Higher education accreditation

Council for Higher Education Accreditation. (2014). The CHEA award and learning outcomes. http //www.chea.org/chea%20award/CHEA Awards All.html. 

Outside the United States Understanding higher education outside of the United States is complex and confusing. Most other countries do not have a system of higher education accreditation like that used in the United States. In some countries, a government agency, such as a Ministry of Education, identifies which schools are legitimate. 

In this chapter, we describe the processes developed at Zayed University (ZU) to assess learning outcomes for institutional quality assurance purposes and for the purposes of accieditation. These processes have provided an effective system for institutional assessment and have 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 Iimovation (CTI). 

MSCHE Middle States Commission on Higher Education, ABET Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology... 

Within Trrrrisia, schools formed in partnership with American or other international rmiversities are not unique. For example, in partnership with an Ameriean rmiversity, the South Mediterranean University was formed and now boasts a rarrk as one of the top 1000 business schools in the world. It very expUcitly brrilds on American higher education practices (Systemes d information a d.). While its focus is not on engineering, the adverrt of an American-accredited rrrriversity operating tmder a partnership with a US institution (University of Maryland) is seen as having the potential to drastically change the landscape of the Trrrrisian system if more similar projects were developed. 

TO ADVANCE ACADEMIC QUALITY. To confirm that accrediting organizations have standards that advance academic quality in higher education that those standards emphasize student achievement and high expectations of teaching and learning, research, and service and that those standards are developed within the framework of institutional mission. 

TO DEMONSTRATE ACCOUNTABILITY. To confirm that accrediting organizations have standards that assure accountability through consistent, clear, and coherent communication to the public and the higher education community about the results of educational efforts. Accountability also includes a commitment by the accrediting organization to involve the public in accreditation decision making. 

In 2002, the Spanish Ministry of Education founded the National Agency for Quahty Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA). Its first commandment was to impulse the conversion of the existing syllabus into the requirements defined by the European High Education Area (EHEA). After the Bergen Communique (2005), Ministers responsible for Higher Education committed themselves to implement the standards of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (2005). 

Engineering Coundl, UK Standards for Professional Engineering Competence The Accreditation of Higher Education Programs, 2004. Available at http //www.engc.org.uk/ professional-qualifications/standards/UK-SPEC. Accessed November 11,2013. 

Program reviews by external experts include regional and national accreditations, institutional reviews, and certification or approval ratings from engineering professional associations. For example, in Sweden, programs are reviewed by the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education. A description of a recent review is found in Box 9.3 in a later section of this chapter. 

---