Gap Analysis towards Harmonisation of the MQA Code of Practice for Programme Accreditation with the Quality Management System of MS ISO 9001:2008

The academic programmes at UKM are managed by various faculties, institutes and centres through the Quality Management System (QMS) of MS ISO 9001:2008 for Management of Undergraduate and Postgraduate Studies. This system ensures that all processes are conducted smoothly and in accordance with the requirements of the standards which encompass the design of an academic programme up till the management of examinations and graduation. The efficiency and effectiveness of the system is monitored through a series of scheduled internal audits, third party audits by the certifying body and also through the annual Management Review Meeting. In addition, in its efforts to obtain the status of a Self-Accrediting Institution, UKM mandated that all the academic programmes complied with the standards stipulated in the Code of Practice for Programme Accreditation (COPPA) produced by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA). As both these standards have different approaches in quality assurance of an academic programme, it is necessary to align and harmonise both systems such that they complement each other. Therefore, this paper presents the gap analysis consequent to a mapping between the requirements of COPPA with the QMS document. The results showed that 80% of the COPPA requirements are already covered in the QMS, whereas coverage with the remaining 20% requires amendments in specific clauses in the QMS document and other policies such as the Policy on Teaching and Learning, Policy on Bridging of Academic Programmes and Policy on Information Communication Technology. The findings of the study can be used to ensure full compliance with COPPA if the processes described in the modified QMS and policies are implemented in totality.