Quality Assurance in the United Arab Emirates

HEADLINES

Higher Education in the United Arab Emirates (Wow News, November 1, 2019) “A key component of the UAE’s strategy for development of a top-tier educational system is the establishment of a robust system for quality assurance. The UAE prides itself on rigorous internationally-derived academic quality standards: accrediting bodies, the Ministry of Education, and emirate-level bodies are diligent in maintaining standards through institutional licensure, program accreditation, reviews and inspections."

Mixed Response to Merger of Private and Public Universities (University World News, October 31, 2019) “In a move aimed at improving quality, Libya's private universities are set to lose their autonomy and will be brought under the ambit of public universities. While the decision has been welcomed by the Center for Quality Assurance and Accreditation as a means to crack down on unaccredited institutions, on the ground, opinion is strongly divided.”

CHED Continues to Review, Change Policies in Higher Education (Manila Bulletin, October 31, 2019) “Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairman J. Prospero De Vera III directed the review and revision of some of the policies of the commission in order to keep pace with the recent changes and trends in higher education landscape.”

Poorly Performing Hong Kong Colleges Face Threat of Deregistration (South China Morning Post, October 28, 2019) “Strengthening the regulatory framework and setting clearer criteria to deregister poorly performing self-financing postsecondary colleges in Hong Kong will be among the priorities of the advisory committee that oversees the sector, its chairman said.”

First Lady Warns Mbarara University Dons Against Strikes (PML Daily, October 27, 2019) “The Minister of Education, Ms. Janet Museveni, said that the rising number of education institutions calls for strict adherence to quality in order to realize the importance of their existence. ‘Higher education is a critical aspect in transformation of knowledge into goods and services, essential in welfare and humanity but the rising numbers now demand councils and management of these institutions to strengthen quality assurance systems to make our institutions globally and international competitive,’ Ms. Museveni said. [She] warned staff at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) against sabotaging the institution’s progress through strikes.”

In Defence of Universities as Truth-Seeking Institutions (University World News, October 26, 2019) “It is vital that we use strong international collaboration to secure and strengthen core academic values such as academic freedom, institutional autonomy, social responsibility, equitable access and accountability.”

Governor Chairs 80th Kashmir University Council Meeting (State, October 25, 2019) “Governor Satya Pal Malik, Chancellor of the University of Kashmir, on Thursday chaired 80th meeting of the University Council. At the outset, the Council congratulated Prof. Talat Ahmad, Vice-Chancellor, faculty and students for improving the University ranking from Grade A to A+ in NAAC Accreditation.”

German Universities “Urgently Need Infrastructure Investment” (DW, October 20, 2019) “German universities are trying to make it on the world stage as part of a federal-funded ‘excellence initiative.’ But a lack of investment in infrastructure may undermine their desire for elite status.”