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HE KAU President Prof. Abdulrahman Al Youbi signed a number contracts of national program accreditation projects between KAU and the NCAAA represented by Dr. Salih Al Gahtani on Wednesday 27 April 2016 at the University Council Hall.
The signature ceremony was attended by KAU Vice-presidents and Deans of faculties.
KAU president indicated that in the past the acquisition of institutional accreditation reflects the university efforts and keenness about the quality of the educational process, research, management and community service sponsored and implemented through its various programs and initiatives.
He added that the university seeks through the signature of numerous projects to be qualified for the national program accreditation which is considered an improvement means for the educational process to be reflected in quality of education and learning outcomes.
From his part, the NCAAA Secretary General praised the role undertaken by the umiversity towards development and quality.
He also indicated that KAU is considered one of the leading universities and the signature of such contracts was initially exclusive for health programs which were given priority at that time since they contributed greatly and directly to community service.
From his part, KAU Vice-president for Development Prof Abdulfatah Mashat indicated that the contract signature involves 7 programs which KAU intend to rehabilitate for the national program accreditation.
These programs benefit seven faculties - as a first phase - which are medicine program at the faculty of medicine, dentistry and dental surgery program at the faculty of dentistry, nursing program at the faculty of nursing.
The contract involves four other programs for the faculty of medical sciences covering medical labs technologies, physiotherapy, clinical nutrition and diagnostic imaging among the national program accreditation within the university third 5-year strategic plan (Taziz).
The signing program was accompanied by a lecture on program accreditation for beyond high school programs based on NCAAA standards in Saudi Arabia.
The lecture was delivered by Dr. Saad Al Zahrani, NCAAA Deputy Secretary General in which he spoke about the performance level of the NCAAA by comparison with acceptable standards for worldwide quality practices which are specific to the development of students’ learning and management of educational institutions and to know the extent of its fulfillment of the Commission’ objectives and priorities in light of conditions under which the commission operates and the communities it serves.
He also referred to the new systems directives in the field of quality assurance consisting of the focus on the outcomes rather than on the incomes.
The focus is also on the learning rather than the education and on the students rather than teachers. He also sheds some light on how to employ potentials rather than just owning them.
He also mentioned the quality assurance and the academic accreditation steps that revolve around building an internal quality system and the assurance of the assessment program as well as the self-study preparation, its appendices and guides according to the commission’s criteria for program qualification, external assessment of the program before the adoption of the decision.
He added that the objectivity and transparency assurance at the level of the educational institutions’ units and academic programs are among the quality processes. Also part of the quality processes are the insurance of sustainable quality improvement and provision of accurate and clear data on students and faculty members and employers and other academic programs’ objectives and plans concerned sectors.
It is also very important to make sure that these academic programs provide necessary conditions for the effective fulfillment of its objectives.
On the same token, the university held a workshop within the academic accreditation qualification program under the organization of the Academic Accreditation Management at King Faysal Conference Center for which five sectors have been selected to participate in the current session namely: the Community College, the Faculty of Arts and Designs, the Faculty of Economics and Management, the Arabic Language Institute and the Faculty of Home Economics.
The workshop aims at training participants on preparing, describing and reporting programs and courses as well as on performance indicators and learning outcomes according to NCAAA standards.
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