Evaluating Quality Assurance and Academic Accreditation in SQU, Oman: Implementations, Progress and Achievements

Abstract

Over the past three decades, higher education institutions (HEIs) over the globe have undergone extensive changes and reforms related to improving the quality of their education. Gulf Countries with no exception have shown an upward trend in implementing and adopting more stringent quality assurance measures and international accreditation standards and call for their higher education institutions to acquire programs as well as institutional accreditation from national and international accreditation agencies. Our present study aims at evaluating the experience of HEIs in one of the GCC countries namely, the Sultanate of Oman, in the process of quality assurance and academic accreditation with special reference to the experience of Sultan Qaboos University (SQU). SQU was established in 1986 as a fully state-owned university with five colleges. It offered only undergraduate programs with an annual intake of 557 students. It now has nine colleges, four deanships, six support centers, three libraries, nine research centers, the SQU Hospital (SQUH), and offers 61 undergraduates, 59 Master‟s, and 30 Ph.D. program. The total number of degrees awarded since the inception of the University is 37032 Bachelors, 1826 MDs, and 4241 Diplomas. The number of postgraduates has increased steadily over the years. 453 Masters Degrees and 34 Doctorates had been awarded by 2017 To have a uniform quality management system for its public and private institutions the Oman Accreditation Council (OAC) was established in 2001 through Royal Decree No. 74/2001.In 2010, a Royal Decree was issued establishing the Oman Academic Accreditation Authority (OAAA) and replacing the former Oman Accreditation Council (OAC). The OAAA was established to continue the efforts initiated by the OAC in the dissemination of quality culture and accreditation of institutions and their programs. Quality assurance at SQU is built within the University„s missions, policies, practices, and strategic plans that all aim at a continuous improvement process. Therefore, SQU is paying great attention to quality assurance and to institutional and program accreditation. The university has created a quality assurance office in 2010 and recently established a unit for quality assurance and academic accreditation in each college. This important concern led some colleges to get international institutional and program accreditation. In 2009, SQU got institutional accreditation by Oman Academic Accreditation Authority (OAAA) after submitting the “Institutional Standards Assessment Application” to get institutional accreditation from QAAA and fulfilling all the requirements of accreditation. In this paper, we will discuss and analyze the achievements as well as the key challenges facing the implementations of quality assurance and accreditation procedures in both accredited and non-accredited colleges.

Keywords: Quality Assurance, Accreditation, Accreditation Agencies, SQU, Oman