Self Assessment Report-M.Sc. (Development Studies)

Criterion 1: Programme Mission, Objectives and Outcomes

1.1. About IM|SciencesThe Institute of Management Sciences, based in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is a young, innovative, and enterprising Management school en route to compete with the foremost management schools of the country. The Institute is dedicated to its unique approach (at least in the region) of providing management education based in cutting-edge research and comprehensive training. Unlike conventional academic institutes, IM|Sciences broadens its educational focus in response to new trends in the developing field of management. Based on the social values of integrity, honesty, professional excellence and a broad vision of life, the Institute aims to provide educational experience that transforms its students into business leaders at par with international managers, executives, and entrepreneurs. Since its inception in 1995, the school’s academic rigor and avant-garde approach to management education have produced alumnae that shape the world of management at regional, national, and international level.

1.2. IM|Sciences Mission Statement The Institute’s comprehensive mission is to establish a self-conscious, learned, and self-regulating society in which individuals recognize their roles as accountable to the public good. More specifically, the institute aim to provide advanced knowledge of the art, science, and technology of business through teaching, research, and training in order to produce leading executives, managers, software engineers as well as computer scientists that can venture to shape the practice of business in every industry and become a catalyst for social and economic development.

In order to achieve this, the institute: Offers diverse range of programmes based on curriculum that is in line with the varying

management and development trends Provide exceptional faculty that aims to advance management theory and practice by

analyzing knowledge through learning, research, classroom application, and service in public, private and social sectors

Attract students with outstanding intellectual ability that are dedicated to personal as well as social, and economic development of Pakistan

The institute’s all-encompassing mission is to attest to the world the fact that a relatively underprivileged region has the potential to reach beyond social, political, and security barriers to educate and produce outstanding leaders for tomorrow.

1.3 The MSc. Development Studies (DS) Programme The MSc. Development Studies (DS) Programme is spread over 4 semesters covered in approximately 2 years. Masters in Development studies is an interdisciplinary programme that weaves together a range of inter-related academic disciplines such as International Relations,

Economics, Management, Administration, Politics, Public Policy, Sociology, Human Rights, Gender Studies, Environment and Law. The initiation of such a programme at IM|Sciences was felt owing to the huge development need of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and adjacent tribal territories. The region has been historically in spotlight for underdevelopment, conflict and natural calamities and needs practitioners who understand the modern notions of development and can provide the necessary skills to complement local, national, and international efforts to bring peace & development. The programme also aims to produce development practitioners with enhanced abilities and skills to engage with the development through innovative and critical approaches.

1.4. The MSc. Development Studies (DS) Programme Mission StatementThe programme’s mission is to impart skills and knowledge pertaining to theory and practice in development studies.

1.5. The MSc. Development Studies (DS) Programme Objectives:

The core objectives of this programme are as follows

Objective 1:

To orientate students with development theories, policies and practices

Course of action for objective 1: Apart from the traditional focus of development studies programme on themes such as gender, environment, rural and urban development, the DS programme also strives to provide an in-depth understanding of current global issues in international political economy, alternative approaches to poverty alleviation, and novel trends in public sector governance theory and practices particularly relevant to third world countries. The study of recent perspectives in conflict transformation is also an integral component of the programme.

The following courses are include in the curriculum for achieving objective 1

Development Studies: Issues and Perspectives Poverty Alleviation Environment and Sustainable Development Gender and Development Governance Human Resource Management Principles of Public Administration Comparative Government and Administration Basic Theories of Social Sciences Modern South Asia: State, Society and Religion Development Economics Political Economy of Development Agricultural Economics Environmental Economics

Public Sector Economics Public Finance International Human Rights' Law Organizational Behaviour

Outcome: o Students’ understanding of basic concepts, theories and perspectives in

Development Studieso Students’ ability to critically analyze and evaluate current issues in Development

management

Objective 2:To familiarise students with recent issues and trends in the development sector

Course of action for objective 2: Keeping pace with recent developments, both in theory and practice of development studies, is highly critical and indispensible in academia. Several courses included in the programme are designed to enable students to assess as to how Pakistan in general and KPK province in particular can assimilate global trends and development models rather than growing in isolation.

