- Sri Lanka
Samanthi Wickramasinghe
Horizon Campus in Sri Lank, Information Technology, Faculty Member
- Information Technology, Information Systems, Software Engineering, Web Development, Graphic Designing, Artifiacial Inteligence, and 8 moreDatabase Management Systems, IT Project Management, Quality assurance in Higher Education, Data Analysis (Engineering), Accreditation and Quality Assuance in Higher Education, People & Human Factors in IT, Assessment in Higher Education, and Technology innovationedit
- MSc in IT(Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK),
BIT (University of Colombo School of Computing),
Dip. in QA (UNESCO/IIEP), Associate Member (CSSL)edit
With the evolvement of Information Technology the " Teacher Centered " traditional learning methodology has started to change to " Learner-Centered " methodology. As per this change in the learning process, the use of technology plays an... more
With the evolvement of Information Technology the " Teacher Centered " traditional learning methodology has started to change to " Learner-Centered " methodology. As per this change in the learning process, the use of technology plays an important role to enable students to engage fully in their programme of study. Higher Education will be changed moderately by 2020 from the way it is at present. To introduce the " Learner-Centered " method, it must meet the objective for all the Higher Education Institutes to introduce technological driven educational services to provide the superior learning experience to their students. Services such as the Learning Management System (LMS) and Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) are among the newest trends of e-Learning to provide a wide range of knowledge and material to their students. The VLE is an online system or learning platform, which allows teachers to share educational materials with their students via the web. The most common VLEs are Moodle, Fronter, WebCT, Frog, LP+, Blackboard and Kaleidos. On the other hand learners can access the 'Virtual' room, as either a duplicate or an extension of their physical classroom. This is a clear advantage for both learners and teachers as they can interact with each other irrespective of where they are located. Every educational establishment should integrate a VLE into their learning process and should allow it to become a global knowledge sharing center. This paper illustrates an Introduction to the Virtual Learning, main features & impact of the VLE, usage of VLE & LMS through a survey and how to increase the productivity of virtual learning Problem Identification As per the UGC (2012) report, 130,000 students are eligible for Higher Education. Even though there is an increasing demand in higher education, classroom learning has become a critical issue due to lack of resources.
Bloom's Taxonomy is widely used, to bring out thinking ability in students, as an assessment method. In this article we emphasize on four types of methods popularly used in assessing intended learning outcomes in written examinations. How... more
Bloom's Taxonomy is widely used, to bring out thinking ability in students, as an assessment method. In this article we emphasize on four types of methods popularly used in assessing intended learning outcomes in written examinations. How questions should be structured in each level of cognitive domain is discussed with an example in Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ), Short Answer Question (SAQ), Structured Type Questions (STQ) and Essay Type Questions (ETQ). Common biological applications were used as example questions. The questions were developed to show how students' thinking ability was brought out when questions were structured in line with levels of cognitive domain in Bloom's Taxonomy. In conclusion, this paper conveys how application of Bloom's Taxonomy helps in developing complete answers which come out not from the students' memory but from applying, analyzing, synthesizing and evaluating.
Research Interests:
Quality Information Systems (QIS) provides quality related information to stakeholders. In e-learning applications, QIS should provide e-learning materials to the lecturers and the learners those who use them. In Student Management... more
Quality Information Systems (QIS) provides quality related information to stakeholders. In e-learning applications, QIS should provide e-learning materials to the lecturers and the learners those who use them. In Student Management Systems (SMS), QIS provide all the facilities to run the administrative functions smoothly. Electronic Research Repository (such as DSpace) enhances the quality of the institute as it reflects the research competencies of the academic staff of the institute. Horizon Campus QIS consists with eLearning, SMS, DSpace, Library Management System under single platform provide better service to their stakeholders anywhere, anytime concept effectively and efficiently. Pass rate of student has been increased after introducing the Learning Management System (LMS). eLearning platforms, facilitate to the teaching learning process immensely as it is an environment friendly and efficient mechanism to conduct learner centered teaching and learning. As QIS implemented in Cloud based System, it is easy to maintain and run with minimal cost.
