Academic Accreditation Roadmap
College Of Arts & Social Sciences
Spring 2014
1
2
His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said
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4
Contents
1. Introduction
8
2. Preparation Stages of Academic Accreditation Roadmap
10
3. Overall Vision of the College of Arts and Social Sciences
11
4. Accreditation Implementation Mechanism in the college 12
5. Accreditation Agency
14
6. Timeframe
16
7. Requirements to Implement the Academic Accreditation Plan
17
5
List of Diagrames and Tables
1.Diagram1: Preparation Stages of Academic Accreditation Roadmap
10
2.Diagram 2: Proposed Organizational Structure for the Accreditation
Team in the College
13
3. Table 1: International and National Institutions that can carry out
the Specialized Program Accreditation in the College
15
4. Table 2: Proposed Timeframe for Implementing Institutional and
Academic Accreditation for the College of Arts
16
5. Table 3: Human Resources Needed to Implement the Plan 17
6. Table 4: Financial Resources Needed to Implement the Plan
18
7. Table 5: Logistical Resources Needed to Implement the Plan
19
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1. Introduction
The success of Universities in the developed world is attributed to total
quality assurance, continuous evaluation and application of accreditation
criteria.
University education in the fields of humanities and social sciences in
the Arab world has witnessed a rapid expansion during the last three
decades; however, this expansion was only to accommodate growing
numbers of students wishing to pursue their higher education in these
fields and was not really matched with an expansion and improvement
of quality. This type of education, and for several reasons, remained
traditional whether in terms of its philosophies, aims and organizational
structures or in terms of its contents, programs, and methods.
Due to the traditional methods of teaching adopted by the colleges
of arts and social sciences, these colleges are commonly criticized of
being ineffective and inefficient as they could not respond to the social,
economic, cultural, and political needs of our rapidly changing societies.
Critics also think that these colleges could not keep up with and utilize
the scientific, informational, and technological revolutions that other
academic fields such as medicine and engineering have benefited from.
The College of Arts and Social Sciences at SQU offers many specializations
in languages and literature (Arabic and English), humanities (History,
Geography, Information studies, and Archaeology), social sciences
(Sociology and Social Work, Tourism, and Mass Communication),
performance arts (Theatre, Music and Musicology). The college consists
of 11 departments offering 11 bachelor programs, 9 master programs,
and 3 PhD programs. This puts the College in the second position in terms
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of the number of departments following College of Medicine which has
18 departments. The College of Arts and Social Sciences has 181 faculty
members in the 11 departments, and this accounts for around %19.2 of
the university’s total faculty members. Again this puts the College in the
second position after College of Science with 195 faculty members.
The College of Arts and Social Sciences has the highest percentage
of students registered in the university in the academic year -2010
2011, about %15.2. The number of registered students has increased
dramatically in the past ten years. The growth percentage between 2000
and 2010 was %167. Also, the number of accepted students increased
dramatically to reach %74 during the same period.
In light of this growth, the College of Arts and Social Sciences at Sultan
Qaboos University seeks to engage seriously and effectively in the
coming years in the application of total quality assurance criteria and
in the institutional evaluation of its academic programs in accordance
with the vision of the University. This will be done through building and
establishing an integrated system of academic accreditation to improve
academic performance and the quality of college graduates to meet the
needs of the Omani society, maintain the Omani identity, and respond to
the changing needs of the job market. The College also seeks, through
the implementation of this program, to strengthen and consolidate its
image in the society and the job market.
This report, aims to present a detailed plan about the steps the College is
going to take to attain academic accreditation of its programs. The report
also includes a timeframe, a proposed implementation mechanism,
and an estimated inventory of human, financial and logistical resources
necessary to begin the implementation of the program.
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2. Preparation Stages of Academic Accreditation Roadmap
The preparation of the academic accreditation roadmap was based
on the strategic vision of both the College and the University. It also
took into consideration consultations with accreditation experts such
as the Office of Quality Control at SQU and colleges of Engineering and
Education. It also consulted regional institutions such as College of Arts
at Kind Saud University (KSA), College of Arts at University of Qatar,
and College of Arts at University of Sharjah. Moreover, the College has
already made some initial contacts with international accreditation
institutions. A participatory approach with the specialized departments
has been adopted to get this roadmap into a commonly shared vision to
ensure its success. Diagram 1 shows the preparation stages of academic
accreditation roadmap for the College of Arts and Social Sciences.
