Assessment of institutional framework for undertaking research in Private Higher Education Institutions (PHEIs)

Abstract

Scholarly communication is one of the activities of Higher Learning Institutions (HLIs). At the heart of scholarly communication, we can find research. The fact that research helps to maintain quality in the teaching/learning and outreach services of higher learning institutions is well attested. As one of the pillars of HLI, it is expected to become the anchor of especially graduate programs. Graduate programs can have strong foundation when research becomes part and parcel. In fact, in order for the research to flourish and sustain, a strong institutional framework that would assist the smooth running of research activities must be put in place. The institutional framework must provide space to enable institutions to have industry linkage so that research becomes practical and applied and grants could also be secured for research activities of HLI as well. Research funding has a direct impact on the overall quality of programs both at undergraduate and graduate level as well as on outreach services (Jain et al, 2010). Despite these premises, little is known about whether there are enabling institutional frameworks for the undertaking of researches. As mushrooming of PHEIs is a recent phenomenon, there is a knowledge gap from PHEIs side considering the overall research engagements and systems of managing the research efforts as well. Therefore, this research was designed to assess the available institutional framework for undertaking research in PHEIs. While making the assessment, research questions such as “are there available research strategy and policy?”; “are there earmarked budget for undertaking research by staff members?”; “does the senate legislation recognizes research productivity by way of tenure and promotion?”; “does the research strategy stipulate ways of research output disseminations?”; ”are there any established reviewing systems to award a grant?”; “are there any initiatives to establish industrylinkage?”; “what is the role of Higher Education Relevance and Quality Agency (HERQA) in strengthening institutional research frameworks?” and “what possible recommendations could be made?” were asked. In order to respond to these questions, qualitative survey, literature review and review of pertinent organizational documents were conducted. Admas University College, Alpha University College, St. Mary’s University and Unity University, based on their research culture and delivery of graduate programs, were targeted for this research. Preliminary findings revealed that the outputs of research are well recognized by considering publications for promotion; there is an earmarked budget for undertaking research for staff members of surveyed institutions; and the focus area used by HERQA to evaluate institutional quality audit has also helped PHEIs to strengthen their institutional research frameworks for the efficient management of their research endeavors. It has also been noted that institutional productivity and visibility in terms of research can be achieved when appropriate framework for the research is put in place. Such frameworks are also important in enabling PHEIs to stay in the scholarly communication cycle in a sustainable manner.