Research Interests:
Teaching and learning are the two sides of a coin or it is a mirror image of each other. The most accepted criterion for measuring good teaching is the amount of student learning that occurs. In the past our understanding was to measure... more
Teaching and learning are the two sides of a coin or it is a mirror image of each other. The most accepted criterion for measuring good teaching is the amount of student learning that occurs. In the past our understanding was to measure teaching as the most important factor whereas at present the learning factor is the most important. Quality Curriculum, Quality Teaching and Adequate Resources are the elements which has the greatest influence on student learning. Research tells us what educators have long known " teaching quality is the essential component to raising student achievement ". Hence, Quality Teaching is equal to Student Learning. Quality teaching is keeping the audience (students) engaged throughout the lesson and the audience is provided the skills to apply the theories learnt in the classroom whenever needed. Unfortunately most of the teachers missing this valuable point and they practice the same teaching techniques with any audience regardless the audience level of expectations. In order to achieve great success in delivering the lessons teachers should first understand the level of expectations of the audience. In order to do this it is recommended to obtain student feedback on appropriate teaching style. The student feedback encourage and support active engagement in the process, rather than imposing a standard way of doing things, and build on existing good practice identified across the academic community. The objectives of this research is to identify appropriate teaching style by obtaining audience expectations and then customizing the teaching style accordingly. It helps to identify strengths and weaknesses of teaching, limitations of resources in carrying out the teaching program, improve teaching methods and effective use of teaching aid. This can also be used improve student performance.
Research Interests:
Management of the Horizon Campus spends considerable amount of funds as capital and operational cost annually to provide better teaching and learning environment but students' performances are low compare to the allocated funds. According... more
Management of the Horizon Campus spends considerable amount of funds as capital and operational cost annually to provide better teaching and learning environment but students' performances are low compare to the allocated funds. According to the Nelson Mandela " Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world ˮ, unfortunately most of the lecturers are used assessments as the weapon. Therefore, most of the students are fear to face for assessments. Hence, lecturers have to change students' mindset by conveying assessments are used as a tool/indicator to improve student learning and not to penalize students. This study is aimed to identify learning styles of students and observe the relationship among students' learning styles, assessment methods and students' performances. The population of this study is comprised the students at faculty of Information Technology in Horizon Campus. Depending on the students' marks obtained in pre-assessments, it is aimed to improve students' knowledge and skills in studying. Survey outcome depicted there is a significant difference between marks of pre and post assessments and further it is fact that the students are performed better in preferred assessment methods/assessment methods based on their learning styles. Therefore, survey outcomes evident that there is a relationship among students' learning styles, assessment methods and students performances of the selected group of students.
Research Interests:
With the evolvement of Information Technology the " Teacher Centered " traditional learning methodology has started to change to " Learner Centered " methodology. As per this change in learning process, the use of technology plays an... more
With the evolvement of Information Technology the " Teacher Centered " traditional learning methodology has started to change to " Learner Centered " methodology. As per this change in learning process, the use of technology plays an important role to enable students to engage fully in their programme of study. Higher Education will be changed moderately by 2020 from the way it is at present. To introduce the " Learner Centered " method, it must meet objective for all the Higher Education Institutes to introduce technological driven educational services to provide the superior learning experience to their students. Services such as Learning Management System (LMS) and Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) are among the newest trends of e-Learning to provide wide range of knowledge and material to their students. The VLE is an online system or learning platform, which allows teachers to share educational materials with their students via the web. The most common VLEs are Moodle, Fronter, WebCT, Frog, LP+, Blackboard and Kaleidos. On the other hand learners can access the 'Virtual' room, as either a duplicate or an extension of their physical classroom. This is a clear advantage for both learners and teachers as they can interact with each other irrespective of where they are located. Every educational establishment should integrate a VLE into their learning process and should allow it to become a global knowledge sharing center. This paper illustrates an Introduction to the Virtual Learning, main features & impact of the VLE, usage of VLE & LMS through a survey and how to increase the productivity of virtual learning Problem Identification As per the UGC (2012) report, 130,000 students are eligible for higher Education. Even though there is increasing demand in higher education, classroom learning has become a critical issue due to lack of resources.