Reviewing the details
of the accreditation
process of the college
of Art at King Saud,
Qatar University and
Sharjah University
Reviewing the details
of the accreditation
process of the college
of Engineering
QAO consultation
about the process of
academic acrreditation
Formation of road
map accreditation
commitee
Presentation road
map accredition road
map to the college
board
13th Mar 2013
Consulting of the
departments about
the road map
accreditation
16 - 30th Mar 2013
Contacting International accreditation
body
Reviewing the details
of the accreditation
process at the college
of Education and
cntat with experts
First Assessment of
the Accreditation
road map by QAO
8th Apr 2013
Consultation with
OAAA
1st May 2013
Tawasol
Academic Accredition
in College of Arts,
King Saud University
4st May 2013
Meeting of Assistand
dean of Qaulity and
Development, at KSU
with Hod’s and
students
5-6st May 2013
30th Oct 2013
Diagram 1: Preparation Stages of Academic Accreditation Roadmap
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3. Overall Vision of the College of Arts and Social Sciences
The College of Arts and Social Sciences differs from other colleges at
SQU due to its educational mission which is to offer academic programs
in languages, literature, theater, mass communication, and applied
humanities. The diversity of these programs presents a special situation
as far as the application of TQM criteria and academic accreditation
are concerned. This diversity requires a special evaluation of the
performance of the College as an institutional unit within SQU in light of
its management of such academic diversity. As it is known, there are two
types of academic accreditation:
• Institutional Accreditation: also known as «comprehensive accreditation».
This requires a comprehensive evaluation of the performance,
management, academic achievement of students, student services and
others within the College.
•Specialized Accreditation: This type of accreditation is for specific
academic programs such as engineering and it is done by specialized or
professional accreditation agencies.
The College of Arts and Social Sciences aspires to achieve both of these
accreditations. It aims for institutional accreditation, to measure the
quality of managing different specializations and languages and the
quality of the learning environment provided to encourage creativity and
innovation. The College aims also to carry out the specialized accreditation
type which is directed to assess the quality of specific academic programs
in the College.
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4. Accreditation Implementation Mechanism in the college
The College suggests the organizational structure shown in diagram 2 to
supervise the accreditation implementation plan in the College. In light
of the components of the organizational structure, the College proposes
the provision of a vacancy for an Executive Supervisor of Accreditation
at the College level. This office is expected to carry out the following
responsibilities:
•Supervise institutional accreditation at the College.
•Liaise with accreditation agencies.
•Follow up the updates of the standard criteria with accreditation agencies.
•Coordinate with the accreditation officers in the departments and the
accreditation agency.
•Follow up with the accreditation officers in the departments the
implementation of the plan within the timeframe.
•Provide procedural, technical, financial, and logistical resources needed
for the accreditation process.
•Submit periodical reports to the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate
Studies and the Dean.
Moreover, the College suggests to have: (1) an Executive Supervisor, who
can be selected from among the faculty of the College. In this case their
teaching load would be reduced, and (2), an international expert who
will be hired specifically to assist implement the accreditation roadmap.
In addition, the College plans to provide this position with an officer and
a coordinator. The College proposes that an accreditation officer be
chosen in each department, in which case the teaching load of whoever
is selected for this is also going to be reduced.
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Diagram 2: Proposed Organizational Structure for the Accreditation
Team in the College
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5. Accreditation Agency
Due to the diverse nature of the academic programs in the College, the
College is planning to contact European and American Accreditation
Agencies as well as the Oman Academic Accreditation Agency as follows:
• Institutional Accreditation: The College proposes – Agency for Quality
Assurance through Accreditation of Study Programmes – (AQAS) to
do the institutional accreditation. It should be noted that AQAS is an
independent non-profit organization, supported by more than 80
member institutions, both higher education institutions (HEIs) and
academic associations. AQAS was founded in 2002 and has accredited
more than 3,500 degree programs at universities and universities
of applied sciences so far, including numerous programs outside of
Germany. The activities of AQAS in accreditation are not restrained to
specific academic disciplines or degrees. AQAS carries out accreditation
procedures for study programs in all academic disciplines [http://www.
aqas.de/information-in-english/information-on-aqas/]
Additionally
AQAS is a member of European Quality Assurance Register for Higher
Education (EQAR). (EQAR) is a register of Quality Assurance agencies in
Higher Education, who have demonstrated their substantial compliance
with a common set of principles for quality assurance in Europe. [https://
www.eqar.eu/news.html].
• Specialized Accreditation: Table 1 shows the international and national
institutions that could be contacted for specialized accreditation.
