Page 33 - AERC Strategic Plan 2 July2020

THE AERC 2020–2025 STRATEGIC PLAN

The Purpose

Following the maturation of universities in Addis Ababa, Dar es Salaam, Ghana, and
Nairobi to CMAP Category C status (offering both core and elective courses without
sending their students to the JFE), the quality of teaching and number of elective courses
at these universities have been negatively affected. Participation at the JFE now stands
at an average of 60 students annually, which is significantly below the level of enrolment
in preceding years: this had risen to a high of 144 in 2011. In addition, due to a decline
in funding support for training programmes, AERC currently supports a maximum of 10
students per CMAP Category B and CMAAE-accredited universities to attend the JFE/SFSE.
However, universities with enrolments beyond the threshold that the AERC can finance
are forced to offer a limited number of elective courses to students who fail to attend the
JFE/SFSE, which does not guarantee standardization of teaching and quality of delivery
across participating universities. Yet they qualify in the same degree programme by
definition. This constitutes serious quality encroachment and segmentation.

Improving the efficiency and inclusivity of the elective facilities will strengthen the overall
curriculum for economics departments within universities that are currently engaged
with AERC as well as the quality of students graduating from their programmes. Digital
space and use of blended learning will help enhance operational efficiency; standardize
and maintain quality of teaching of elective courses across all network universities; and
broaden reach. The long term impact would be improvement in the calibre of trained
economists in the region, with the potential to increase research capability and overall
capacity at national and regional institutions.

The Approach

The operational modalities of CMAP, CMAAE, and CPP will be reviewed with the aim of
implementing a more appropriate and sustainable structure that is efficient and inclusive.
Use of blended learning will be fully scaled up for all CMAP and CMAAE elective courses,
with e-learning materials being developed by course experts and posted on the AERC
Blended Learning Management System (BLMS), and specialized workshops conducted for
users, including module developers, instructors, and students.

The CMAP and CMAAE comprise, on average, 12 JFE and 21 SFSE elective courses
respectively. The average number of elective courses taught annually at the CMAP JFE
and CMAAE SFSE is seven and 14 respectively, subject to a minimum class size of 10
students being attained and suitably qualified instructors being available.

The first phase of implementing blended learning commenced during the 2015–2020
Strategic Plan period with the development and piloting of blended-learning modules
for seven CMAAE elective courses. In the first and second years of the current strategic-
plan period, seven additional modules will be developed for CMAAE elective courses and
seven new modules for CMAP elective courses, with workshops for module developers
and facilitators being undertaken. Piloting of the blended learning course delivery will

20 |