OVERVIEW OF THE QUALITY ASSURANCE OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE UAE

1. OVERVIEW OF THE QUALITY ASSURANCE OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE UAE Prof. M. Badr Aboul-Ela Director Commission for Academic Accreditation Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research UAE Badr.Aboulela@mohesr.ae

2. Development of the United Arab Emirates 1971 - 2009 • Formed in 1971 with 7 emirates (Federal System) • Population in 1971 = 200,000 • Population in 2008 > 4.8 million

3. Main Features of UAE • Fast Developing country • Fast growth in : # Population (>7% annually) # Infrastructure # Use of Technology • Open & multinational country

4. 1960

8. Abu Dhabi - 2008

9. Emirates Palace Hotel – Abu Dhabi

10. Demand for Higher Ed H Ed seats availability/required in UAE _________________________________________________ YearTotal RequiredPublic InstPrivate Inst (Federal) (Non-ederal) 2000 60,000 28,000 22,000 2009 91,000 39,000 (43%) 52,000 2012 130,000 43,000 ???

11. Increased demand for Higher Ed • Expats represent a high proportion of total population ( 86%) • In most cases, Expats have little chance of getting into public inst. of H Ed • Public inst almost reached max capacity Growing demand for larger participation of private sector

12. UAE Students Abroad About 600 MOHE Scholarsips are provided yearly for students to study abroad Mainly in: USA, Australia, UK, Canada, Egypt, Jordan + ~ 300 scholarships from various federal & local authorities

13. UAE Institutions of HE (1) • Federal (Established by Federal decree): # UAEU, ZU, HCT # Military Colleges # Linked to Ministries (MOH)

14. UAE Institutions of HE (2) • Private : wide variation # State-supported e.g. UoS, AUS, Sorbone, Michigan, GMU VET Institutes # for profit # for non-profit

15. UAE Institutions of HE (3) • Free Zones Institutions: # Recognized by MOHE only if licensed by MOHE # Located mainly in: Dubai (Knowledge Village/Academic City/ Dubai Health Care City, Silicon Oasis), N= 24 Ras Al-Khaimah , N= 10 Sharjah , N= 1

16. Distribution of students in non-federal institutions of HE Abu Dhabi 19.1 % Dubai 33.3 % Sharjah 29.0 % Ajman 12.9 % Ras Al-Khaimah 1.8 % Fujairah 3.9 %

17. Distribution of students in non-federal institutions of HE Business / Management 37 % Engineering 14 % Computer Sci / IT 6 % Health Sci 8 %

18. Distribution of students in non-federal institutions of HE Associate (2-yr Diploma) 16 % Bachelor 77 % Masters 7 %

19. Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA) • Established in September 2000 • Independent from all other Ministry Departments • Reports directly to the Minister of Higher Education

20. Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA) • Goal: UAE institutions and their academic programs to meet or exceed international standards of quality in HE. • Function # Licenses institutions # Accredits individual degree programs # Licenses Academic Service Providers (student recruitment to study abroad) # Help institutions develop their internal QA system, through workshops & Seminars

21. Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA) Standards developed to cope with diverse education systems 2007 21

22. Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA) e- Learning Standards for Licensure and Accreditation 2007 22

23. STEPS FOR LICENSURE & ACCREDITATION Initial Accreditation Of Programs Institutional Initial Licensure Full Licensure Renewable Up to 5 Years Full Accreditation Renewable every 5 years

24. Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA) • Review for intuitional licensure: #Conducted entirelyby CAA staff # Following UAE Standards # No fees charged # Normally takes at least 2 mo to review an Initial Licensure Application

25. Standards for Licensure & Accreditation • Mission & Institutional Effectiveness • Organizational, Governance & Leadership • The Academic Program • Faculty & Professional Staff • Students • Library & other Information Resources • Physical & Technology Resources • Fiscal Resources • Public Disclosure & Integrity • Research

26. Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA) • Review for Program Accreditation: # Initial Accreditation: before program starts # Full Accreditation: after a program produces its first 1-2 cohorts of graduates # Re-Accreditation: Every 5 years

27. Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA) • Review for Program Accreditation: # by external Visiting Committees, almost entirely from outside UAE. # Cost of on-site visit covered by the institution offering the program.

28. No. of institutions closed since 2001 26 (mostly in 2001 & 2002) • No. of Licensed Institutions 58 • No. of Accredited Programs 368 • Final decision on Licensure of an institution or accreditation of programs is taken by the Minister on the Commission’s approval.

