Quality Assurance In Higher Education In The Middle East

An essential resource for institutional leaders across the Middle East, as well as those invested in the development of higher education in the region, this volume acts as a unique contribution for propelling the progress of higher education in the Middle East.

Greater student mobility, increasing demand for access to tertiary education, as well as policy changes have spurred rapid expansion of the global higher education sector. However, with increased demand comes considerable variation in the quality of the supply. As higher education is an expensive endeavor for all stakeholders – governments, funders, employers, and families – there are also increasing expectations for accountability and demonstrations of quality. English as a foreign language (EFL) programs, in particular, are under considerable pressure to substantiate their value, resulting in a significant rise in interest around their quality. This volume is the outcome of a May 2018 international conference on quality and specialized accreditation, held in Turkey. The book’s three sections take the reader from the global to the program level, examining trends and best practices in quality assurance and accreditation in EFL programs. The book’s geographic focus is primarily the Middle East and Turkey, yet the issues discussed herein a quite global in nature. This volume will be of interest to educational administrators at the institutional or program level, educational leadership programs focusing on higher education, language teacher preparation programs, and administrators in centralized education systems or accrediting organizations.

This book explores the prospects for higher education development in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. Adopting a South-South perspective (from the viewpoint of a developing country), it seeks to promote a deeper understanding of this colourful and highly diverse, yet volatile region. As such, it examines six selected MENA countries that serve as case studies for identifying the gaps and challenges as well as their potentials in terms of higher education development. Based on expert interviews and focus-group discussions with more than 85 individuals across the six countries and complemented by related facts and figures from both international and national documents, it presents an in-depth discussion and analysis of the countries’ respective political, security, and economic situations. These serve as preconditions for the cultivation of an environment conducive to facilitating the advancement of higher education. It also provides a critical overview of higher education in these countries, notably in terms of the current national system, legislative framework, accreditation, quality assurance, recognition concerns, and other critical issues that enable and/or constrain the development of their respective higher education sectors, and that of the region, as a whole.

This book focuses on two crucial issues that need to be addressed as a matter of urgency by universities in the Arab region, namely (a) conducting independent assessments of the quality of their teaching, research, administration, governance, and planning; and (b) determining the relevance of their teaching, research, and societal impacts. Although well-established around the world in manufacturing industries and private-sector service industries, including the research and commercialisation arms of the major universities and research institutes, it is only in recent years that quality-assurance (QA) assessments have started to be applied to most aspects education. Several Arab universities are adopting various forms of QA but some variants are little more than bureaucratic “box-ticking” exercises with minimal commitment by staff to the ultimate aim of continuing self-improvement. This book will be of interest to senior management at faculty and departmental level and above in all Arab universities specifically, and more generally in Islamic institutions of higher education. Senior management in other universities, especially in the developing world will benefit from its analyses and recommendations.

Quality accreditation in higher education institutions (HEIs) is currently a buzzword. The need to maintain high-quality education standards is a critical requirement for HEIs to remain competitive in the market and for government and regulatory bodies to ensure the quality standards of programs offered. From being an implicit requirement that is internally addressed, quality assurance activities become an explicit requirement that is regularly audited and appraised by national and international accreditation agencies. HEIs are voluntarily integrating quality management systems (QMS), institutional and program-specific, in response to the political and competitive environment in which it exists. Through its higher education department or by creating non-profitable accreditation bodies, many governments have implemented a quality framework for licensing HEIs and invigilates its adherence based on which accreditation statuses are granted for HEIs. Global Perspectives on Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education Institutions provides a comprehensive framework for HEIs to address quality assurance and quality accreditation requirements and serves as a practical tool to develop and deploy well-defined quality management systems in higher education. The book focuses on the critical aspects of quality assurance; the need to develop a concise and agile vision, mission, values, and graduate attributes; and to develop a system that effectively aligns the various activities of the HEI to the attainment of the strategic priorities listed in the institutional plans. The chapters each cover the various facets of the quality assurance framework and accreditation agencies' requirements with practical examples of each. This book is useful for HEI administrators, quality assurance specialists in HEIs, heads of academic departments, internal auditors, external auditors, and other practitioners of quality, along with stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students interested in quality assurance and accreditation in higher education.

This book addresses some of the challenges posed by the globalization of higher education. It examines the emergence and resulting challenges of English as Lingua Franca (ELF) and of the decision to use English as the Medium of Instruction (EMI) as part of a strategic policy of internationalization. It looks at survival challenges caused by globalization and expansion, the diversity challenge, the concept of marginality and how marginality can lead to creativity, teaching and encouraging entrepreneurialism, the tools needed for internationalizing higher education in developing countries, innovative approaches, the intelligent use of technology, and finally, the value of non-constraint engagement in driving teaching and course quality improvements. The expansion of higher education and the increasingly international body of students and staff continue to inspire and drive the development of global higher education systems. Whilst these systems began locally, many are now engaging with the challenges of retaining their local flavour whilst embracing the march of globalisation. The challenge is to find local solutions that also meet the requirements of the rapid development of what might be termed the ‘massification’ of international higher education. This book reflects these contemporary challenges through its variety of topics taken from countries as diverse as Hong Kong, Panama, South Africa, USA and Saudi Arabia. The topics are as diverse as some of the local solutions but each chapter represents a response to a rapidly changing global landscape.

This volume investigates how international students in and from the Middle East are constructed by nations, institutions, other students, and themselves. Making a valuable contribution to understanding the nuances and complexities of educational politics and priorities affecting these constructions, the text considers the broader impacts of discourse on internationalisation. Offering a unique combination of critical analysis of educational policies combined with empirical contributions through authors’ own research, chapters highlight intersections between politics, the internationalisation of higher education, and the construction of mobile learners. Emphasising variation and nuance in the internationalisation of policies in the Gulf Cooperation Countries, and other Middle Eastern countries, the volume offers a theoretical framework to help understand the political, educational, and ethical implications of emerging constructions of international students and their comparison across the Middle East. This timely volume will benefit researchers, academics, and educators with an interest in higher education, international and comparative education, as well as the Middle East more specifically. Those involved with educational education policy and politics, specifically related to the Middle East, will also benefit from this volume.

Nowhere in the world is university education expanding as rapidly as in the six-member state of the Gulf Cooperation Council. In two generations the region has gone from having the Middle East's least educated population to boasting a younger generation whose educational achievements are approaching Oraginisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) standards. This unique study, with contributions by key decision makers, charts this dramatic development, exploring the challenges faced and placing accomplishments within the social, economic and political context of the region.