Research Interests:
The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of teaching methods on students' academic performance and to understand what measurements that someone could apply to improve the learning process. In the past our... more
The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of teaching methods on students' academic performance and to understand what measurements that someone could apply to improve the learning process. In the past our understanding was to measure teaching as the most important factor but at present the learning factor is more important. Students can learn from various sources and the teacher is facilitating the learning process. In order to facilitate the learning teacher should have various qualities and at the same time teaching resources are also important. A good teacher should always obtain the feedback from students about the effectiveness of teaching and peers also can help the colleague to understand the impact of teaching. These are called good practices in teaching. These feedback encourage and support active engagement in the process, rather than imposing a standard way of doing things, and build on existing good practice identified across the academic community. Subject benchmarks and code of practices provide reference points for quality and standards of academic programmes. Proper assessments are the most important measurement in learning. It is well known that teacher-student interactive method is the most effective teaching method, followed by student-centered method while the teacher-centered approach was the least effective teaching method.
Research Interests:
Today's students are changing far more rapidly than the colleges and universities that recruit them. They have a preferred mode of activity and interaction that is not in sync with an educational system that is showing its age. " Net Gen... more
Today's students are changing far more rapidly than the colleges and universities that recruit them. They have a preferred mode of activity and interaction that is not in sync with an educational system that is showing its age. " Net Gen " students are not interested in large lecture halls, preferring informal, and small-group discussion, often through text messaging or e-mail, as a means of gaining understanding of curriculum content. They want a learning space in which they can get to know one another, engage in dialogue, work independently or in groups on projects, get or provide feedback, and, in general, they seek a collaborative environment that fosters understanding and learning. Traditional Teacher centered teaching methods are going to be obsoleted and at present heavily using Learner centered teaching methods. Many interactive technology including web based or internet based learning and teaching are the main feature of the Learner centered teaching. By 2020, higher education will be quite different from the way it is today. There will be mass adoption of teleconferencing and distance learning to leverage expert resources. Significant numbers of learning activities will move to individualized, Just-in-time learning approaches. As a result Virtual Learning, Online Distance Learning and Digital Campus concepts will play a major role in higher education system in the world.
Research Interests:
Teaching and learning are the two sides of a coin or it is a mirror image of each other. The most accepted criterion for measuring good teaching is the amount of student learning that occurs. There are consistently high correlations... more
Teaching and learning are the two sides of a coin or it is a mirror image of each other. The most accepted criterion for measuring good teaching is the amount of student learning that occurs. There are consistently high correlations between students' ratings of the " amount learned " in the course and overall ratings of the teacher and the course. Teachers use different teaching methods depending on the nature of subject, number of students, and the facilities available in the classroom. Lecture method, Group discussion, Individual presentation, Assignment, Seminars, Workshops, Role play and Case study are various common methods used in classroom teaching. Whereas in distance learning process, the teacher stayed in one location and provide notes & instructions and students learnt lessons by staying another convenient location as required. Internet generation students like to interact themselves in collaborative environment which facilitates the understanding and learning. Hence teacher centered teaching methods are obsolete and students prefer learner centered teaching methods. Many interactive technology including web based or internet based learning and teaching are the main feature of the learner centered teaching. This paper illustrates the teaching methods can be used in classroom teaching and online teaching, students' perspective on teaching methods in both approach and effectiveness of these method. Research Methodology The required data for the research was collected though a survey conducted among undergraduates in faculties of IT, and Management in Horizon Campus. Outcome of the survey is presented in the paper. Data Collection Data collection restricted only to the innovative and interactive methods in traditional and online teaching and students selected from faculties of IT and Management due to restricted time.
