The University Management Board Workshop was held on 16th February, 2019 at Boma Inn Hotel Eldoret. The workshop deliberated on key issues pertaining to the review of University Policy Documents and the visibility of the University as documented by the Web rankings within Kenya and beyond.
The one day workshop which saw a full representation of the University Management Board analyzed key Universities policies which included the Draft Risk Management Policy, Draft E-Waste Policy, Draft ICT acceptable use Policy, the Draft Income Generating Units (IGU) Policy and the 360-degree appraisal tool among other issues. This was necessitated due to the fact that the current University Strategic Plan 2014-2019 was coming to an end, thus, there was need to review and/or develop new policies. Furthermore, in order to fulfill the recommendations of CUE and the guidelines set by the government through the Ministry of Education, it was deemed necessary to fast-track the draft policy documents. The workshop was ideal as it ensured efficiency and improvement of the University service delivery, which is crucial in enhancing the University presence and visibility in terms of programs offered.
Moreover, the workshop was ideal in analyzing the University Web Ranking, which is central to the University presence and visibility within the country and beyond. In line with the ranking conducted by Webometrics®, the University was ranked position 24 in the country and position 10,759 worldwide. The University of Eldoret ranked poorly in terms of its impact and visibility at 14,323 and 11,634 in the world respectively. However, the University ranked slightly well in terms of openness and excellence at 5,442 and 6,033 respectively. Among the public Universities in Kenya, University of Eldoret ranked 15th overall, which highlighted the need for the University to relook at its presence and visibility strategy so as to improve both locally and beyond.
The University Management Board culminated by recommending on the following key issues:
- On the Draft Policies
- It was agreed that the recommendations of management be communicated to the various committees for inclusion in the policies.
- It was agreed that draft policies be finalised so as to be presented to council for approval
- The university management board may have to take deliberate effort to work on the policies to ensure that they are ready for approval and implementation.
- On the Web ranking of the University
- There is need to increase advertisement and publicity platforms to include social media Platforms.
- There is need to improve on the graphics contents at our Website
- There is need to enhance budgetary allocation for advertisement.