The following courses are included in the curriculum for achieving objective 2

Urban and Rural Development Organizational Development Globalization and Development Decentralization, Participation and Development Development Finance Microfinance Disaster Management Small Enterprise Development Organizational Development Human Resource Development Global Environmental Change Climate Change Policy International Financial Management

Outcome: It is anticipated that upon the successful completion of the programme, development studies graduates will have a sound knowledge of development related issues and the ability to apply their knowledge in terms policy analysis, strategy formulation and execution of development projects in their respective organizations.

Objective 3:

To enhance their critical analysis skills to understand and apply the emerging development theories and approaches

Course of Action for Objective 3 Development Studies programme aims to identify and narrow down the gap between academic and practical arenas of development sector. In order to do so, the structure of development studies modules/courses is designed in a manner that incites students’ capability to develop social research skills, proficient communication abilities, and ability to apply the acquired knowledge and skills effectively.

The following courses in the curriculum for achieving objective 3

Research Methodology Conflict and Conflict Analysis Project Planning and Implementation Project Monitoring and Evaluation Issues in Pakistan’s Economy Public Health NGO Management Environment and Development: Impact Assessment ICTs and Socio-economic Development

OutcomesGraduates will acquire comprehensive knowledge that will provide them with a substantial competitive edge in the vast development sector including nongovernmental organizations (NGO's), multilateral and bi-lateral aid agencies, donor organizations and support agencies and Multi National Corporations (MNCs). Since development interventions are multifaceted and need practitioners who are well versed in a range of disciplines, the programme focuses on producing generalists rather than specialists who can find it easy to work across a spectrum of issues in a multitude of organizational set ups.

Criterion 2: CURRICULUM DESIGN AND ORGANIZATION

2.1 DEGREE TITLE: MSc. Development Studies (MSc. DS)

2.2: Definition of Credit UnitAn academic semester signifies 16 weeks of classes (lectures and tutorials), exclusive of three monthly exams and one comprehensive examination.

2.3: Degree Plan

The MSc. Development Studies (DS) Programme is spread over 4 semesters covered in approximately 2 years. Students have to appear in 3 monthly examinations during the semester and one comprehensive exam at the end of semester. Students are required to submit a research report at the end of the last semester.

2.4 ASSESMENT OF THE MSc. DS CURRICULUM

Standard 2-1 Courses Versus Objectives

The curricula of all core and elective subjects are designed exquisitely to support the programme objectives and are coherent with the dynamic requirements of the social/development sector. Although no specialisation is offered in the programme, students usually chose the topic/area of their dissertation in accordance with their interest. This facilitates them to study and research in one of their most preferred subject.

Standard 2-2 Theory Problem and Solution DesignThe curricula of all core and elective subjects have been designed systematically and updated on a regular basis. The overall design of programme ensures the students acquire theoretical knowledge as well as practical skills related to development issues and perspectives.

Standard 2-3: Mathematics and Basic Sciences Requirements

Not Applicable

Standard 2-4: Major Requirements as Specified by HEC

Not Applicable as HEC has not provided/specified guidelines for this programme. Standard 2-5: Humanities, Social Sciences, Arts, Ethical, Professional and othersThe programme includes courses associated with social science and humanities such as International Relations, Economics, Management, Administration, Politics, Public Policy, Sociology, Human Rights, Gender Studies, Environment and Law.

Following is the semester-wise break-up of all the compulsory and elective subjects.

Semester 1

S. No Module Code

Module Credit Hours

1 DS 500 Development Studies: Issues and Perspectives

3

2 DS 501 Poverty Alleviation 33 DS 502 Environment and

Sustainable Development

3

4 DS 503 Gender and Development

3

5 Elective 1 3

Semester 2

S. No Module Code

Module Credit Hours

1 DS 510 Urban and Rural Development

3

2 DS 512 Conflict and Conflict Analysis

3

3 DS 513 Development Economics

3

4 Elective 2 35 Elective 3 3

Semester 3

S. No Module Code

Module Credit Hours

1 DS 600 Political Economy of Development

3

2 DS 601 Globalization and Development

3

3 DS 603 Public Policy Analysis 34 Elective 4 35 Elective 5 3

Semester 4

S. No Module Module Credit Hours

Code1 Research Methodology 32 Statistical Tools for

Social Sciences (Including SPSS)

