The University Support and Workforce Development Program (USWDP) is a five-year program funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by FHI 360, the University of Massachusetts, Purdue University, Altai Consulting and the Afghanistan Holding Group. USWDP aims to enhance the skills and employability of technically qualified and professionally capable Afghan women and men in the private and public sectors.
The program will work to help Afghanistan’s higher education professionals effectively manage the growth of tertiary education by strengthening the Ministry of Higher Education’s management systems for implementing and monitoring university quality assurance and accreditation standards; developing policy and procedural capacity to support public university autonomy; and improving management of the ministry’s human, financial and other resources. The program will also improve academic quality. Building on previous successes, USWDP will improve the management capacity of the ministry and up to 10 public universities. It will help the ministry implement strategies designed to ensure quality education and employment opportunities for men and women. In addition, the program will enable universities to manage and expand education resources in ways that encourage effective governance.
The project will also assist in the development of learning environments that will establish:
- Well-qualified and professional faculty members
- Highly capable and motivated students
- Diverse and market-oriented academic programs
- Sustainable public–private collaboration
- International university partnerships
- Other innovations that move Afghanistan toward an improved higher education system