Research Interests:
With the evolvement of Information Technology the " Teacher Centered " traditional learning methodology has started to change to " Learner Centered " methodology. As per this change in learning process, the use of technology plays an... more
With the evolvement of Information Technology the " Teacher Centered " traditional learning methodology has started to change to " Learner Centered " methodology. As per this change in learning process, the use of technology plays an important role to enable students to engage fully in their programme of study. Higher Education will be changed moderately by 2020 from the way it is at present. To introduce the " Learner Centered " method, it must meet objective for all the Higher Education Institutes to introduce technological driven educational services to provide the superior learning experience to their students. Services such as Learning Management System (LMS) and Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) are among the newest trends of e-Learning to provide wide range of knowledge and material to their students. The VLE is an online system or learning platform, which allows teachers to share educational materials with their students via the web. The most common VLEs are Moodle, Fronter, WebCT, Frog, LP+, Blackboard and Kaleidos. On the other hand learners can access the 'Virtual' room, as either a duplicate or an extension of their physical classroom. This is a clear advantage for both learners and teachers as they can interact with each other irrespective of where they are located. Every educational establishment should integrate a VLE into their learning process and should allow it to become a global knowledge sharing center. This paper illustrates an Introduction to the Virtual Learning, main features & impact of the VLE, usage of VLE & LMS through a survey and how to increase the productivity of virtual learning Problem Identification As per the UGC (2012) report, 130,000 students are eligible for higher Education. Even though there is increasing demand in higher education, classroom learning has become a critical issue due to lack of resources.
Research Interests:
Public higher education institutions have resisted national accreditation processes in many countries arguing that the process should be limited to private institutions. These public institutions are often listed as “accredited” by the... more
Public higher education institutions have resisted national accreditation processes in many
countries arguing that the process should be limited to private institutions. These public
institutions are often listed as “accredited” by the government or the University Grants
Commission.
In Sri Lanka only private institutions were subject to accreditation and public higher
education institutions were exempted when accreditation began. However, the law was
changed in 2010 and now public institutions are subject to accreditation introducing a
separate accreditation process.
Recently, however, most public universities have realized that they benefit from accreditation
in terms of the value of the external perspective provided by peer reviews and site visits, the
international recognition that results, the need for accreditation for many international credit
transfers, and its importance in attracting foreign students seeking study abroad opportunities.
It also proves useful in obtaining recognition of the degrees of students seeking admission for
advanced study outside the country.
In the long run, it is hard to imagine an effective national quality assurance system that
excludes public institutions – some of which are badly in need of quality improvement
themselves. Sri Lanka needs to develop a single “comprehensive and standardized
accreditation system that covers all stakeholders: public and private. In the face of the
inability of many public institutions to confront the problem of quality directly, a system of
accreditation which is external to the universities seems essential. Quality assurance in
tertiary education, if it is to be effective, legitimate, and in the public interest, must include
both public and private institutions under a single accreditation procedure.
countries arguing that the process should be limited to private institutions. These public
institutions are often listed as “accredited” by the government or the University Grants
Commission.
In Sri Lanka only private institutions were subject to accreditation and public higher
education institutions were exempted when accreditation began. However, the law was
changed in 2010 and now public institutions are subject to accreditation introducing a
separate accreditation process.
Recently, however, most public universities have realized that they benefit from accreditation
in terms of the value of the external perspective provided by peer reviews and site visits, the
international recognition that results, the need for accreditation for many international credit
transfers, and its importance in attracting foreign students seeking study abroad opportunities.
It also proves useful in obtaining recognition of the degrees of students seeking admission for
advanced study outside the country.
In the long run, it is hard to imagine an effective national quality assurance system that
excludes public institutions – some of which are badly in need of quality improvement
themselves. Sri Lanka needs to develop a single “comprehensive and standardized
accreditation system that covers all stakeholders: public and private. In the face of the
inability of many public institutions to confront the problem of quality directly, a system of
accreditation which is external to the universities seems essential. Quality assurance in
tertiary education, if it is to be effective, legitimate, and in the public interest, must include
both public and private institutions under a single accreditation procedure.
