Dear Graduates
Universities play a crucial role in developing productive human resources and institutions, which are competitive nationally, regionally and internationally as one of the main objectives of Namibia’s Vision 2030. Graduate surveys therefore, are imperative to institutional planning which will contribute to quality improvement in higher education, policy, research, and other services; the University of Namibia considers graduate surveys as an opportunity to assess the impact of the qualifications on graduates’ employability, the usefulness of the study programme to graduates’ employment, as well as regarding the quality of services received by graduates during their study.
Therefore, all University of Namibia graduates who completed their studies in the year 2014, 2015 and 2016 are being invited to participate in the National Graduate Survey. The information received will be treated with strict confidentiality and will solely be used for planning and programme development purposes. The results for this study will be published in tabula and graphical formats without compromising individual privacy and identification. The UNAM graduate survey study report will be available on the website of the University of Namibia and printed copies of this report will be provided to stakeholders upon request.
Your participation in the survey is highly regarded as it will contribute to a sufficient response rate expected to provide reliable results to help us improve the services UNAM provides to stakeholders.
Thank you
kind regards,
Prof. Kenneth K. Matengu
Vice Chancellor: University of Namibia
What are Tracer Studies?
Tracer studies or Graduate Surveys describe a standard survey (in written form) of graduates from higher education institutions, which take place some time after graduation, usually two years. They are a means of following graduates to find out what they are doing with the education and training they received. Common topics covered in tracer studies include questions on study progress, the transition to work, work entrance, job career, use of learned competencies and current occupation.
A Quality Assurance Tool
One of the requirements for quality management in higher education is the consideration of different perspectives when trying to assure quality of teaching and learning. In this context, tracer studies represent an inclusive tool for incorporating graduates points of view .
Why are Tracer Studies important?
Tracer studies are important for the following reasons:
- To find out what happened to graduates after they completed their studies;
- To find out if they are employed, self-employed or whether they are still looking for a job;
- To find out if their studies prepare them well for the workplace;
- To find out if graduates use the knowledge and skills they have learned during their studies; and
- To use graduates feedback to improve the quality of the study programmes and more specific, to revise the curricular, if necessary.
The tracer studies conducted by the higher education institutions (UNAM, Polytech and IUM) form part of a national collaborative project, NAMTRACE (Namibia Tracer Studies), initiated by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE).
How will the findings of this study be used?
The findings are used in different areas of higher education development, as well as to improve services provided by the higher education institutions.
