After three days of review of the curriculums, facilities, laboratories, and personnel of engineering programmes at Covenant University, the Council for Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) team on accreditation has heaped praise on the management of the University for making programmes in the College of Engineering very attractive.
The leader of the team, Professor Mark N. Nwohu, commended the stable, limited power supply enjoyed in the University community, coupled with adequate water supply at every point on campus, as well as making wireless internet connectivity available all over the entire university environment.
Professor Nwohu said they were impressed with the modern and quality teaching aids and laboratory equipment that were in the College. According to him, "The acquisition of modern electrical equipment for the Electrical Engineering Department is a big plus for this programme. These are frequently used and essential pieces of equipment in the industry. Some of this equipment will be useful for the Department of Works, apart from the fact that it could be commercialized."
He extolled the Management and College leadership for creating a platform that will stymie any form of victimization of students. Professor Nwohu said using two or more lecturers to teach a course was a laudable idea that would help minimize the likelihood of scholars being victimized.
Professor Nwohu appealed to the University’s Management to continue and maintain the current level of investment in the college and believes the engineering programmes are on the right trajectory to further signpost Covenant as one of the best education institutions in the world, which will be a pride to Africa and Nigeria as a whole.
He concluded by advising the university that it is not enough to get to the top but to maintain it. "It is one thing to get to the top; however, it is another thing to remain there, as many institutions are now targeting you as a standard and are aiming to surpass you," he posited.
Responding, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Abiodun H. Adebayo, appreciated the team for putting in a quality peer review assignment and thanked them for pointing out areas to improve and consolidate.
Professor Adebayo said some of the issues raised about students’ academic credit load will be taken care of when the National Universities Commission (NUC) Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) replaces the Benchmark Minimum Academic Standard (BMAS).
According to him, the CCMAS will afford universities the opportunity to adopt additional courses along with NUC’s approved programme courses to further strengthen knowledge acquisition, which is what Covenant University is already doing.
Accreditation teams were on a certification visit to Covenant’s engineering programmes to see her readiness to adopt the Outcome-Based Education (OBE) learning model towards maintaining academic relevance to meet global standards.