29. International Accreditation • Institutional Accreditation: Through Regional Associations in the USA) • Program Accreditation: Mainly done through US/European accreditation bodies (ABET, AACSB, NCATE, IEE, NAAB…etc)

30. Enhancement of Educational Quality Capacity building of H Ed is of high priority in both quality & quantity

31. Enhancement of Educational Quality Develop & support National Inst • Affiliation with • Foreign Univ • Franchised programs • Joint degree programs Branch Campuses of foreign Univ

32. Which Route (Strategy) to be adopted? Factors in decision making: # Country/Emirate’s own strategy, if available # Political , particularly in the absence of clear strategy # Economic / financial

33. Development of National Universities Of highest priority, as expressed by top officials in most countries : UAE, KSA, Oman, Egypt, Kuwait Ultimate Goal:National institutions to reach int’l quality& academic programs to get getting int’l accreditation of professional associations

34. Development of National Universities • Use experts from US, UK, and Australia to help review & develop: Curricula, Ed Support, Admin support • Western-educated faculty are always preferred.

35. UAE Policy: to support national institutions of higher education offering their own strong programs & encourage affiliation with top & internationally recognized institutions. Example: E-MBA of Zayed Univ, offered in collaboration with three to US Universities Example: The British Univ in Dubai offers strong programs in collaboration with five top UK institutions

36. Why Foreign Educational System? (US, UK, Canada, Australia, …etc) Main notion isQUALITY EDUCATION Adopting an already developed system ensures highest possible quality of graduates, better equipped & trained for jobs globally

37. Affiliation with Foreign Universities

38. Franchised Programs • Lack of quality in many cases damages the image of good western (US & UK) education system • In some cases, institutions claim to have been accredited by QA Agency, which in many cases do NOT pay close attention to academic programs. • In some cases the host institution is never visited by QA Agency.

39. Branch Campuses • WHEN DONE WRITE: # they provide fast upgrading of educational quality in the country # require large investment in human & physical resources • How are they affected by political, economic& social conditions?

40. Branch Campuses • Increasing number of Branch campuses in the Gulf region: # Oman: Caledonian University (UK) # Qatar : 5 US Universities # UAE : Increasing number at Knowelge Village (Free Zone) in Dubai # Egypt & Jordan : NYIT

41. Educational Free Zones • A number of institutions opting NOT to follow UAE standards of Federal government • Mostly Asian universities • Some are giving a bad example of H Ed

42. Factors Affecting Strategy & Selection of Foreign Institutions Motive behind establishing an institution • For Non-profit # Mostly State supported (politically/financially) # ALWAYS look for strong partner International reputation with all academic programs accredited

43. Motive behind establishing an institution • For Profit # Aim is mainly to attract more students # Presenting itself as “American” ,“British”, “Canadian”, … # In many cases, look for partner that is satisfied with low input, without caring for quality

44. Admission to UK Universities Increasing Number of cases accepted into Masters progrqams, though may not be qualified !!!

45. Thank YouM. Badr Aboul-ElaCommission for Academic AccreditationUnited Arab Emirateswww.caa.ae

47. SUGGESTED LIST OF REQUIREMENTS FOR “FAST TRACK” LICENSURE OF BRANCH CAMPUSES • Mission and objectives of the institution and mission and objectives for the UAE entity. • Security Clearance, including clearance from Abu Dhabi Executive Committee or other entity in another Emirate, as appropriate. • Local sponsor, if appropriate. • Copy of country to country agreement for education provision, if appropriate(ex. FTA).

48. SUGGESTED LIST OF REQUIREMENTS FOR “FAST TRACK” LICENSURE OF BRANCH CAMPUSES • Documented evidence of the license or accreditation status of the institution in home country, including accreditation agency approval to establish an off-campus branch/program. • Evidence that the parent campus approves the setting-up of a campus, branch or program in the UAE and that this approval process has gone through the normal institutional channels. • Date or proposed date of start-up. • Brief rationale for coming to the UAE and how the institution will contribute to the development of a knowledge-based society for the UAE and the region. • Letter from the institution that it gives authority to operate an entity in the UAE and will stand by the institution once set up to see all students admitted to completion.

49. SUGGESTED LIST OF REQUIREMENTS FOR “FAST TRACK” LICENSURE OF BRANCH CAMPUSES • A summary of academic processes and support services in the UAE: a brief on what the institution will look like in the UAE: administration and oversight of the institution, admissions/records, IT, library and academic support services, finance/administration services, counseling and career services, support from the home institution. • Location or proposed location with evidence of having appropriate facilities or evidence of an agreement with a local entity regarding adequate lease of space. • Current or proposed academic programs, including at what degree level. • Intended new academic programs and degree level for the next five years of operation. • An Institutional Effectiveness Plan, including an outcomes-based approach to assure educational quality, continuous improvement and student success. • Evidence of a financial guarantee or its equivalent.

50. Institutional policies, student handbook, faculty handbook, institutional policies that refer from the home institution that reflect the operations or proposed operations of the entity in the UAE. • If these documents would not apply to the UAE entity, provide appropriate documents covering these matters. • A copy of the last accreditation/quality assurance review of the home institution.