3

3 Elective 6 34 Elective 7 35 Elective 8 36 Internship Report

/Dissertation6

Elective Subjects

ICTs and Socio-economic Development Modern South Asia: State, Society & Religion International Financial Institutions Basic Theories of Social Sciences Politics Principles of Public Administration Comparative Government and Administration Governance Local Governance Decentralization, Participation and Development Development Finance Disaster Management Project planning and Implementation Project Monitoring and Evaluation Small Enterprise Development Organizational Development Human Resource Management Human Resource Development Organizational Behaviour Agricultural Economics Environmental Economics Public Sector Economics International Human Rights' Law Issues in Pakistan’s Economy Public Health NGO Management Environment and Development: Impact Assessment Global Environmental Change Climate Change

Standard 2-6: Information Technology Contents

The programme includes a course titled ‘Statistical Tools for Social Sciences (Including SPSS)’. Although, the course contents are primarily based on Quantitative Research Methods, a substantial portion of the mentioned course is also allocated for enhancing students’ capability to learn and apply modern computer applications/programmes such as SPSS in their research projects.

Standard 2-7: Communication Skills

Not Applicable

Criterion 3: Laboratories and Computing Facilities3.1: IntroductionThe students of M.Sc. (DS) programme have the opportunity to take benefit from the institute’s extensive computer and information technology facilities. The labs are conveniently located on all floors (two labs on each floor) of the academic building. Out of a total eight labs, four labs have at least 30 computers each and four labs have more than 80 computers each. Apart for computer labs, students have been provided access to computers in the library as well. The institute maintains a wireless network, allowing the students to connect to the internet from their mobile communication devices such as laptops and tablets. Students can access to HEC digital library and online research databases such as Emerald, Blackwell-Synergy, JSTOR, through the institute’s computers and wireless network. Students are also facilitated in the acquisition of registered statistical software packages (such as SPSS, STATA, and EViews), and Microsoft products through the Microsoft Digital Network (MSDN).

Standard 3-1: Lab Manuals/Documentation/instructingA detailed document containing instructions on the usage of computer and internet has been provided to students and faculty.

Standard 3-2: Adequate personal support for labsThe support staff in the labs is minimal. In each lab, one personnel designated as ‘Lab Assistant’ looks after the computers in the lab and facilitates the faculty and students when needed.

Standard 3-3: Adequate Computing Infrastructure and FacilitiesComputer and information technology is available to Faculty, staff and students alike. Apart from fully equipped labs with branded computers of latest technology and the availability of internet across the campus; the classrooms and lecture theatres have been equipped with modern multimedia and computer technology to be used visual aid. Video conferencing

facility has also been setup at the institute through which audio-visual connection can be made with universities and organization across the country and around the globe.

3.2 Safety Procedures for All Computer LabsAll the computer labs have been designed with the safety concerns taken into account. The labs support personnel are available inside the lab all the time. The computer equipment pose no immediate safety risk; however, in case of accidents such as fire or electric shock arrangements have been made to deal with the situation i.e. fire alarms and fire extinguishers have been located at various locations and a first aid medical aid clinic has been set up within the premises of the campus.

Criterion 4: Student Support and Guidance4.1 IntroductionThe programme administration along with the other coordinating and administrative representative of the institute, strives to provide maximum academic facilitation and advice. The faculty at the institute dedicates extra time for students counselling to help them in various issues regarding their education, career and social life.

4.2 Courses

Standard 4-1:

Sufficient Frequency of Course OfferingThe program offers all the core and elective courses as per the programme structure on a frequent basis.

4.2.1 CoreCore course being an essential component and sizeable part of the M.Sc. (Development Studies) programme are offered in every semester, extended over the duration of the programme.

4.2.2 Elective coursesElective courses are offered from third semester onwards till the fourth semester from the selected area of specializations.

4.3 Structure of Courses

Standard 4-2:

Effective Faculty/Student InteractionThe student/teacher interaction is an essential pillar of M.Sc. (DS) programme. The following principles are observed to ensure successful achievement of programme objectives:

● Each class is made of 40 students at most.● 75% attendance during the semester in each subject is mandatory.● At least 2 CGPA must be maintained by the students to retain their position in the

program● Students are assessed for their academic progress through monthly exams and a final

comprehensive exam● Faculty distributes outlines in the beginning of the semester and devotes their office

hours for students counselling.● Students are instructed to be punctual and efficient in fulfilling the requirements of class

based or take-home tasks and assignments.