Research Interests:
Universities are public institutions. They hold and must conscientiously exercise, and be seen to exercise, their responsibility for quality and standards. Higher education is a 'public good' and is of crucial importance to the health,... more
Universities are public institutions. They hold and must conscientiously exercise, and be seen
to exercise, their responsibility for quality and standards. Higher education is a 'public good'
and is of crucial importance to the health, wealth and well being of society and the economy
in Sri Lanka. University accountability for quality and standards is a key factor in promoting
and safeguarding public confidence in Sri Lankan higher education. The following General
Principles apply to the quality assurance procedures adopted for the purpose of programme
review in Sri Lanka: To safeguard the standards of awards and the quality of delivery of academic programmes
in Sri Lanka To encourage good management of academic institutions To identify and share good practice in the provision of education
To develop a national quality assurance system in Sri Lanka that combines institutional
review, with programme level review
To implement procedures that are based on academic peer review, combined with strong
administrative support at national and institutional level To provide sufficient funds nationally to cover the central costs of the quality assurance
system, to support quality assurance in individual universities/institutions To enable funding judgments to be taken on the basis of the outcomes of reviews To recruit a national team of academic reviewers, all of whom will receive training for
institutional and Programme review
To implement the system in such a way as to make use of existing structures, documents
and other materials wherever possible, rather than to introduce additional bureaucracy
to exercise, their responsibility for quality and standards. Higher education is a 'public good'
and is of crucial importance to the health, wealth and well being of society and the economy
in Sri Lanka. University accountability for quality and standards is a key factor in promoting
and safeguarding public confidence in Sri Lankan higher education. The following General
Principles apply to the quality assurance procedures adopted for the purpose of programme
review in Sri Lanka: To safeguard the standards of awards and the quality of delivery of academic programmes
in Sri Lanka To encourage good management of academic institutions To identify and share good practice in the provision of education
To develop a national quality assurance system in Sri Lanka that combines institutional
review, with programme level review
To implement procedures that are based on academic peer review, combined with strong
administrative support at national and institutional level To provide sufficient funds nationally to cover the central costs of the quality assurance
system, to support quality assurance in individual universities/institutions To enable funding judgments to be taken on the basis of the outcomes of reviews To recruit a national team of academic reviewers, all of whom will receive training for
institutional and Programme review
To implement the system in such a way as to make use of existing structures, documents
and other materials wherever possible, rather than to introduce additional bureaucracy
Research Interests:
The Quality Assurance and Accreditation Council (QAAC) in Sri Lanka conducted activities in public universities under the guidance and recommendations of the Standing Committee on QAA. By the end of December 2009, the QAAC was established... more
The Quality Assurance and Accreditation Council (QAAC) in Sri Lanka conducted activities
in public universities under the guidance and recommendations of the Standing Committee on
QAA. By the end of December 2009, the QAAC was established as a division of the
University Grants Commission (UGC). QAAC has become the first quality assured agency in
the Asia Pacific Region and has both membership of APQN and INQAAHE.
The concept of QA in higher education is a new phenomenon to the Sri Lankan university
system, and as such the need for an active awareness campaign at the initial stage was
strongly felt. Awareness programmes for academic staff were launched in the year 2005, and
up to now almost all faculties’ (82) and departments (478) of all public universities were
visited. A detailed account on the activities of the QAA Council as well as the external
assessment process is provided through these awareness programs. After the completion of
the awareness programs for academic staff, QAA Council intends to launch similar
awareness programs for administrative & non-academic staff and students.
The principal achievement of the QAA Council is the successful establishment of a national
QA function for public universities. This has achieved a great deal in eight (8) years,
including developing of Codes of Practice (13 Parts) and a Credit and Qualification
Framework (100% completion), as well as undertaking 17 Institutional Reviews, 318
Subject/Programme Reviews and 15 Library Reviews. Also 44 Subject Benchmark
Statements were developed with the participation of senior academics and other experts in
other institutions.
in public universities under the guidance and recommendations of the Standing Committee on
QAA. By the end of December 2009, the QAAC was established as a division of the
University Grants Commission (UGC). QAAC has become the first quality assured agency in
the Asia Pacific Region and has both membership of APQN and INQAAHE.
The concept of QA in higher education is a new phenomenon to the Sri Lankan university
system, and as such the need for an active awareness campaign at the initial stage was
strongly felt. Awareness programmes for academic staff were launched in the year 2005, and
up to now almost all faculties’ (82) and departments (478) of all public universities were
visited. A detailed account on the activities of the QAA Council as well as the external
assessment process is provided through these awareness programs. After the completion of
the awareness programs for academic staff, QAA Council intends to launch similar
awareness programs for administrative & non-academic staff and students.
