The Department of Economics and Social Sciences (ESS), with the support of University Grants Commission (UGC) and World Bank Higher Education Quality Enhancement Project (HEQEP), and the Institutional Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) of BRAC University, recently successfully completed the Self-Assessment Review (SAR) as well as the External Peer Review (EPR) of its BSS in Economics Program. Conducted in two phases, SAR (during July 2016 to August 2017) and EPR (during 1-3 August 2017), these two interdependent quality assessments (QA) tasks involved undertaking rigorous internal and external exercises including conducting questionnaire survey for generating and analyzing the required data, SWOT analysis, and preparation of the report for submission for external review. A three-member ESS faculty team - comprised of Dr. Farzana Munshi, Associate Professor; Mr. Tanvir Sobhan, Senior Lecturer; and Mr. Ashraf Ahmed, Lecturer - prepared the SAR.
The EPR team was comprised of Professor Athula Ranasinghe (Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka), foreign QA Expert and head; Professor AK Enamul Haque (Professor, Department of Economics, East West University), Local Subject Expert and Member; and Dr. AB Md Rahmatullah, Associate Professor, Dept of Economics, AIUB, Local QA Expert. Feedbacks from BSS Economics Program stakeholders (alumni, students, employers, academics and no-academics) and their analysis, followed up with assessment of the SAR by external review team and their follow-up meetings, held during August 1-3, with ESS faculty members and BRAC University administration members including the Pro Vice Chancellor, Dr. Ansar Ahmed, facilitated completion of the whole process of SAR and EPR as scheduled. Dr. Md Tofazzal Hussain, Professor MNS and BRACU IQAC Director, guided and facilitated completion of these two major processes of quality enhancement at BRACU. Economics Program’s SAR Team shall now make use of these two reports’ findings and recommendations for preparing a draft improvement plan for making best use of last one and half year’s spade work in the quality enhancement pursuits at ESS in general and BSS Economics Program in particular.