UG Management Reviews Progress on Strategic Goals at Mid-Year Meeting

Management of the University of Ghana has held a mid-year review and retreat targeted at assessing the progress of its strategic initiatives and aligning efforts for the remainder of the year. The meeting brought together University Management, Deans and Directors to take stock of achievements, identify challenges and track the implementation of activities under the University’s 2024–2029 Strategic Plan.

The review, which follows the initial management retreat held in January 2025, served as a critical checkpoint for evaluating the execution of the 2025 Action Plans and the work of the Inter-collegiate Implementation Committee.

Speaking at the meeting, Vice-Chancellor Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo expressed the belief that regularly assessing progress is highly important to realign strategies and improve outcomes.

“It is good to meet again after our initial retreat at the beginning of the year. This mid-year review has been useful in helping us assess where we are, improve upon our efforts and continue working collectively to realise our vision,” she said.

She provided updates on ongoing projects aligned with the University’s five strategic priority areas, including the successful commissioning of a Cybersecurity Lab and the first Hotspot Comfort Zone as well as the recent Four-Star Award to the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research by the Africa CDC. 

The Vice-Chancellor also highlighted academic milestones, the delivery of six out of the eight inaugural lectures planned for the 2024/2025 academic year and the successful organisation of the 2025 Aggrey-Fraser-Guggisberg Memorial Lectures.

Prof. Amfo spoke about renewed efforts to revive internal award schemes and ensure that deserving faculty and staff are recognised. She mentioned that committees have been set up to develop merit-based selection criteria for transparency. Additionally, she announced that various training programmes had been conducted across colleges and academic units to improve customer service delivery.

On national and community engagement, the Vice-Chancellor acknowledged the University’s contribution to the National Education Forum and the start of the first-ever University Community Games Corporate Football League championed by the Sports and Well Directorate. Prof. Amfo informed participants about the recent inauguration of a committee by President John Dramani Mahama to oversee the return of the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) to the University.

While celebrating progress, the Vice-Chancellor also drew attention to key challenges faced by the University, including high student-to-lecturer ratios, financial constraints and the withdrawal of some external funding sources such as USAID. She encouraged the various heads to work towards mobilising resources to support the implementation of the various action plans.

Pro Vice-Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs, Prof. Gordon Awandare, who chairs the Inter-Collegiate Implementation Committee for the 2024-2029 Strategic Plan, reported on the monitoring and evaluation mechanisms in place to support implementation.

“We developed our action plans during the January management retreat and we now have a standard reporting template and online portal to track progress. Key performance indicators have been reviewed and revised and we are pushing forward a vigorous communication strategy led by the Public Affairs Directorate,” he said.

Prof. Awandare urged unit heads to ensure full compliance with the reporting process and praised the ongoing stakeholder engagement across colleges and units.

As part of the sessions, various Provosts, Deans and Directors made presentations on the progress of their respective units in implementing the 2025 Action Plans. Updates were received from the Office of the Registrar, the Colleges of Basic and Applied Sciences, Education, Health Sciences and Humanities, with presentations delivered by the Registrar, Mrs. Emelia Agyei-Mensah and the respective Provosts.

In one of the sessions, moderated by Prof. Justice Bawole, Directors from key administrative units, the Academic Affairs Directorate, Research and Innovation Directorate, Physical Development and Municipal Services Directorate and the Public Affairs Directorate, shared updates and outlined priorities for the remainder of the year.

This was followed by a composite discussion involving all participants. The Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Development, Prof. Felix Ankomah Asante, provided an update on the development of a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to improve administrative efficiency. 

Prof. Gordon Adika, Team Lead of the Legon Leadership Academy (LLA), gave a brief overview of the modules to build leadership capacity across the University.

The review meeting is expected to strengthen the University's commitment to achieving the objectives set out in its 2024–2029 Strategic Plan, particularly in the areas of transformative student experience, impactful research, staff development, stakeholder engagement and sustainable resource mobilisation.