The principal achievement of the QAA Council is the successful establishment of a national
QA function for public universities. This has achieved a great deal in eight (8) years,
including developing of Codes of Practice (13 Parts) and a Credit and Qualification
Framework (100% completion), as well as undertaking 17 Institutional Reviews, 318
Subject/Programme Reviews and 15 Library Reviews. Also 44 Subject Benchmark
Statements were developed with the participation of senior academics and other experts in
other institutions.
Research Interests:
The procedure of evaluating purposeful collection of students' work for a designated course, put together in a folder, which reflects knowledge, creativity, thinking power and dedication is defined as the assessment portfolio. They are... more
The procedure of evaluating purposeful collection of students' work for a designated course, put together in a folder, which reflects knowledge, creativity, thinking power and dedication is defined as the assessment portfolio. They are best developed for courses, such as landscape designs, community activities, environmental effect awareness projects, interdisciplinary project activities, subject area portfolios, undergraduate final projects, admission portfolios and career portfolios which are not evaluated by a written test.
A popular portfolio assessment has eight steps where the clear descriptors of evaluation, based on learning outcomes and objectives of the course being evaluated, are necessary. Students are also made aware of them. Portfolio assessments elicit advantages such as students' creativity and the opportunity of displaying quality of materials rather than quantity, critical thinking and decision making. Students also develop interpersonal skills such as goal oriented, ability to work with different types of people, go getter, work under situations with minimal facilities and team work while fulfilling the task. As the above advantages can be enjoyed through portfolio assessment there are several challenges which may need attention. Time taken to develop an assessment scheme is lengthier than the development of evaluation criteria of a written test which is a standard method. Portfolios are often bulky and difficult to manage. Use of subjective evaluation procedures such as rating scales and professional judgment, can challenge reliability. A written test can include questions from an entire unit with a sample of items from all areas taught. Portfolio assessments are more suitable to evaluate courses which cannot be evaluated effectively through written tests.
A popular portfolio assessment has eight steps where the clear descriptors of evaluation, based on learning outcomes and objectives of the course being evaluated, are necessary. Students are also made aware of them. Portfolio assessments elicit advantages such as students' creativity and the opportunity of displaying quality of materials rather than quantity, critical thinking and decision making. Students also develop interpersonal skills such as goal oriented, ability to work with different types of people, go getter, work under situations with minimal facilities and team work while fulfilling the task. As the above advantages can be enjoyed through portfolio assessment there are several challenges which may need attention. Time taken to develop an assessment scheme is lengthier than the development of evaluation criteria of a written test which is a standard method. Portfolios are often bulky and difficult to manage. Use of subjective evaluation procedures such as rating scales and professional judgment, can challenge reliability. A written test can include questions from an entire unit with a sample of items from all areas taught. Portfolio assessments are more suitable to evaluate courses which cannot be evaluated effectively through written tests.
Research Interests:
Higher education grows rapidly and its cost continues to rise in both public and private sectors, there is increasing interest in quality and standards. Any country that aspires to become a knowledge-based economy must demonstrate that it... more
Higher education grows rapidly and its cost continues to rise in both public and private sectors,
there is increasing interest in quality and standards. Any country that aspires to become a
knowledge-based economy must demonstrate that it takes the quality of its higher education
programmes and awards seriously, and is willing to put into place the means of assuring and
demonstrating that quality.
Quality assurance needs to be a continuous, on-going process. Everyone working in an
institution must take responsibility for building it into their day-to-day, routine activities. This
can be brought about only through Internal Quality Assurance (IQA). Hence, IQA is considered
as the corner stone of QA in higher education.
The set of internal processes that help institutions to improve their performance is sometimes
referred to as ‘quality enhancement’. The European Standards recommend that external quality
assurance procedures should take into account the effectiveness of such internal quality
assurance processes. In some countries the external quality assurance agency has a defined role
of promoting internal quality assurance within institutions. IQA units established in all public
universities in 2005 and a broad framework has been prepared. IQA procedures need to be
strengthened along with EQAs.