4.4 Guidance to Students

Standard 4-3:

Professional Advising and CounsellingThe choice of the right area of specialization that matches with students’ abilities, interest and aspiration is an important and daunting task. The experienced and committed faculty at the institute show their concern for students’ career progression and provides sincere guidance and support.

4.4.1 Students counselling systemStudents are provided counselling through number of channels. The primary channel is the faculty, who are close to students because of a friendly and respectable relationship, making the students to be comfortable in sharing the problems and concerns. In addition, the programme coordinator also plays an important role in resolving student issues and conflicts. Professional career advisory is also available through the Career Development Centre, which has been developed for students counselling and providing the students with placement services.

4.4.2 Opportunities for the StudentsThe M.Sc. (Development Studies) programme ensures that students are provided with the opportunities for academic excellence but also ensuring that they are involved in co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, so that they are developed into socially productive units of the

society. The students have also been active in participating in annual parties, sports gala, winter and spring festivals, within the institute. They have also been sponsored for visits to universities within the country to participate in various academic and non-academic competitions.

Section 5: Process Control5.1 IntroductionThe M.Sc. (DS) programme administration is responsible for student admission, student registration, faculty recruitment, teaching and graduation. These functions are documented and conducted in an organized manner. The various process controls mentioned above are explained as follows:

Standard 5.1:

5.2 Programme admission criteria, policies regarding programme / credit transferThe admission to M.Sc (DS) programme takes place once in an academic year, after the due approval of the Academic Committee of the institute. This process is reviewed and evaluated on regular-basis at least once in a year, in meetings of semester committee and coordinators’ committee meetings chaired by the Director of the institute. The committees decide on matters related to admission such as the number students to be admitted, review and approval of advertisement for admission and proposed time and dates for admission.

The prospective candidates are admitted to the programme on the basis of the following criteria:

1. They have to meet minimum required education for admission into the programme.2. They have qualified the entrance test arranged by the institute in coordination with

testing-authority.3. They have passed the interview for admission.4. They have completed other conditions the institute may deem necessary at the time of

admission.

The candidates desirous of getting admission in M.Sc. (DS) programme shall be with B.A., B.Com or equivalent qualification and having at least second division, securing 45% marks in aggregate.

Qualifying admission test and interview separately are compulsory. A candidate securing less than 40% marks in test or interview stands disqualified for admission.

The performance of students is evaluated through a continuous testing process spread over entire duration of study. Students must maintain a minimum GPA/CGPA of 2.2 on a cumulative basis during the course of their academic programme. Students with GPA/CGPA less than 2.0 are dropped from the rolls of the institute. Students securing a GPA/CGPA between 2.0 and 2.2 remain on probation for one semester.

5.2.1 Transfer from outside the universityAdmission into M.Sc. (DS) through credit transfer from any other institute / university is not allowed.

5.2.2 Transfer to the programme from other programmes Students enrolled in M.Sc. (DS) are not allowed to transfer to any other programme offered in the institute.

5.2.3 Transfer to the programme from another major The administration, if deems necessary, can offer a course for which students from various programmes may be enrolled.

5.3 Process of registrationStandard 5.2:

The registration process ensures enrolment of all active students. Registration process is conducted at the start of a programme usually in first semester and in some cases, second semester depending upon the response from a respective board/ institution necessary in the verification of documents issued by such institutions.

Student course loadA regular student is required to take twelve credit hours per regular semester, however, a student can take a maximum of 18 credit hours.

5.4 Recruiting process Standard 5.3:

The recruitment process starts with the receipt of application & CV of the candidate followed by a demonstration. A demonstration is a presentation wherein a candidate presents a topic in the

area of his degree specialization to a panel of subject expert faculty members and selected programme coordinators. Presentation is followed by an question and answer session. If a candidate is recommended by panel, he/she may be initially engaged on visiting basis for a semester with a teaching load not more than two courses. During the semester, the performance of the newly recruited visiting faculty is evaluated through a Faculty Evaluation Report. If the performance of the visiting faculty is satisfactory i.e. they have achieved a required level of score in the Faculty Evaluation; the visiting faculty is assigned courses in the subsequent semesters.

