28 January 2010
MUSCAT -- The Quality Audit Report of Majan Colleges (University College) has been published on the Oman Accreditation Council website (www.oac.gov.om). This is the third Quality Audit Report published by the OAC. Quality Audit is the first stage in Oman's cyclical two-stage process for institutional accreditation. The purpose of Quality Audit is to provide both a level of assurance to the public and constructive feedback to the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) for the purpose of ongoing improvement.
The process began with MCUC undertaking a self-study covering nine key areas of their activities, including areas such as governance and management; student learning by coursework programmes; academic support services and student support services. This self-study resulted in the production of a portfolio which was submitted to the OAC in September 2008.
To conduct the audit the OAC convened a review panel of eminent experts selected from the OAC's register of approved local and international external reviewers. The panel included Dr Rahul Arora from Oman Dental College; Dr Bakhit al Mahri from College of Applied Sciences, Salalah; Professor Mairead Browne from Australia; Dr Joelle Fanghanel from Thames Valley University, UK and Peter Cheung from Hong Kong. The OAC Executive Officer for the audit was Tess Goodliffe.
Prior to visiting MCUC, the panel met formally to report on their preliminary findings following examination of the portfolio and supporting materials submitted by MCUC. The audit visit took place in December 2008 during which time the panel spoke with more than 110 people, including governing authorities and management, staff, students and external stakeholders. They also visited a selection of venues and considered a range of additional materials.
The audit report contains a summary of the panel's findings, together with formal commendations where good practices have been confirmed, affirmations where MCUC's ongoing quality improvement efforts merit support and recommendations where there are significant opportunities for improvement not yet being adequately addressed. The report provides a balanced set of observations, but does not comment on every issue or system in place at MCUC. Before being made public, a copy of the report was sent to MCUC for their feedback.
The first cycle of Quality Audits will run from 2008- 2013 according to a national institutional review schedule published on the OAC website. Quality Audits of 19 HEIs across the Sultanate are currently in progress with a number of reports nearing the date of public release. The next stage in the institutional accreditation process will be Standards Assessment. This will involve HEIs carrying out a self-assessment against externally set standards of performance and will lead to institutional accreditation.
MUSCAT -- The Quality Audit Report of Majan Colleges (University College) has been published on the Oman Accreditation Council website (www.oac.gov.om). This is the third Quality Audit Report published by the OAC. Quality Audit is the first stage in Oman's cyclical two-stage process for institutional accreditation. The purpose of Quality Audit is to provide both a level of assurance to the public and constructive feedback to the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) for the purpose of ongoing improvement.
The process began with MCUC undertaking a self-study covering nine key areas of their activities, including areas such as governance and management; student learning by coursework programmes; academic support services and student support services. This self-study resulted in the production of a portfolio which was submitted to the OAC in September 2008.
To conduct the audit the OAC convened a review panel of eminent experts selected from the OAC's register of approved local and international external reviewers. The panel included Dr Rahul Arora from Oman Dental College; Dr Bakhit al Mahri from College of Applied Sciences, Salalah; Professor Mairead Browne from Australia; Dr Joelle Fanghanel from Thames Valley University, UK and Peter Cheung from Hong Kong. The OAC Executive Officer for the audit was Tess Goodliffe.
Prior to visiting MCUC, the panel met formally to report on their preliminary findings following examination of the portfolio and supporting materials submitted by MCUC. The audit visit took place in December 2008 during which time the panel spoke with more than 110 people, including governing authorities and management, staff, students and external stakeholders. They also visited a selection of venues and considered a range of additional materials.
The audit report contains a summary of the panel's findings, together with formal commendations where good practices have been confirmed, affirmations where MCUC's ongoing quality improvement efforts merit support and recommendations where there are significant opportunities for improvement not yet being adequately addressed. The report provides a balanced set of observations, but does not comment on every issue or system in place at MCUC. Before being made public, a copy of the report was sent to MCUC for their feedback.
The first cycle of Quality Audits will run from 2008- 2013 according to a national institutional review schedule published on the OAC website. Quality Audits of 19 HEIs across the Sultanate are currently in progress with a number of reports nearing the date of public release. The next stage in the institutional accreditation process will be Standards Assessment. This will involve HEIs carrying out a self-assessment against externally set standards of performance and will lead to institutional accreditation.
By Staff Reporter
© Oman Daily Observer 2010
