The Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA) of the Ministry of Education (MoE) has held the second workshop under the fifth edition of the “Certified Reviewer” Project that targets academics in the higher education institutions and has lasted for three days in the University of Sharjah.
The project aims to build and develop the skills of academics in the higher education institutions in the UAE in the areas of quality assurance and accreditation. This harmonizes with the strategic priorities, modern trends, and future vision of the country, in line with the best international practices.
The CAA has formed a committee of senior commissioners to prepare this project, targeting the participation of the accredited universities in the country in the training workshops. A specialized team that has long experience and high efficiency in this field will be delivering the workshops. The help of members of external reviewing teams will also be sought during their presence in the country to review the universities.
Those participating in the courses will receive a “Certified Reviewer” certificate to be able to license higher education institutions and accredit their academic programs after the end of the training workshops series and passing the relevant assessments successfully. The reviewers will then be employed in the future in the area of academic accreditation and quality assurance, each in his or her area of specialization.
Dr. Mohamed Yousif Baniyas, Higher Education Advisor & Director of CAA, said that the initiative was part of MoE’s projects that harmonized with the modern trends adopted by the country, as part of the UAE’s future visions.
He explained that the new standards for licensing launched by the CAA adopted the best global standards and accommodated the academic variations of higher education in the country. He added that the aim was to enhance the quality of higher education, build national skills in the areas of licensing and accreditation, and develop the higher education system, so that it would be at the forefront of the global educational systems.
For his part, Dr. Emad Abuelrub, Academic Manager at the CAA, said that the fifth edition included a series of workshops and lectures that witnessed the participation of global experts in the area of quality and academic accreditation of the academic staff from the various universities of the country. He added that the aim was to qualify them to be reviewers of the academic institutions and programs in the area of academic licensing and accreditation, learn about the activities and procedures followed by the external review team, analyze the self-evaluation report, and prepare and implement the field visits program and the methodology for evaluating the various axes of the licensing and accreditation standards.
Dr. Esam El-Din Agamy, University of Sharjah’s Vice Chancellor for Institutional Effectiveness and Accreditation, applauded the MoE for launching this unique project and stressed that the University supported such initiatives and harnessed all the required capabilities for their success.