The rise in the number of higher educational programmes in the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) has led to an increased call for programme accreditation. The purpose of this exploratory sequential mixed method s research is to investigate the impact of programme accreditation on lecturer quality of a community college within the SIDS. A phenomenological research design was used to explore the phenomena using semi-structured interviews. A sample of 15 lecturers from a population of 84 were selected purposively to partake in the study. Quantitative data was collected purposively using a survey containing five demographic variables and forty items measured using a five-point Likert Scale. The survey was administered to a sample of 50 lecturers from seven faculties. The findings revealed that seven important factors of accreditation impacted lecturer quality: (1) faculty and professional development, (2) curriculum quality, (3) mission, objectives, and strategic planning, (4) graduation outcomes, (5) teaching and learning, (6) learner progression, and (7) quality efficiency and financial resources. Lecturers believe that the institution’s mission, objectives, and strategic planning shape the overall environment and culture of the faculty, which sets the tone for the other factors of programme accreditation to be effective. Correlation studies were conducted to support the qualitative findings. The results indicated low but positive associations between the institution’s mission, objections, strategic planning, and lecturer quality; the other factors had moderate associations. There was no correlation between learner progression and lecturer quality. Future research should explore the prospects of examining the impact of programme accreditation on the quality of lecturers in private and public higher educational institutions.
Keywords: Financial Resources, Professional Development, Quality Assurance, college mission, lecturer quality, programme accreditation
