International Journal of Asian Social Science, 2013, 3(9):1952-1961 1952 INNOVATIONS IN ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AUDIT (APA) TO EMPOWER TEACHING & LEARNING: THE UNITEN EXPERIENCE Zainal Ariffin Ahmad Graduate Business School, College of Graduate Studies, UNITEN, Kajang Malaysia Norsalwati Binti Mohd Razalli Quality Management Centre,UNITEN, Kajang Malaysia ABSTRACT Institutional audit is an integral part of the quality assurance process in the Malaysian higher education to determine whether the institution is achieving its mission and goals, to identify strengths and areas of concern, and to enhance quality. One form of institutional audit is the periodic academic performance audit to determine the continuation or maintenance of programme accreditation status. In 2011, UNITEN conducted an institutional audit (Academic Performance Audit) exercise to prepare for SETARA 2012 or the Rating System for Higher Education Institutions in Malaysia. UNITEN was conferred SETARA Tier 5 - Excellent in 2012 compared to Tier 4 in 2009. Based on action science approach, this paper discusses the lessons learned during the Academic Performance Audit (APA) conducted in 2011 and how they empowered the teaching- learning environment at UNITEN. It will also highlight the three innovations introduced in the APA process. Keywords:Academic Performance Audit (APA), Rating system (SETARA), Action science, teaching-learning, Innovation. 1. INTRODUCTION Institutional audit is an integral part of the quality assurance process in the Malaysian higher education. As mandated by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency, institutional audit is an external evaluation of an institution to determine whether it is achieving its mission and goals, to identify strengths and areas of concern, and to enhance quality (MQA, 2009). According to the Code of Practice for Institutional Audit (COPIA), there are several forms of institutional audits, either comprehensive or thematic, or by faculty and across faculties. Another form of institutional audit is the periodic academic performance audit (APA) to determine the continuation or maintenance of programme accreditation status. In preparation for the institutional audit, an internal quality audit is conducted which is a self-review exercise by the higher education provider to determine whether it is achieving its mission and goals to identify strengths and areas of concern, and to enhance quality. The outcome of the internal quality audit is a Self-Review Report for Institutional Audit (MQA, 2009). Recently, UNITEN conducted an institutional audit exercise to prepare for SETARA 2012 or the Rating System for Higher Education Institutions in Malaysia. Established by the Ministry of Higher Education in 2009, SETARA is Malaysia's first rating system to measure the performance of undergraduate teaching and learning in universities and university colleges in Malaysia. The SETARA results were measured on three generic dimensions: Input (20%) comprising Governance (12%), Physical & Financial Resource (3%), Talent (5%); Process (40%) – Curriculum, and Output International Journal of Asian Social Science Special Issue: International Conference on Teaching and Learning in Education, 2013 journal homepage: http://www.aessweb.com/journal-detail.php?id=5007