Accreditation report on United States International University

Abstract

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The United States International University (USIU), is among the oldest local private universities in Kenya having been established in 1970 following an agreement between the Trustees of USIU in San Diego, California, USA, and the Ministry of Education. The University started with a student population of less than 10. The USIU had a shaky start due to several factors experienced by the University prior to the establishment of the Commission for Higher Education (CHE), namely: (i) The initial indecision on the part of the University on a permanent location of the University; (ii) The lack of a regulatory machinery to govern the establishment and operations of private universities in Kenya at the time; (iii) The lack of focus in the University's academic standards and governance principles at the outset, which led to the establishment of a probe committee in 1982. It was not until 1985, with the establishment of the Commission for Higher Education by an Act of Parliament, that the university was brought into the process of accreditation, with a view to improving its operations and academic standards to a level acceptable to the Commission. Against this backdrop, the Commission through its various Committees, carried out a number of inspections between 1986 and 1999. During its preliminary inspection of 1986, the Commission made observations and recommendations with regards to: • The legal framework and validity of USIU; • The relations between USIU Nairobi campus and USIU San Diego; • The curriculum; • Physical facilities; • Staffing and staff development; • Research programmes and finances. More detailed inspections were carried out in 1987, 1990, 1998 and 1999 where the issues cited above were delved into in greater depth. Recommendations were made with regards to governance, finances, curriculum, staff/faculty, physical facilities and land. Apart from holding discussions with the Executive Director, the Chief Officers, members of the Board of Directors, faculty and students were consulted on all matters, giving the Inspection Committee insight into all aspects of the University. Prior to Inspection Committee meetings, the Technical and Curriculum Committee inspections were conducted in 1992, 1994 and 1997 which gave detailed reports on physical facilities and the curriculum, and thus formed the basis for the inspection of the two aspects by the Inspection Committee. From the interaction with the Commission, USIU came to appreciate the contribution of the Commission towards ensuring quality in their academic programmes The Commission is satisfied that the United States International University has not only realized the objective of enhancing the quality of its academic programmes, but it has also developed to the extent that it can now take off as a fully-fledged university capable of formulating sound policies and regulating its own academic standards. There are a number of recommendations, however, contained in the main body of the report, which USIU is expected to implement as a condition for the continued validity of their Charter. It is the Commission's belief that USIU will take the necessary action on the recommendations. On the strength of the improvements witnessed, and following the detailed discussions held, the Commission can confidently recommend USIU for the award of a Charter which will enable it operate as a fully recognized and accredited degree awarding institution in Kenya.