New Licensure and Accreditation Standards for UAE Higher Education Institutions as of September 2019

Dubai, 01 April 2019: The Ministry of Education has unveiled a new set of standards to be used for licensing higher education institutions in the UAE and accrediting their academic programmes, scheduled to go into effect as of September 2019.

The launch forms part of the UAEs National Strategy for Higher Education and serves to achieve the countrys ambitions for enhancing the quality and global reputation of its local higher education sector.

The new accreditation standards cover 11 academic and administrative aspects of higher education institutions, namely: governance and administration; quality assurance; scientific and research activities; students; faculty; educational facilities; health, safety, and environment; legal compliance and public disclosure; educational resources; financial capacity and sustainability; and community service and integrity.

The new standards have been developed to cover the licensing and accreditation of all types of higher education institutions, including government universities (federal and local), private universities, specialised universities (eg police and army), branches of international universities, and free zone universities.

His Excellency Dr Ahmad bin Abdullah Humaid Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Higher Education and Advanced Skills, said: This new set of standards we are launching follows the directives of our wise leadership to develop the higher education system, upgrade our academic institutions, and promote scientific courses as a means to meet the requirements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, all while achieving the UAEs strategic objectives and empowering a generation of qualified professionals to come up with solutions to local challenges in all sectors.

Seamless Licensing and Accreditation Procedures

The new accreditation standards allow the Ministry of Education to facilitate the licensure and accreditation procedures applied to higher education institutions without compromising the quality of education. Higher education institutions are now required to, electronically, submit a brief self-assessment report outlining their strategy, quality assurance principles, syllabi, faculty members, educational resources, facilities, and laboratories. The Ministry is currently working on launching an electronic platform in order to remain up to date on technological developments, and promote a paperless approach to licensing higher education institutions and accrediting their programmes.

Quality-Based Evaluation

The new standards are rooted in a quality-based evaluation, which considers the national and international ranking of an institution, its reputation, academic history, international accreditations it has secured for its programmes, and its compliance with the Ministry of Educations standards, decisions, and requirements. Institutions are then classified along several levels.

Comprehensive Standards with Specific Indicators

The new standards also include improvements to address the gaps in existing standards: They outline a clearer procedure for establishing new institutions; identify the measures needed for closing institutions and suspending programmes; clarify violations and corresponding penalties; and set standards for e-learning, recognising prior education, and for educational hospitals and training centres; in addition to determining the financial obligations of higher education institutions.