Areas that are considered of particular importance in internal quality assurance include:
• policy and procedures for higher education;
• approval, monitoring and periodic review of programmes and awards;
• assessment of students;
• quality assurance of teaching staff;
• learning resources and student support;
• information systems; and
• public information.
there is increasing interest in quality and standards. Any country that aspires to become a
knowledge-based economy must demonstrate that it takes the quality of its higher education
programmes and awards seriously, and is willing to put into place the means of assuring and
demonstrating that quality.
Quality assurance needs to be a continuous, on-going process. Everyone working in an
institution must take responsibility for building it into their day-to-day, routine activities. This
can be brought about only through Internal Quality Assurance (IQA). Hence, IQA is considered
as the corner stone of QA in higher education.
The set of internal processes that help institutions to improve their performance is sometimes
referred to as ‘quality enhancement’. The European Standards recommend that external quality
assurance procedures should take into account the effectiveness of such internal quality
assurance processes. In some countries the external quality assurance agency has a defined role
of promoting internal quality assurance within institutions. IQA units established in all public
universities in 2005 and a broad framework has been prepared. IQA procedures need to be
strengthened along with EQAs.
Areas that are considered of particular importance in internal quality assurance include:
• policy and procedures for higher education;
• approval, monitoring and periodic review of programmes and awards;
• assessment of students;
• quality assurance of teaching staff;
• learning resources and student support;
• information systems; and
• public information.
Research Interests:
External Quality Assessment (EQA) is the major component of QA framework in Sri Lanka. The main function of EQA is to review the standard and quality of the HEIs and its programmes of study and to provide the outcome to stakeholders to... more
External Quality Assessment (EQA) is the major component of QA framework in Sri Lanka.
The main function of EQA is to review the standard and quality of the HEIs and its
programmes of study and to provide the outcome to stakeholders to observe their
expectations.
Due to lack of organized mechanism to monitor and evaluate the outcome of the EQA
conducted in universities the improvement in quality is not visible. Also the System users are
in different geographical locations and therefore, no access to observe the outcome of EQA’s.
A web based approach was developed, as a method to achieve the expected outcomes of
EQA’s. The system provides user friendly, accurate and up-to date information of EQAs and
also it provides a feedback mechanism through online forms/questionnaires. The easy access
of information would provide the authorities a basis for decision making to improve higher
education sector in Sri Lanka.
The main function of EQA is to review the standard and quality of the HEIs and its
programmes of study and to provide the outcome to stakeholders to observe their
expectations.
Due to lack of organized mechanism to monitor and evaluate the outcome of the EQA
conducted in universities the improvement in quality is not visible. Also the System users are
in different geographical locations and therefore, no access to observe the outcome of EQA’s.
A web based approach was developed, as a method to achieve the expected outcomes of
EQA’s. The system provides user friendly, accurate and up-to date information of EQAs and
also it provides a feedback mechanism through online forms/questionnaires. The easy access
of information would provide the authorities a basis for decision making to improve higher
education sector in Sri Lanka.
Research Interests:
The Sri Lankan Qualifications Framework (SLQF) is a nationally consistent framework for all higher education qualifications offered in Sri Lanka. It recognizes the volume of learning of students and identifies the learning outcomes that... more
The Sri Lankan Qualifications Framework (SLQF) is a nationally consistent framework for all higher education qualifications offered in Sri Lanka. It recognizes the volume of learning of students and identifies the learning outcomes that are to be achieved by the qualification holders. With the objective of having a uniform system in naming a qualification, the designators and qualifiers of each qualification have been identified in the SLQF. The purposes and characteristics of each qualification as well as the minimum admission requirements are also stated in the SLQF.
SLQF integrates the National Vocational Qualifications Framework (NVQF) developed by the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission and the pathways of lateral mobility between the vocational education sector and higher education sector have also been identified.
SLQF helps in the recognition of accredited prior learning in order to facilitate the vertical mobility within the higher education system. Until the development of SLQF there had been no mechanism to evaluate the qualifications offered by higher education institutions in Sri Lanka. In addition, the SLQF will be helpful to the potential employers to know the level of learning and the attributes of a particular qualification holder.
SLQF is useful to the higher education institutions, both in the public and private sector in designing their courses as the minimum level of learning effort required for each qualification is indicated by way of the minimum number of credits that should be earned by a qualification holder. Thus, the SLQF will contribute towards strengthening the quality of higher education qualifications offered by the universities and other higher education institutions in Sri Lanka.