If the visiting faculty is able to maintain job performance for at least two semester of his/her visiting status, the faculty member is recommended for appointment on one-year contract at a designation that commensurate with his/her qualification and experience. The contract is renewable for further one year, based on performance in the first contract year. After the evaluation of a candidate’s two years’ performance by selection board he/she is recommended for permanent absorption in the cadre in which he/she was originally appointed.

5.4.2 Faculty evaluation Faculty Evaluation Report refers to assessment and feedback from students regarding faculty members’ teaching assignment. A faculty member’s performance is assessed in the areas such as: Ability to create interest, command over subject, communicative ability, capacity to inspire student, coming down to students’ level, punctuality. The evaluation is conducted twice every semester; once at the middle stage and second at the end of a semester. Once tabulation and calculation process completes, results of evaluation in the form of a report containing statistical measures such arithmetic mean, mode, median, standard deviation, question rated lowest and question rated highest by students are communicated to the faculty member. The report serves as a feedback tool that helps the faculty member in making necessary improvement in teaching method and style, if required.

5.5 Teaching and delivery of course materialStandard 5.4:

Apart from the faculty evaluation, the process and management control system at the institute are used to maintain excellence in teaching and learning. The academic administration at the institute emphasizes use of modern teaching techniques and method and encourages use of technology such as audio-visual aids, multimedia, computers and research databases to enhance quality of material delivery and improve the learning of students. The management control processes, and procedures have been approved after thorough discussion at the relevant forums to ensure that the programme’s teaching and material delivery objectives are met.

a. Coordinator’s roleThe programme coordinator is, in general, is responsible for following academic activities:■ Assigning courses to faculty.■ Scheduling of courses for the programme.■ Ensuring workload of faculty members in terms of minimum credit-hour teaching.■ Keeping liaison with semester committee and other academic forums.■ Monitoring and controlling smooth conduct of classes, content coverage and teaching

quality. For this purpose, two activities are undertaken. First, daily round report is generated where it is reported whether a given class was taken or not? Did the teacher enter the class on time? Did the teacher left the class on time? Second, teacher evaluation form is used to determine effectiveness of teaching method, coverage of course contents, and teaching quality. Evaluation form is attached as annexure to this SAR.

b. Curriculum and course syllabusThe faculty members distribute copies of course outline for their respective courses. The course outlines are designed according to the approved structure of a course learning objectives. In general a course outline contains the course title, code, prerequisite or co-requisite if any, topics and subtopics of the course, evaluation criteria, tasks and assignments, and recommended books and other material.

c. AttendanceStudents are required to maintain at least 75% of the attendance for each course the student is enrolled in. A student failing to meet the attendance requirements in a course is not allowed to sit for the exam in that course.

d. Evaluation and grading The performance of a student is evaluated through a continuous testing procedure spread over the entire duration of the semester. Every month an hourly examination is conducted for each course, thus a student is required to appear in three such examinations for each course he/she is enrolled in, during the semester. The score for the best to examinations is added towards final score. The weight age of the monthly examinations is forty percent of the total score of a course. Besides the monthly examination, a semester’s final examination is conducted at the end of the semester, which also carries forty percent marks. Another twenty percent marks are for tasks and assignments.

5.6 Graduation process Standard 5.5:

A student in order to graduate with M.Sc. (DS) programme needs to meet the degree requirements which are:

■ Passing all the core courses of the offered in the programme.■ Passing all the elective courses offered in the specialization selected by the student.■ Writing and successfully defending a Master’s level research thesis.

Section 6: Faculty

The M.Sc. (DS) programme has engaged some of the brilliant and committed faculty at the institute and from the industry. The faculty with number of years of teaching and industry experience is competent enough to deliver the course contents to the achievement of course and programme objectives. This has helped the programme in reaching a high standard in teaching and learning.Standard 6.1:

6.1 Faculty DevelopmentStandard 6.2:

The institute is committed to faculty development through a number of initiatives. The institute had been generous in providing study leave and financial support to faculty members’ doctoral studies abroad. The faculty members are also provided financial support if they intend to enrol in any of the research programmes offered at the institute. Faculty can avail the opportunity to attend seminars, trainings and workshop to enhance their capabilities. In order to increase research publications, the institute has devised a research policy through which faculty members are rewarded for the publications they make in national and international journals, through which they receive a reward of 10000 rupees for publication in Y-Category Journals and 25000 rupees for X or W category journals. The institute facilitates and motivates its employees to attend the research conferences for their paper presentations. Moreover, the institute regularly organizes workshops for the faculty to improve their research skills.

