Research and Scholarship Unit
Overview
The Research & Scholarship (R&S) Unit was established in 2006. The Research Director reports to the Pro Vice Chancellor (Academic). The unit's main responsibilities are to regularly update Institutional Statistics, Design, Develop, Coordinate and Perform institutional research and Programme evaluations.
The results of the Institutional statistics, Institutional research and Evaluations performed by Research & Scholarship unit are typically used to inform management decisions for policy, programme and curriculum development, tutor training and to direct activities at various levels towards the needs of Zimbabwe Open University's (ZOU) stakeholders.
In addition the Research &Scholarship unit is responsible for designing and implementing academics' scholarship development through workshops, seminars and conferences in order to motivate academics to become distinguished scholars. The unit is also responsible for managing information related to academics scholarship development (e.g. keeping track of conferences attended, papers published, and research undertaken) in collaboration with ZOU Library and Information Service unit.
Our Mission
To enhance establishment of ZOU as a world-class University based on institutional research and programme evaluations.
Our Vision
To develop a culture for research excellence that contributes to management decisions and Zimbabwean knowledge economy.
Our Core Values
- Academic freedom: Sustain academic freedom to enquiry
- Ethnicity: value local culture in making enquiries
- Ethical: maintain international research ethics
- Visible: disseminate scholarly knowledge
- Honesty and Integrity: the principles of honest, integrity and respect for others will weave the moral fabric of our research
- Flexibility: of mind in designs, data collection and analysis tools
Our Strategy
- Institute collaborative research: institutional, community based and discipline focused
- Collaborate with institutions considered as internationally excellent
- Produce International Journal of Open and Distance learning (IJODL) on time
- Implement commissioned research to enhance decision making
- Network with the local and international research community
- Capacitate academics and students in research proficiency and writing conference papers, journal articles and books
- Motivate faculties to implement tutor, course, module and peer evaluation
- Create consortia for consultancy-branding of ODL and other discipline oriented research
- Benchmark against national and international competitors and seek to learn from successes in other institutions
- Monitor research performance on an ongoing basis using discipline specific indicators such as;
- Interdisciplinary
- Knowledge transfer
- Publication profiles
- Impact on policy makers and/or user communities
