http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/21812 Tue, 22 Sep 2026 02:07:11 GMT 2026-09-22T02:07:11Z http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/21816 Fostering Gender Equality in Higher Education: Integrating Outcome-Based Measures into Review Manuals to Enhance the Quality Assurance in Sri Lankan State Universities. Shivany, S.; Dilogini, S.; Jegashini, K.; Thasika, T. The field of higher education in Sri Lanka is undergoing significant changes to align with global standards and foster inclusive growth. However, a notable gap exists among universities in measuring gender equality and fostering inclusive growth through a quality assurance process. The purpose of this paper is to address the gap in measuring gender equality through quality assurance review manuals published by the University Grants Commission (UGC) for reviewing programmes and institutional performances. The goal is to emphasise the necessity of incorporating gender equality measures into academic evaluation frameworks and to propose strategies for implementing these measures to foster a more inclusive and equitable educational environment. A qualitative study utilised document analysis of manuals to uncover gaps in the quality assurance criteria for gender equality at state universities in Sri Lanka. To gain deeper insights, six focus group discussions were conducted with stakeholders, exploring their perspectives on gender measures in quality assurance. The manuals overlook crucial steps for promoting gender equality in higher education, such as equal facilities, gender-sensitive curriculum, increased women's participation, professional advancement, work-life balance, and antiharassment policies. Stakeholders emphasised the need for ten essential criteria as themes: policy implementation, representation, access to resources, curriculum inclusivity, support services, grievance mechanisms, career progression, work-life balance, students' experience, and outcome-based measures. Integrating these ideas into institutional processes can foster a truly equitable academic community, improving the educational experience for all students and staff. Greater progress toward gender equality can be made by higher education institutions in Sri Lanka by addressing these gaps and putting the suggested standards into practice. In the end, this will improve academic performance while fostering a society that is more inclusive. Mon, 30 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/21816 2024-12-30T00:00:00Z http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/21815 Scaling of Assessment Marks: A Case in the Faculty of Science, Eastern University, Sri Lanka. Elango, P. Scaling of marks or standardizing is a moderation process for the assessment marks to make a decision about the boundary points between the students‘ marks and the grades on a course. Scaling for assessment marks is done for the entire students of each course offered by the faculty. Scaling is not used to adjust for an individual student‘s marks, and the scaling is not used to adjust the final mark at the programme level when awarding a degree for the programme. In other words, scaling is used only to change the grade that contributes to the overall grade point average for the entire students for a particular course. In this study, the scaling methodology adopted by the Faculty of Science, Eastern University, Sri Lanka to assign letter grades for the raw marks obtained by the undergraduates for all the general degree courses was considered. The faculty prepared this scale grading table by reducing two or three marks from the minimum marks for each grade and then maintaining similar intervals in the original table. There were four different columns (tables) for the scaling of marks. Based on the average marks of a particular course, the appropriate column was selected and the grades were assigned. By applying the scale grading table, when the average marks were very low, the lower letter grades were improved to better letter grades while when the class average was high, there were no significant changes occurred in the letter grades awarded Mon, 30 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/21815 2024-12-30T00:00:00Z http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/21814 Voluntary Discontinuation and Timely Completion Rates of Undergraduate Programs: A Case Study in the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka. Mudalige, S.K.K.; Gunawardena, O.B.; Atapattu, N.S.B.M. A higher timely-graduation rate with lower dropouts, either voluntarily or involuntarily, are among the prime concerns of any undergraduate programme. A clear understanding of the reasons for voluntary discontinuation of programs is needed to minimize such incidences. The objectives of this study were to analyze the rates of and reasons for the voluntary discontinuation and to determine the timelygraduation rates of the undergraduates who followed the degree programs in the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna. The study collected information about the students who left threedegree programs; namely BSc Agricultural Resources Management and Technology (AT), BSc Green Technology (GT), and BSc Agribusiness Management (AB). Of the total of 140 students who had discontinued the programmes during five academic years from 2012 to 2016, 100 students could be contacted over the phone. The faculty has experienced a 40% decline in student enrollment from 2012-2016. Of the total of 1085 students enrolled during five academic years, 140 (12.9%) had discontinued the programs midway, mainly in the first semester (72.8%), followed by the second (10.71%), and third (7.1%) semesters. Some left even at the fourth (6.42%) or fifth (0.71%) semesters. The discontinuation rate showed no clear trend across academic years or degree programs. According to the results, 50% reported that they left the programs to follow job-oriented professional courses such as Medical Laboratory Technicians, Pharmacists, Nursing Officers and Public Health Inspectors. Another one-third (34%) had left the program directly for a job. Three per cent of the respondents admitted that they enrolled on the program without knowing what the programme would exactly be and the academic environment they would experience. They reported discontinuing the program after realizing the gap between their expectations and reality. Another 2% were dissatisfied with university subculture related activities, while for 1%, personal commitments such as marriage was the reason for programme discontinuation. All reported that they are happy with the programme-discontinuation decision. The first-time graduation rate of the faculty was 82±9.6. The GT (90.5%) had a higher firsttime graduation rate than AT (78.9±0) and AB (78.1±7.0). It was revealed that financial difficulties and insecure job prospects for the graduates are the primary causes of programme discontinuation. The study highlights the need for strategies to increase the timely graduation rates. Mon, 30 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/21814 2024-12-30T00:00:00Z http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/21813 Enhancing Quality Assurance in Medical Education Using Artificial Intelligence-Based Personalised Student Feedback System: ‘Sisu Athwala’ Seneviratne, H.M.T.W.; Manathunga, S.S.; Idirisinghe, I.A.W.W. Mentoring and feedback play crucial roles in medical education, addressing various issues including exam performance, study techniques, stress management and personal preferences and is an integral component of quality assurance in medical education. However, time constraints and limited human resources pose significant challenges in providing personalised guidance to students. This study aimed to explore the utility of an AI-based personalised feedback system in addressing the needs of medical students at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. The study was conducted at the Department of Pharmacology. Students provided self-evaluations including previous exam results, study techniques, and stress coping strategies. An AI system, powered by GPT-4 large language model using a retrieval augmented generation pipeline, engaged in conversations with students, systematically addressing each point. The AI's responses were grounded on a curated database of existing literature on feedback. Expert human student counsellors evaluated the system's performance across multiple domains, including its ability to address key points, provide insightful suggestions, offer sufficient details, personalise feedback, use varied language expressions and introduce novel perspectives. Evaluator responses were largely positive. All evaluators agreed that the system effectively addressed key points of students' strengths in study performance, clearly identified weaknesses and offered insightful and novel suggestions for improvement. The majority of evaluators (70-90%) agreed that the system provided clear guidance on exam preparation, offered sufficient detail to guide effective study techniques and personalised feedback to address individual needs. Eighty percent of evaluators agreed that the system utilised varied language and expressions effectively. The AI-based personalised feedback system- ‗Sisu Athwala‘ demonstrated promising results in providing comprehensive, tailored guidance to medical students. This approach shows potential in addressing the resource constraints faced by educational institutions while maintaining high-quality, personalised student support. Though not a replacement for human counsellors, this AI system could serve as a valuable complementary tool in medical education, enhancing the accessibility and consistency of student feedback and, also offers a scalable solution to enhance mentoring efforts, contributing to overall quality assurance in medical education. Mon, 30 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/21813 2024-12-30T00:00:00Z