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s
Department
Proposed Accreditation Institution
Country
1
English
- Literature Program : Academic Program Review
Office (APRO), Sultan Qaboos University
Oman
Mass
- Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and
2 Communication
Mass Communications (ACEJMC)
USA
3
Sociology &
Social Works
- Accreditation Agency in Health and Social Sciences(AHPGS)
Germany
4
Music and
Musicology
- Agency for Quality Assurance through Accreditation
of Study Programmes – (AQAS)
Germany
5
Geography
- Agency for Quality Assurance through Accreditation
of Study Programmes – (AQAS)
Germany
6
Information
Studies
- Chartered Institute of Library and Information
Professionals (CILIP)
UK
- Agency for Quality Assurance through Accreditation
of Study Programmes – (AQAS)
Germany
7
Tourism
8
Archaeology*
9
Tourism
- Quality Assurance for Tourism Education, Training World
Organization,
and Research Programmes, UNWTO.TedQual
UN
- French Organization Evaluation Agency for
Research and Higher Education (AERES)
France
Arabic
- Oman Academic Accreditation Authority (OAAA)
Oman
10
History
- Oman Academic Accreditation Authority (OAAA)
Oman
11
Theatre**
- Self-Study
External
Examiner
*Accreditation of Master Program as there is no Bachelor
**Doing a self-study as the department give supporting courses.
Table 1: International and National Institutions that can carry out the
Specialized Program Accreditation in the College
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6. Timeframe
The proposed plan for academic accreditation for the College of Arts and
Social Sciences will take 4 years beginning in 2014 to 2017 as shown in table
1
College
First Self
Study
Second
Self Study
Institutional
Accreditation
2
Mass Communication
3
Information Studies
4
Tourism
5
English
6
Geography
7
Music and Musicology
8
Sociology and Social Work
9
Arabic
10
History
11
Archaeology (1)
12
Theater (2)
2017
External
Examiner
2016
Preparing for Accreditation
2015
Second Self Study
2014
First Self Study
Institutional/Specialized
Accreditation
Preparing for Accreditation (Spreading
Accreditation Culture, Contacting Accreditation
Institutions, Forming Accreditation Committees
and Training them)
s
(1) Specialized Accreditation in Master Program
(2) It offers supporting courses so a first-study and second self-study will be
conducted and then evaluated by a foreign evaluator.
Table 2: Proposed Timeframe for Implementing Institutional and Academic
Accreditation for the College of Arts
16
7. Requirements to Implement the Academic Accreditation Plan
The Academic Accreditation Roadmap needs human, financial, and
logistical resources in its first phases as shown in tables (5-4-3):
s
Human Resources
Specifications
No
Requirements/
Qualifications
1
*
1
Executive Supervisor of
Choose from College
Academic Accreditation
Faculty and Reduce
of the College
Teaching Load to 3 hours
2
Visiting professors to
Choose from College
compensate the time
Accreditation Officer in
Faculty and Reduce
11 spared for accreditation
Each department
Teaching Load to 6 hours
by accreditation officers
in departments
3
Staff to Supervise the
Administrative and
Technical Issues and
Manage Accreditation
Documentation
Full Time Appointment
Coordinator of Quality
4
and Accreditation
Full Time Appointment
Committee of the College
1
Competent user of
English and Computer
skills specially statistical
programs
1
Competent user of
English and Computer
skills
Table 3: Human Resources Needed to Implement the Plan
17
S
Requirements
Aim/Justification
1
Attend workshops and training
programs in the area of Academic
Accreditation and Quality Control
Disseminate the culture of Quality
in the College and prepare for the
accreditation
2
Hire Experts in the area of
Accreditation and quality assurance
Having excellent experience in
academic accreditation and quality
assurance
3
Host delegations of Accrediting
Institutions
Prepare for Accreditation and follow
up the process
4
Travel of supervisors of accreditation
programs in the college and
departments to look at others’
experiences
Spread the culture of quality
in the College and prepare for
the accreditation and follow its
implementation
5
Accreditation Fees
Execute the Institutional and
Specialized Accreditation Program
Table 4: Financial Resources Needed to Implement the Plan
S
Requirements
Descriptions
Numbers
Justifications
1
Offices
*
4
Designate a unit for Quality
and Academic Accreditation
in the College
Store and Kardex
2 Lektriever Automated Archiving System
Filing Systems
1
Designate an integrated
archiving system in the
College
3
5
For Quality and
Accreditation Unit in the
college
18
Computer
High-Performance
Big size
3
Broadcast College
advertisements and spread
quality culture in the
College
Server
High-Performance
1
Upload Accreditation files
6
Color Printer Laser
(A3)
High-Performance
1
For Quality and
Accreditation Unit in the
college
7
B&W Printer Laser
(A4)
High-Performance
2
For Quality and
Accreditation Unit in the
college
8
Camera
High-Performance
1
For Quality and
Accreditation Unit in the
college
*
Disseminate accreditation
data and information
and make them available
digitally to all stakeholders
*
For Quality and
Accreditation Unit in the
college
*
For Quality and
Accreditation Unit in the
college and accreditation
committees in the
departments
4
Flat TV screen
5
Storage space on
9 college and university
pages
*
storage space in
10 High
the university email 250MB
11
Stationary
*
Table 5: Logistical Resources Needed to Implement the Plan
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