Validating the HEQAM model in a post-conflict higher education system: Evidence from Somalia

This study assesses the measurement and structural validity of the Higher Education Quality Assessment Model (HEQAM) in Somalia’s post-conflict context, examining eight quality dimensions: curriculum structure, academic staff quality, career prospects, infrastructure, administrative services, library services, e-services, and institutional location. Using a quantitative cross-sectional survey of 1,803 undergraduate students from five universities in the Benadir region, partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) evaluated the measurement model and structural paths, with career prospects as the focal outcome. The measurement model demonstrated adequate reliability and construct validity. In the structural model, infrastructure (β=0.346), academic staff quality (β=0.330), and curriculum structure (β=0.306) were the strongest positive predictors of career prospects, explaining 48.6% of its variance (R^2=0.486). Library services (β=-0.057) and institutional location (β = -0.064) showed small, statistically significant negative associations with career prospects, reflecting potential mismatches with student employability expectations. Additionally, curriculum structure and staff quality positively predicted e-services (β=0.121; β=0.288), but e-services did not predict career prospects, yielding no support for mediation. Overall, findings validate HEQAM in a fragile-state setting, highlighting curriculum relevance, staff quality, and infrastructure as priority levers to enhance student-perceived employability in Somalia.