SLQF integrates the National Vocational Qualifications Framework (NVQF) developed by the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission and the pathways of lateral mobility between the vocational education sector and higher education sector have also been identified.
SLQF helps in the recognition of accredited prior learning in order to facilitate the vertical mobility within the higher education system. Until the development of SLQF there had been no mechanism to evaluate the qualifications offered by higher education institutions in Sri Lanka. In addition, the SLQF will be helpful to the potential employers to know the level of learning and the attributes of a particular qualification holder.
SLQF is useful to the higher education institutions, both in the public and private sector in designing their courses as the minimum level of learning effort required for each qualification is indicated by way of the minimum number of credits that should be earned by a qualification holder. Thus, the SLQF will contribute towards strengthening the quality of higher education qualifications offered by the universities and other higher education institutions in Sri Lanka.
Research Interests:
With frequent power outages and labor issues, maintaining a server room to provide information technology (IT) related services to students and staff without any interruptions remains a challenging task in all higher educational... more
With frequent power outages and labor issues, maintaining a server room to provide information technology (IT) related services to students and staff without any interruptions remains a challenging task in all higher educational institutes in developing countries. Although technical personnel involved in maintaining such a system know very well how difficult it is to keep the system running without hampering academic activities, often, the faculty and students are unaware of technical issues pertaining to providing such important services to the community. Prolonged power failures and red tape involved in procurement of urgent equipment have further aggravated this situation especially in state owned higher educational institutes. As a solution to overcome the above issue, we propose a cloud-based system that not only provides uninterrupted e-learning facilities to students but also hosts all IT related services such as library management, collaboration platform, human resource management, student management, etc. at an extremely low cost. Hosting all IT services in the cloud relieves the educational institute from maintaining backup generators and power supplies, air conditioners, hiring electricians on roster basis for full time monitoring of devices, cost of high-end servers to host the services and also reduceshigh energy consumption costs. Such a cloud based implementation, installed and configured with an open source operating system and application software, proves that for approximately US $170.00, we can provide all IT related services required for a higher educational institute in a developing country without any interruptions at all.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Accurate and up-to-date information is considered as the most essential asset to any organization. Global State of Information Security Survey-2016 indicates that 38% more security incidents were reported in 2015 than 2014. With the above... more
Accurate and up-to-date information is considered as the most essential asset to any organization. Global State of Information Security Survey-2016 indicates that 38% more security incidents were reported in 2015 than 2014. With the above considerations, it is evident that strong information protection system is an essential attribute in business organization. Especially the need is much more with business expansions, business diversifications and globalizations.
Due to the technology advances in Information Systems and Information Communication Technology, the protection of the organizational information assets is a must achieve business goal. Therefore, protecting the organizational assets from many different threats is the main function of any business organizations.
The most critical issue in information security of an organization is to set up a strong security policy by addressing all the critical success factors. Further, having a strong security policy does not ensure that information system is completely secured from all type of threats and risks. It is also vital to conduct proper awareness programs and training sessions to keep the users informed about the importance of highly-protected information systems and business success. Also ISO-27002 recommends that the information security responsibilities should be clearly defined to ensure the information by implementing and managing properly.
This paper illustrates threats to Information Systems in organizations and possible countermeasures through policy decisions and awareness programs to ensure the information security.
Due to the technology advances in Information Systems and Information Communication Technology, the protection of the organizational information assets is a must achieve business goal. Therefore, protecting the organizational assets from many different threats is the main function of any business organizations.
The most critical issue in information security of an organization is to set up a strong security policy by addressing all the critical success factors. Further, having a strong security policy does not ensure that information system is completely secured from all type of threats and risks. It is also vital to conduct proper awareness programs and training sessions to keep the users informed about the importance of highly-protected information systems and business success. Also ISO-27002 recommends that the information security responsibilities should be clearly defined to ensure the information by implementing and managing properly.
This paper illustrates threats to Information Systems in organizations and possible countermeasures through policy decisions and awareness programs to ensure the information security.