Accreditation and Academic Quality

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Accreditation and Academic Quality

• King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
• Faculty Workshop
• Accreditation, Assessment and Quality
• January 5, 2004

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Greetings from the Ministry of Higher Education
and Scientific Research of the United Arab
Emirates

• His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan,
  Minister

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• And greetings from . . .
• The Commission for Academic Accreditation
• Michael Smith, Director
• Michael.Smith_at_zu.ac.ae
• www.caa.ae

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The CAA makes assessments and recommendations
based on

• Applying internationally recognized standards of
  quality
• To institutions for their licensure
• And to academic programs for their accreditation

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Topics

• Importance of Accreditation
• Its Role in Ensuring Quality
• Experience in the UAE
• The Interface of Accreditation and Program Quality

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What is accreditation?

• External review
• Assessment of higher education institutions
  and/or programs
• For quality assurance and continuous improvement

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What Is Clear?

• Strong higher education system is essential in a
  global, information-based economy
• Some form of national accreditation/licensure,
  based on international standards of quality, is
  necessary if countries are to achieve their
  higher education goals

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. . . because national systems

• Provide an external review
• Based on agreed upon standards
• With an agreed upon process
• That can encourage institutions to enhance their
  own internal quality assurances processes
• So that they meet national and international
  quality standards

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Why is external review so important?

• Expertise
• Broad experience
• International standards
• Fresh perspective

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And external reviews cause. . .

• Institutions to look at themselves
• Faculty to look at their programs
• Institutions, colleges, schools, and faculties to
  sharpen their own assessment methodologies

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What can the review do for an institution?

• Periodic
• (cause faculty and staff to re-examine what they
  do, how they do it, what they achieve)
• On-Going
• (cause the institution to develop its own
  continuous improvement processes)

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Experience in the UAE

• Rapid growth in private colleges and
  universities
• Goal for the country of meeting or exceeding
  international standards of quality

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Commission for Academic Accreditation

• Formed in 2000
• Developed the Standards for Licensure and
  Accreditation in 2001
• and . . .
• Substantially revised the Stabdards in 2003

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The CAA both

• Licenses Institutions
• Accredits individual degree programs

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Both processes are

• Closely interlinked
• . . . so that . . .
• All the programs of licensed institutions must be
  individually accredited

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Processes for Licensure and Accreditation
Institutional Licensure Official Candidacy
Initial Accreditation Accreditation Eligible
Full licensure Renewable 3 years
Full accreditation Renewable every 5 years
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Types of higher education programs

• Accredited and licensed in UAE
• Accredited in another country and franchised in
  UAE
• Unaccredited outside and inside of UAE and
  franchised in UAE
• Paper Mills

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The Ministrys response

• All programs offering instruction in the UAE must
  be licensed and accredited by the UAE

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The CAA accredits based on

• The institutions meeting quality standards for
  programs, faculty, academic support, and
  administration and
• Its having a well-developed system of
  institutional effectiveness to assess its own
  quality and contribute to continuous improvement

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The elements included in the review

• Institutional purpose and effectiveness
• Goals
• On-going quality assurance
• Institutional research
• Mission

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• Educational Program
• Admissions
• Completion
• Curriculum
• Internships
• Readiness

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• Instruction
• Advising
• Publications
• Distance learning
• Continuing education
• Student records
• Faculty

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• Selection of faculty
• Preparation
• Compensation
• Appointment
• Professional development
• Role
• Loads

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• Evaluation
• Grievance
• Agreements
• Contracts

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• Educational Support Services
• Library
• Library staff
• Instructional support
• IT
• Students development
• Career planning
• Financial aid
• Student activities
• Health services

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• Administrative Process
• Organization
• Titles and terms
• Governance
• Policies
• Alumni
• Financial resources
• Budget

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• Accounting
• Auditing
• Purchasing
• Refunds
• Physical resources
• Space management
• Master plan

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The CAAs reviews include

• Review of documentation submitted by the
  institution as part of its self-assessment
• Review by a visiting committee of experts from
  the international community who know the
  discipline and know accreditation and quality

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The external review

• Is conducted by experts in the discipline
• Takes place on-site
• Results in a detailed report and a series of
  recommendations
• Requires the institution to respond to each
  recommendation

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The Ministry only grants accreditation to
institutions that

• meet the requirements of the Standards for
  Licensure and Accreditation,
• respond satisfactorily to visiting committee
  recommendations, and
• have in place a system of quality control

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Results to date

• 24 institutions licensed and 10 more in process
• 150 programs accredited and 30 more in process
• Significant improvements at many
  institutionsincluding faculty credentials,
  faculty development, curricula, IT and library
  support, and program assessment

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What the UAE example shows

• The US model can be adapted to the requirements
  of countries in the Arab world
• Even smaller countries can establish strong
  quality standards and enforce them
• Rapid improvement in higher education
  institutions is possible
• External reviewers are willing to bring their
  expertise to assist

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The CAA accredits based on

• The institutions meeting quality standards for
  programs, faculty, academic support, and
  administration and
• Its having a well-developed system of
  institutional program effectiveness to assess its
  own quality and contribute to continuous
  improvement

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The institutions quality system must

• Be central to all operations
• Derive from its purpose, goals, and objectives
• Be broadly based
• Employ a variety of assessment methods
• Demonstrate how planning and evaluation are used
  for continuous improvement

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In assessing its academic programs, the
institution must

• Evaluate the quality of student learning,
  research, and service
• Ensure that planning and evaluation are
  systematic and interrelated
• Develop academic program goals consistent with
  institutional purpose
• Evaluate the extent to which academic goals are
  achieved
• Use the results of assessment to improve the
  program

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Measures for academic program quality must include

• Evaluation of instructional delivery
• Results of standardized tests
• Analysis of student papers, portfolios, and other
  student work
• Data on admissions tests, program completion
  rates, and job placement
• Results of student licensure exams

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And . . .

• Feedback from employers
• Performance of students who transfer to other
  institutions
• Performance of students who continue their
  education at a higher level
• Assessments by alumni

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Institution therefore must

• Develop the capacity to collect and analyze data
• Incorporate IR as an integral part of planning
  and evaluation
• Assign administrative responsibility for IR
  functions
• Allocate adequate resources to support this
  function

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Institutional research must

• Be timely and on-going
• Disseminate results of its analysis
• Design studies to meet institutional and program
  needs
• Develop databases that support longitudinal
  studies
• Include external environmental analysis

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Thus, the assessment of effectiveness includes

• Inputs
• Processes
• Outputs
• Outcomes

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Relying on

• Multiple internal assessments
• Multiple external assessments

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In order to assess the extent that

• The institution fulfills its purpose
• The program meets its goals and objectives
  consistent with the institutions purpose

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The review process offers faculty an opportunity
to

• Examine their own programs
• Consider their own assessment data
• See their own programs from an outside
  perspective
• Identify needs for the future
• Consider data on outcomes
• Make a case for improvements

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And accreditation should be seen as . . .

• Linked to quality improvement
• In an examination of a variety of data
• In the tradition of academic study

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In service to . . .

• Academic Excellence
• Continuous Improvement
• Better Outcomes

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I would be pleased to have discussion and
questions . . .

• Thank you,
• Michael Smith

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ForThe Commission for Academic Accreditation

• Thank you
• www.caa.ae
• Michael Smith, Director
• Michael.Smith_at_zu.ac.ae