Effective alignment of disciplinary and institutional accreditation and assessment: A UAE computing case study

Abstract

Within higher education, quality assurance is often realized through accreditation and the accompanying focus on the assessment of learning outcomes. Both of these processes require institutional resources which, if not well managed, can lead to duplicity, overlap, and burden rather than being aligned, sustainable, and effective as they should. This chapter outlines the quality assurance structures and processes established at Zayed University for the purposes of accreditation and assessment of learning outcomes. These mechanisms have provided an effective system that has enabled the institution to achieve Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) accreditation and Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accreditation for the College of Technological Innovation. With an ethos towards continuous improvement, it further proposes an improved model designed to accommodate assessment and accreditation needs simultaneously. The two main aspects of the model are (1) the establishment of an Office of Institutional and Educational Effectiveness to institute, organize, and coordinate all activities within the university that provides support for best practices for administration and teaching and learning and (2) the creation of a regularly updated database containing all of the relevant information that is required for various accreditation bodies.