AUC aspires to higher standards of education

By: Nadine Shawki
@NadineShawki

AUC is this year reapplying for accreditation from national and international organizations in hopes of advancing its criteria for effective education, administration and institutional improvement.

It has applied for institutional re-accreditation from the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools in the United States (MSCHE.)

MSCHE, which is a voluntary, non-governmental association serving higher education institutions in different geographic areas, set seven new standards that AUC needs to be meet in order for the re-accreditation to be accepted.

“[These Standards] revolve around well examined measuring sticks to benchmark what we do and the learning and experiences needed to meet the World of Work and Global Challenges,” said Mohamed Abou Zeid, Chair of AUC’s committee on accreditation.

“They are various standards that are interrelated which cover educational and institutional aspects within a framework of ethical attitude, service to the community and meeting learning outcomes,” he added.

In 2008, AUC was accredited by MSCHE for a period of 10 years and it is considered the university’s most recent accreditation.

But in order to get reaccredited in 2018, the university must apply three years in advance in order to work to meet new accreditation criteria, which change on a yearly basis to assure constant development for applicants.

“All standards support innovation, they revolve around the students and their learning experience,” said Iman Megahed, executive director at the office of data analytics & institutional research.

“Perhaps the dominating umbrella for all of that is ‘assessment’ in which we mean the ability of the University to assess itself, its offerings and performance to meet objectives and cope with development,” added Abouzeid.

AUC has also applied for accreditation by the National Authority for Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Education (NAQAAE).

NAQAAE was created in 2007 by the Egyptian government to establish better quality standards for the country’s educational institutions, granting its first accreditation to AUC.

“Being accredited by NAQAAE offers AUC the chance to work with other national universities and help them raise their educational level,” said Megahed.

“I definitely feel proud about it and glad I entered AUC. Such a step will make me feel more confident when I apply for work or masters abroad,” Menna Ayad, computer science senior, told The Caravan.

Other students, however, stress the importance of practical change.

“I feel indifferent about it. I want to see real change on campus in order to feel its importance,” said Norhan Ashraf, a psychology junior.

Abouzeid told The Caravan that the advantage of accreditation for students is that it fosters “effective learning and continuous enhancement of units, programs and management of the institution.”

“Accreditation is often described as a “Seal of Quality”,” he said.