6.2 Faculty MotivationStandard 6.3:

The institute offer competitive salaries to employees with other benefits such as provident fund, medical insurance, rent and transportation allowance, in addition to a friendly and professional work environment. In addition, the institute has a promotion structure for the career progress of the faculty members.

Section 7: Institutional Facilities

Standard 7-1: The institution must have the infrastructure to support new trends in learning such as e-learning.

To support the e-learning the institution has a well equipped video conference room (video-con) and computer labs.■ Video-con is used for online workshops, lectures and coverage of co-curricular activities

e.g. debates competition held at HEC etc. Video-con is also used for online interviews of students for the grant of scholarships or student loans through HEC.

■ The institute maintains six computer labs with a total of 225 computers that are connected to internet and digital library. One out of the total six labs remains open through-out the day during working hours from 08:30am till 08:15pm without a break. This lab is primarily used by students to do their assignments and access the digital library; no classes take place in the general lab.

Standard 7-2: The library must possess an up-to-date technical collection relevant to the programme and must be adequately staffed with professional personnel.

■ The institutions library is well equipped with all the modern facilities of learning that caters to the needs of the students. The library is divided into two main sections; a. Reference section includes books, research journals and subscribed magazines.

Students and faculty cannot issue the publications from this section; however they can photocopy and scan the reference material.

b. The second section of the library facilitates the issuance of books. Students can issue books for a maximum period of two..

■ The library employs 2 library assistants (one male and one female) along with 2 library attendants (both male) with relevant qualification in library sciences, who are available in the library for students and faculty assistance during working hours.

■ The library remains open through-out the day from 8:30 AM till 8:15 PM without a break.

■ The library management software purchased from abroad, has been installed at the library for the facilitation of students and faculty.

■ In order to facilitate students in accessing digital library and online learning resources such as books, journals and scholarly magazines; 15 computers have been placed in the library.

Standard 7-3: Classrooms must be adequately equipped and offices must be adequate to enable faculty to carry out their responsibilities.

■ All the class rooms are equipped with computers and multimedia. The Wi-Fi facility helps the faculty and students to access in class rooms and their offices..

■ Faculty rooms have desktop, internet and digital library facility. ■ Faculty members are provided with a facility of purchasing laptops by paying instalments

that are deducted from their salaries. ■ Faculty member are provided with registered version of statistical software packages and

Microsoft products.■ Turn-it-in accounts have been provided to faculty members to check student submissions

(assignments and research report) for plagiarism.

Section 8: Institutional Support

Standard 8-1: Support and Financial ResourcesThe support and resources offered by Institute of Management Sciences to attract and retain high quality faculty are multidimensional. Some factors that contribute to the recruitment and retention of high quality faculty are summarized below:

■ Competitive salary packages■ Group life insurance■ Gratuity fund■ Contributory provident fund■ Health insurance (Group Medical Insurance)■ Study leave with pay for scholarship holders■ Research funds for research projects■ Research rewards on publications■ Support in availing HEC’s travel grant for national and international conferences■ Support in availing HEC’s research grant■ Training opportunities for personal and career development■ Financial support for studying at the institute.

Standard 8-2: Number and Quality of graduate students, research assistants and Ph.D. students

MBA (Banking & Finance) taught programme, therefore the standard does not apply to the programme.

Standard 8-3: Financial support for Library and Computing FacilitiesThere are sufficient financial resources for maintaining and supporting library and computing facilities. The institute’s library has a large number of publications and new publication being added each month. Computing facilities have also been provided in the Library, where 15 computers are available to students for research purposes. The computer and information technology facilities available at the institute are state of the art. 6 computer labs equipped with 225 latest computers, 48 classrooms and 6 lecture theatres each fully equipped with multimedia and desktop computer, Wi-Fi network in the academic building, high speed internet and access to digital libraries and research databases, and free registered software packages for students and faculty are some of the facilities that have been made available to the benefit of students and faculty.