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Manitoba/Saskatchewan
Audit Guidelines
1.
Preamble
As
part of their commitment to offering undergraduate programs of high
quality and standards, the publicly-funded universities of Manitoba/Saskatchewan
have adopted the Manitoba/Saskatchewan Program Review and Audit
Guidelines. The universities undertake to establish, maintain
and enhance the academic quality of their programs in accordance
with their mission statements. To further this objective and to
provide public accountability, they agree to: i) establish policies
and procedures for the approval process for the introduction of
new programs; ii) establish policies and procedures for the review
process of existing programs; and iii) have these policies and procedures
audited following the process described herein.
2.
Steps in the Audit
In
performing the audit, Auditors should follow three main steps: i)
an analysis of the documentation submitted by the institution, ii)
appropriate interaction with the institution as defined below, and
iii) the preparation of an audit report. The purpose of the audit
is to look for assurance that the institution’s policies and
practices explicitly address the objective, structures and elements
covered in the institution’s undergraduate program approvals
and reviews. The audit is not undertaken to assess the quality of
programs themselves, or to judge the "correctness" of
any particular objective or outcome, but rather to assess the extent
to which the institution’s quality assurance policies and practices
comply with these guidelines.
The
Auditors must ensure that the audit takes place in an atmosphere
of co-operation and open dialogue with the institution concerned.
2.1 Auditors Examination of the University Submission
It is essential that the Auditors have a clear understanding of
the review process followed by the institution and, to this end,
they must have access to all documents and information that they
deem necessary.
2.1.1 Documents and information submitted by the institution:
General documents that present the program approval policies,
procedures and practices, program review policies, procedures
and practices adopted and implemented by the institution, and
the schedule of completed and planned periodic quality reviews.
Complete record of the approvals of programs and the reviews of
programs as requested by the Auditors. The Auditors reserve the
right to choose the programs whose review they wish to examine
from the lists of approvals and reviews completed by the institution
over the last cycle. In making their choice of programs, the Auditors
will take into account the diversity of educational programs offered
by the university, whenever possible.
Institutions are required to submit the documents mentioned above,
and may provide additional documents they deem appropriate.
The Auditors will undertake to preserve the confidentiality of
all documentation.
2.2 The Audit Report
2.3.1 Outline
a) description of the methodology and the verification steps used
by the Auditors;
b) status report on the program approvals and reviews carried
out by the institution;
c) presentation of the general principles and guidelines used
by the institution in the approval and review of its programs;
d) the Auditors’ comments detailing how well the approval
and review procedures and practices conform to the institution's
own policies, and how well the institutional process as a whole
conforms to the objectives, structure and elements of approvals
and reviews as defined in 2 and 3 above;
e) the Auditors’ recommendations.
2.3.2 Report
a) The Auditors prepare a draft report and send a copy to the
institution. This consultation is intended to ensure that the
report does not contain errors of fact.
b) The institution may submit any comments that it considers appropriate
in response to the draft report. Such comments become part of
the official record and may be used by the Auditors to revise
their report prior to submission to the Manitoba-Saskatchewan
Universities Program Review Audit
Council.
2.3.3 Follow-up on the recommendations
Within a year of publication of the final report, the institution
must inform Manitoba-Saskatchewan Universities Program Review
Audit Council, of any steps taken as a result of the recommendations
in the report.
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