ACHIEVING QUALITY THROUGH BENCHMARKING IN ODL INSTITUTIONS OF
HIGHER LEARNING: A CASE STUDY OF ODL INSTITUTIONS IN THE SADC REGION

ACHIEVING QUALITY THROUGH BENCHMARKING IN ODL INSTITUTIONS OF
HIGHER LEARNING: A CASE STUDY OF ODL INSTITUTIONS IN THE SADC REGION

CAXTON SHONHIWA

There was a lot of interaction about benchmarking in institutions of higher learning, but there
seemed to be no clarity on whether these institutions shared an understanding of the
benchmarking concept. There also did not seem to be a clear comprehension of what criteria the
institutions employed to measure benchmarking as a determinant of quality in higher education.
This lack of clarity motivated the study, and the motivation was irrevocably strengthened by the
encouragement some governments and international organisations made to their national
institutions of higher learning to adopt benchmarking as a quality enhancement mechanism. The
qualitative paradigm was adopted as it enabled the researcher to carry out an in-depth
interrogation of benchmarking practices in the study. The case study method facilitated the
researcher’s interaction with the benchmarking phenomenon within the context of the institution.
The population of the study was composed of all the ODL institutions in the SADC region, from
which a sample of three institutions, from three countries, was chosen. An average of five
participants was purposively selected from each institution because they possessed the required
data and these came from the ranks of Senior Management, Middle Management and Lower
Management. The researcher used in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, document
analysis and observation to generate the requisite data. The generated data were coded, analysed
and interpreted to arrive at findings and conclusions. The three institutions consciously practised
benchmarking. However, the institutions practised a different type of benchmarking from the
approaches contained in the review of related literature. The employees of one institution visited
other institutions on staff exchange programmes, as assessors and markers and to attend
academic gatherings at which information, experiences and new insights were shared. The
institutions belonged to professional associations for collaborative benchmarking purposes and
shared a common understanding of benchmarking. It was concluded that the three institutions of
higher learning consciously practised benchmarking but the practice was not formalised and not
documented, leading to the absence of a feedback loop. As a way forward, the three institutions,
and others, needed to formalise and institutionalise their benchmarking practices, and create a
feedback loop

ZOU

2014