INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS: BEST PRACTICES AND ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES IN UGANDA UNIVERSITIES

The study is on institutional effectiveness and it x-rays some assessment practices and strategies in Uganda's universities. According to Kasenene (2013), the quality and accessibility of higher education has continued to fall short of stakeholders expectations. This assertion needs to be supported by more empirical evidence either in qualitative terms or quantitative terms. This study therefore delved into the measures of effectiveness of higher education namely; using data to measure students learning outcomes, and institutional support services in terms of teaching, research and community support services. Higher education in Uganda should rely on useful data in decision making and this cannot be achieved without establishing Institutional Research Departments (IRD) in all private and public universities in Uganda. Findings revealed that Uganda's universities relegate data usage to a very minimal relevance in terms of support in teaching, research, community services and in many areas that contribute to effectiveness of higher education. It is recommended that Uganda's universities refocus on measures of effectiveness by ensuring that the quality assurance departments extend their functions by embracing a strong data -base, enforce the measures of institutional effectiveness in their institutions in order to improve the quality of education for greater achievement of student learning outcomes. This will consequently impact on country's economic growth and development, having established that education is a major vehicle for a country's growth.