Nigerian Journal of Educational Administration and Planning, (NJEAP, 2019) Vol. 19, No. 2, Pp. 358-373 An Assessment of Quality Assurance Practices in Building World Class Universities in South-South Nigeria By Nwafor, Innocent Arinze Department of Educational Management, Faculty of Education University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria ariseinno@gmail.com +2348037719321 Abstract This study assessed quality assurance practice in building world class universities in South- South geo-political zone, Nigeria. The study adopted survey research design, with three research questions posed to guide the study. The population of the study comprised 4,520 lecturers in three federal universities in the study area. Using simple random sampling technique, 678 lecturers were proportionally selected from the population as the study sample. A validated research questionnaire was used for data collection, with the reliability established at 0.86 using Cronbach coefficient Alpha. The collected data were analyzed using Mean and Standard deviations. The results from the analysis showed that the level of implementation of quality assurance practices to enhance building of world class universities is low. The estimation of the studied institutions on universities world standard features showed some of the features to be inadequate and some to be totally absent. The challenges of quality assurance practices implementation were seen to include, but not limited to inadequate government funding, massification of students’ intake, weak institutional leadership, and so on. Based on these findings, it was concluded that quality assurance practices in building world class universities in South-South Nigeria is inadequate and confronted with some challenges. When these challenges are surmounted, will enhance building of universities with world class standard. Meanwhile some possible strategies that can enhance quality assurance practices in building world class universities were suggested. Their implementation may enhance the institutions to produce students that possess the required skills for global competitiveness. Keywords: Quality, Quality Assurance Practices, Universities, World Class Universities Introduction University education is the highest level of education where required manpower for the economy is produced. On this note, its academic programmes needs to be carried out in a way to actualize the best outcome. However, the quest to improve and compete globally has necessitated universities around the world to adopt quality assurance practices as a means of gaining international reputation. The quality of programmes offered by the university play a crucial role in the transformation and building of skills in the students to meet the socio- economic needs of the society as well as fulfilling national aspiration. In addition, Salmi (2009) observed that universities being more than just cultural and educational institutions, are the symbols of pride for comparison among nations. This necessitate the implementation of quality assurance practices in ensuring that these institutions are of expected standard.