Cuttington University Hosts International Quality Assurance Conference

Cuttington University, in partnership with the West African Anglophone Network (WAAQAN), has hosted the network’s Second International Conference on Quality Assurance at its Suakoko campus in Bong County.

The four days gathering ran from September 1 to 4, 2025, under the theme “Improving Higher Education Institutions Ecosystem through Quality Assurance.”

The conference converged delegates from across Anglophone West Africa to discuss ways of strengthening higher education institutions through quality assurance systems.  

During the sessions, participants explored a wide range of topics central to higher education reform. Presentations highlighted the importance of building quality assurance systems and structures in higher education institutions, the role of internal quality assurance in maintaining academic standards, and the use of quality function deployment to strengthen student support services. Discussions also focused on quality assurance in open and distance learning, the need to balance external and internal quality assurance processes, the growing role of artificial intelligence in creating a more resilient and equitable higher education ecosystem, amongst others.

Welcoming delegates to the Suakoko campus, Cuttington University President, Dr. Romelle A. Horton expressed her strong support for WAAQAN’s mission and reaffirmed her commitment to establishing a Quality Assurance Office at Cuttington. She noted that ensuring quality in higher education is essential for the growth and credibility of institutions across the sub-region.

The conference was graced by several high-profile dignitaries, including Liberia’s Minister of Education, Dr. Jarso Maley Jallah; The Gambia’s Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, Professor Pierre Gomez; WAAQAN President, Professor Kayode Samuel Adekeye; Vice President, Professor Ronnie Frazer-Williams; and Secretary, Dr. Baboucarr Njie. Their presence underscored the importance of the gathering to the future of higher education in West Africa.

The four-day event closed with the election of new officers to steer the affairs of WAAQAN and the announcement of the country that will host the next international conference in two years.

By hosting the conference, Cuttington University has not only positioned itself as a key player in regional academic development but also strengthened Liberia’s voice in the ongoing conversation about quality assurance and accountability in higher education as the first University in Liberia to host such a historic conference.

The West African Anglophone Quality Assurance Network (WAAQAN) was an initiative that was born out of an eighteen-month training of thirty Internal Quality Assurance Officers in Higher Education Institutions in Anglophone West African Countries (AWAC). The training tagged “TrainIQAfrica” was coordinated by the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany in cooperation with the Association of African Universities (AAU), the National Accreditation Board (NAB, Ghana) and the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE, Ghana), the National Universities Commission (NUC, Nigeria) and the University of Professional Studies Accra (UPSA, Ghana). The training course was part of the Dialogue on Innovative Higher Education Strategies (DIES) program which was jointly coordinated by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) to strengthen higher education management in developing countries.

The aim of WAAQAN is to support internal quality assurance officers and their institutions in promoting, developing, and sustaining quality assurance processes. WAAQAN aims at engaging Quality Assurance Officers and Managers of Higher Education Institutions who are its members to become multipliers of internal quality assurance at their universities, bringing together and harmonizing leadership and management objectives on the road to systematic quality assurance structures. WAAQAN hopes to achieve this through communal discussions, conferences, and training workshops on Quality Assurance in Higher Education Institutions within Anglophone West African countries.