Accreditation and quality assurance

How is the quality of education organised in Sri Lanka?

The Quality Assurance Council (QAC) is responsible for quality assurance of Sri Lankan higher education. The QAC has various duties:

  • The QAC provides the degree programme accreditation in higher education (public and private institutions).
  • Since 2017, the QAC has been evaluating public universities with an institutional review. Every year, a number of universities have their turn to be assessed. The QAC is expected to evaluate the final 3 universities in 2021.
  • The QAC also evaluates degree programmes that result in a first degree (bachelor's programmes). This is the programme review. Not all universities participate in this. In addition, not all faculties within participating universities participate in a programme review.
  • The QAC also provides peer review for fields of study and subject reviews for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

Internal Quality Assurance Unit (IQAU)

All of the public universities have a department that is responsible for quality assurance. These departments are referred to as Internal Quality Assurance Units (IQAU). An IQUA evaluates an institution itself, as well as its degree programmes.