JEDDAH, 8 February 2005 — Promoting leadership and quality has assumed top priority for the administrators and faculty members at King Abdul Aziz University here. “Assurance of quality is being accomplished through implementation of assessment and accreditation,” Dr. Mohammed Ismail Abdulsalam, director of KAAU’s recently established Academic Assessment Unit (AAU) told Arab News.
AAU has been encouraging all of the university’s components to make a new and voluntary self-assessment of performance. “This assessment will play a vital role in establishing updated academic standards, as they evolve,” he said. Dr. Abdulsalam, also president of the Western Province chapter of Saudi Chemical Society, has won several national and international awards and honors, and received grants for conducting research studies on various subjects. He gave a presentation at the National Commission for Academic Accreditation & Assessment’s seminar in Riyadh recently.
In fact, AAU has been assisting various departments in developing appropriate assessment measures based on international standards. “In the present condition, we find ourselves confronted with a highly demanding globally competitive society. We’re indeed in need of creating and maintaining better institutions of higher learning for our youth and future society. This has been accomplished by other universities that endeavored to commit to continual upgrading and revamping of traditional methods that applied to the international standards,” he said.
AAU is currently involved in acquiring international accreditation and forming interlink with Pennsylvania State University for the proposed cooperative MBA program.
AAU was established in September 2003, following a recommendation made by the Dean’s Committee. It is academically and administratively responsible to the president of the university and supported by the vice president of development. Its mission is to standardize the university’s educational structure through a process based on defined criteria, self-study and qualified peer review, and upgrading the university’s educational standards through the process of assessment and accreditation. “The overall purpose is to enhance educational excellence in higher education,” Dr. Abdulsalam said.
Since its inception, the AAU has been actively involved in forming the mechanism that will guarantee excellence and quality assurance by means of constant appraisal for all of the university’s programs, preparing a set plan for self-assessment for all university colleges and relevant sectors including the university hospital, supporting and following up the implementation of the assessment plan, and extend the bridges of cooperation with outstanding international universities and accrediting agencies.
As part of the university’s self-assessment plan, a course portfolio for each course taught at the university has been made mandatory. AAU offers general guidelines to prepare course portfolios based on international standards.
“Train the trainers” is another program of AAU in helping the accomplishment of course portfolios.
Besides, AAU has been organizing and conducting workshops on the required standards of assessment, conducting external peer assessment to be performed by leading accreditation agencies, and ensuring and maintaining quality of all programs by means of institutional accreditation for the entire university in addition to accreditation by professional agencies, said Dr. Abdulsalam.
