National Council for Higher Education, Namibia

Programme Accreditation

The focus in the accreditation of new programmes is on evaluation of their capacity or potential to meet the NCHE's quality requirements within a specified period of time. Consequently, the evaluation focuses on the quality of the policies, strategies, procedures, curriculum, etc. that have been developed for the new programme. In the case of existing programmes, the focus is more on evaluation of implementation aspects and the achieved learning outcomes.

The Programme Accreditation Manual provides to both the higher education provider, as well as the NCHE Secretariat, guidance and advice on how best to implement the programme accreditation system. As laid down in the Quality Assurance System for Higher Education in Namibia, where necessary, NCHE also cooperate with other Statutory Bodies to develop Integrated Accreditation Manuals for dual accreditation purposes.

The first step in the procedures for programme accreditation for an institution that intends to offer new programmes is to apply to the NCHE for accreditation of the programmes. The Application Form (Download Here) must be completed by both the public and private higher education institutions, offering higher education programmes at NQF Level 5 and above. Completed application forms must be submitted officially to the NCHE Secretariat.

Accreditation of a new/existing programme is valid for a maximum period of six years, after which the programme becomes eligible for re-accreditation. However, NCHE reserves the right to require re-accreditation of the programme before the cycle lapses if evidence points to serious inadequacies, if more than 40 per cent of the contents of the curriculum are changed and/or when the programme is offered at a new site of delivery.

According to the Quality Assurance System for Higher Education in Namibia (2009), apart from meeting the NCHE's accreditation requirements, the programmes must meet the requirements of other statutory bodies, where applicable. Thus, NCHE entered into cooperation agreements with different professional bodies to streamline the accreditation process by endorsing the programmes after the professional bodies approve the curricula.

The following is the list of academic programmes accredited by NCHE: