Accreditation
What is Accreditation?
Accreditation is the recognition that an institution maintains standards requisite for its graduates to gain admission to other reputable institutions of higher learning or to achieve credentials for professional practice. The goal of accreditation is to ensure that education provided by institutions of higher education meets acceptable levels of quality. The accreditation process is a means of peer review and professional self-regulation. It is intended to strengthen and sustain the quality and integrity of the university, confirming that it is worthy of public confidence. While this process is mandated, the self-study itself is largely an internal process that presents us with an invaluable opportunity to analyze how we are conducting our affairs and where to improve, where necessary, the ways that we do things.
Why Accreditation?
Education plays a vital role in the development of any nation. Therefore, there is a premium on both quantity (increased access) and quality (relevance and excellence of academic programs offered) of higher education.
As in any other domain, the method to improve quality remains the same. Finding and recognizing new needs and satisfying them with products and services of international standards.
Benefits of Accreditation
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Helps the institution to know its strengths, weaknesses and opportunities through an informed review process.
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Identifies internal areas of planning and resource allocation. Enhances collegiality on the campus.
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Provides, via the outcome, funding agencies objective data for performance funding. Initiates institutions into innovative and modern methods of pedagogy.
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Gives institutions a new sense of direction and identity.
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Provides society with reliable information on quality of education offered.
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Shares with employers access to information on the quality of education offered to potential recruits.
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Promotes intra- and inter-institutional interactions.
Are there different types of accreditation?
There are two basic types of educational accreditation, one identified as 'institutional' and one referred to as 'specialized' or 'programmatic.' Institutional accreditation normally applies to an entire institution, indicating that each of an institution's parts is contributing to the achievement of the institution's objectives, although not necessarily all at the same level of quality.
Specialized accreditation normally applies to the evaluation of programs, departments, or college which usually are parts of a total collegiate or other post-secondary institution. The unit accredited may be as large as a college within a university or as small as a curriculum within a discipline. Most of the specialized accrediting agencies review units within a post-secondary institution which is accredited by one of the regional accrediting commissions. However, certain of the specialized accrediting agencies accredit professional schools and other specialized or vocational or other post-secondary institutions which are free-standing in their operations. Thus, a "specialized" or "programmatic" accrediting agency may also function in the capacity of an "institutional" accrediting agency. In addition, a number of specialized accrediting agencies accredit educational programs within non-educational settings, such as hospitals.
What are accrediting agencies?
Accrediting agencies are organizations (or bodies) that establish operating standards for educational or professional institutions and programs, determine the extent to which the standards are met, and publicly announce their findings.
Accreditation Goal
Academic Affairs has a major goal to pursue accreditation for all the degree programs for which there are accrediting agencies. This is in pursuit of the University goal to maintain the quality of all educational programs and the University's philosophy of "Quality Management."
International Accreditation Association or Agency | Academic Program | Date of Achieving Accreditaion | Accreditation Type | Accrediting Agency Published Standards |
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College of Business and Economics | ||||
AACSB ' The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business'www.aacsb.edu |
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Fall 2009 Reaccreditation: December 2014 |
College Level | AACSB - Standards Revised Jan 08 |
College of Arts and Sciences (Baccalaureate and Master Programs) | ||||
CHES ' Accreditation of BSc and MSc Environmental Sciences programs by both the Committee of Heads of Environmental Sciences(CHES) and the Institute of Environmental Sciences (IES) UK.www.ches.org.uk | Environmental Sciences Program (BSc. and MSc.) | June 2012 Fully Accredited |
Program Level | CHES Accreditation Guidance |
ACEJMC ' Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication'www2.ku.edu/~acejmc/ | Mass Communication Program | Spring 2013 | Program Level | |
NAACLS ' National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences' www.naacls.org | Biomedical Sciences Program | September 2008 Fully Accredited Spring 2013 Reaccredited |
Program Level | |
RSS ' Royal Statistical Society' www.rss.org.uk | Statistics Program | Spring 2011 AccreditedProgram Level |
Program Level | |
CSC ' Canadian Society for Chemistry' www.cheminst.ca | Chemistry Program | Spring 2009 Accredited Spring 2015 Reaccredited |
Program Level | |
ACEND - Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (granted Candidacy for accreditation under ACEND's 2012 Foreign Dietitian Education (FDE) standards) | Human Nutrition, BS | Summer 2014 | Program Level | |
College of Education | ||||
IRTE ' International Recognition in Teacher Education' |
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Fall 2010 | College Level | |
Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) http://acei.org/ |
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2014 | Program Level | |
Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) | Diploma in Special Education | 2014 | Program Level | |
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) http://www.naeyc.org/ | Diploma in Early Childhood Education | 2014 | Program Level | |
College of Pharmacy | ||||
CCAPP ' Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Program' www.ccapp-accredit.ca | Pharmacy, BSc PharmD Program |
Spring 2012 Spring 2014 |
Program Level |
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Accreditation Standards for Continuing Pharmacy Education (ACPE) | ||||
Foundation Program | ||||
CEA 'The Commission on English Language Program Accreditation'www.cea-accredit.org | English | April 2010 | Program Level | |
College of Engineering | ||||
Accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org |
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Undergraduate Program Level | ||
Accredited by The Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org | Computer Science | Undergraduate Program Level | ||
College of Law | ||||
British Accreditation Council for Independent Further and Higher Education | Institutional accreditation from the BAC, accrediting Qatar University College of Law "as an Independent Higher Education Institution" | four years (maximum duration of accreditation), valid until 31 July 2020 |
Institutional accreditation | Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education |
High Council for the Evaluation of Research and Higher Education in France | Accreditation for the Bachelor of Law program from the HCERES | five years (maximum duration of accreditation), valid until the end of the academic year 2020- 2021 | Programmatic accreditation | Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education |