College of medicine is leading activities of quality following the guidelines of the NCAAA.

The current aims at study assessing faculty perceptions towards the quality unit in college of Medicine, Majmaah University activities and its role in supporting faculty, and to assess faulty satisfaction towards the unit.

Methods:

This was a descriptive study to assess perception and satisfaction of faculty members, college of Medicine, Majmaah University towards the quality. All faculty members in the college were included. Faculty who were in academic assignments and teaching assistance were excluded from the study. Systematic random sampling was used, and sample size was calculated as 49.

The questionnaire was developed from the measurement and evaluation form of the Deanship of Quality and Skills Development, Majmaah University. The questionnaire was tested on the staff members of the College of Dentistry, Majmaah University. Cronbach's alpha was employed to ensure reliability. Data were analyzed by SPSS software, version 23. Descriptive statistics were used. The ethics approval was obtained from Majmaah University IRB.

Results:

Table (1) shows Perception of faculty towards quality unit performance. Forty-eight (97.9%) of the faculty agreed that quality control unit efforts are influential. For clarity of the quality control unit duties for the faculty, 44 (90%) of faculty agreed that duties were clear. Thirty-two faculty (64.6%) agreed that the effect of the unit efforts is tangible. Forty-seven faculty (95.8%) agreed that activities of the unit were well implemented. In response to Unit is active with noticeable positive impact question, 91.6% agreed to the statement. The mean score for good Perception of faculty towards Quality Control Unit performance was 88%.

Table (2) shows perception of faculty towards Quality Control Unit activities. In response to the question: the unit provides high quality technical support to faculty, 46 (93.7%) agreed to the statement. Quality control unit plays an important role in increasing the awareness about quality control measures, 48 (98%) agreed to the statement. Forty-six (93.7%) faculty agreed that workshops provided by the unit fulfill faculty requirements. Forty-seven (95.8%) of faculty agreed that here is dynamic communication between quality control unit and faculty members. The mean good level of faculty towards Quality Control Unit activities was 95.2%.

Fig (1) shows satisfaction about the performance of the quality control unit in the college, 35.4% of the faculty were very highly satisfied, 47.9 were highly satisfied, 12.5% were moderately satisfaction, 2.1% were not satisfied and 4.2% were extremely not satisfied.

Discussion:

Deanship of quality in Majmaah University plays a big role in the development of the system of quality based on NCAAA standards and plays a major role in supporting quality management units. Most of the faculty admitted that the quality unit efforts are recognized and tangible. They also stated that the standards of the quality process are clear. These findings are consisted with Al Saud AS et al in the Faculty of Arts at King Saud University, KSA [27]. Our results show that duties and activities of the quality unit are clear and well implemented, the unit has a positive impact on quality progress. These factors are so important, Manghani K and Al Mohaimeed A et al stated that these factors help achieve success by assisting the achievement of high-quality procedures and enhancement of satisfaction [28,29].

Most of the faculty admitted that the quality unit provides its services including training to faculty members in an organized manner, reviewing the course reports and course specifications along with reviewing exam questions. This finding consists with Al Saud AS et al who stated that the Quality Unit provides training opportunities using modern technology and takes into consideration faculty members’ needs [27]. This finding agrees with Al Mohaimeed, who stated that Educational resources such as textbooks and e-learning materials are provided along with the orientation workshops for newcomers. He also stated that workshops are provided by the faculty development unit which was given the responsibility to develop training programs to enhance the teaching and research skills [28].

Concerning assessment of faculty satisfaction, results shows that 83.3% were very highly and highly satisfied about the performance of the quality in the college. These findings are in line with study done in Qassim College of Medicine [29] .

The study concluded that: Faculty are highly satisfied with the quality unit performance. Perception of most faculty towards quality unit activities is high, its support was acknowledged by most of the faculty.

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