Quality Assurance Process

Internal and external Quality Assurance include all activities needed to provide effective services for students during the educational process in all aspects, and other University domains including management, research, community service, public engagement and international collaboration.

Internal Quality Assurance: The University is responsible for providing and assuring quality through the following areas:

• Academic Standards: Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs), Curriculum and Programme Design, Student Assessment, Student Progression and Achievement.
• Quality of Learning Opportunities: Teaching Staff, Learning Styles and Curriculum Delivery Modes, Learning and Physical Resources and Student Support.
• Research & Other Scholarly Activities.
• Community Involvement.
• Effectiveness of Quality Management: Governance and Leadership, Academic Leadership, Self-Evaluation, Management of Stakeholders’ Feedback. Strategic management and achievements

External Quality Assurance: is a tool for recognition of BAU’s internal quality assurance system and its study programmes. International bodies or agencies at the institutional level carry out the external assessment at BAU through the following areas:

• Management of the University: Mission, Vision and Objectives, Strategic Plan, Governance and Decision-Making, Policy for Quality Assurance, Management Principles, Promotion of Innovation by the Management, Focus on Future, Human Resources Policy, and Financial Management System.
• University Networks: Network Strategy, Network Sustainability, Assessment of Networking Activities’ Outcomes, International Exchange and Mobility, and International Accreditation.
• Teaching and Learning/ Research: Design of Programmes and Curricula, Student-Centered Teaching and Learning, Assessment for Students’ Progression, Student “Life Cycle” Regulations, Teaching Staff Qualifications, Learning Resources and Student Support, Information Management, Public Information, On-going Monitoring of Programmes, Graduates, University’s Research Strategy, Creativity and Innovation of Research, Research Publication and Communications.
• University Dynamics: Community Approaches, Initiatives Change Processes, Continuous and Systematic Development, and Diversity within the Framework of the Strategy.

The following parts are interlinked and work on a complementary basis to describe QA process as follows:

Internal Quality Assurance Process:

• Setting up the basic elements for internal quality assurance cycle: plan, do, check, act, etc.
• Describing the controls for each element of the quality assurance system as to “what”, “when”, “where”, “who”, and “how” the service, which can be audited, is being implemented.
• Implementing and setting up key features of the internal quality assurance system based on the University's strategic approach to quality management.
• Defining quality & standards framework for academics as well as for administration and services.
• Evaluating and assessing academic standards, quality of learning opportunities, research & scholarly activities, community involvement, and effectiveness of quality management.
• Monitoring educational resources, teaching methods, course evaluation, and student’s assessment.
• Conducting quality activities aiming at improvement.
• Using certain parameters to measure the level of compliance with predefined standards, in order to demonstrate, assure and develop quality of education
• Assisting the application of educational policies & procedures
• Ensuring the proper implementation of students-based learning
• Following-up and measuring the achievement of educational process: Learning outcomes; Graduate employment outcomes; Satisfaction results
• Monitoring resources improvement
• Following up the upgrading of staff competencies
• Evaluating satisfaction of stakeholders.

Programme Accreditation Procedures:

• Request for approval: The Faculty send a request of accreditation from the accreditation agency.
• Preparation of the self-study report: The faculty responsible for the programme concerned should have carried out a self-assessment of the programme to be assessed. A good self-assessment, critically and analytically offers the faculty a good view on the quality itself.
• Nomination of expert team: The agency nominates experts. The proposed names will be sent to the faculty to see if there is a serious objection against anyone of the candidates. If not, the agency will appoint the members of the expert team.
• Sending the self-assessment report: The faculty send the prepared self-assessment report to the agency then to the assessment expert team.
• Site-visit of expert team: The chairperson of the team will confirm the programme of the site-visit in consultation with the faculty according to given schedule. During the site-visit, appointments will be made with whoever staff members and students the team would like to talk to.
  
  The results of the evaluation process.
  
  A draft report will be sent to the faculty for comments. The comments should concern only factual errors and inaccuracies.
  
  After the feedback from the faculty, the chairperson of the expert team will send the final report to the agency commission.
• Granting accreditation: If the Programme meets all conditions, the accreditation is valid for a definite number of years.
• Accreditation with conditions: If the Programme has not met some requirements, the accreditation is granted with conditions.
• Non- Accreditation/ Rejection: A Programme accreditation is rejected if the Programme does not meet the quality requirements. Certificate, Seal, Publication: If the accreditation is granted, the Agency awards a certificate with its quality seal.

Institutional Accreditation Procedures at BAU:

In 2013, BAU was seeking international institutional accreditation from a well-known institutional accreditation agency: “The Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation” (FIBAA), Germany.

BAU set-up a University Committee to prepare the BAU self-assessment report for the institutional accreditation based on FIBAA standards.

The Committee included academic staff (Deans and academic members), non-academic staff (Secretary General, directors and administrative members) and students representing all faculties.

On September 25th, 2013, a pre-accreditation visit of FIBAA representative was carried out.

On June 30th, 2014, BAU sent the self-assessment report with its appendices.

The FIBAA on-site visit was carried out on October 27th-28th, 2014. The FIBAA team consisted of 5 reviewers plus a FIBAA representative.

The preliminary report has been delivered to BAU in January 2015.

On April 13, 2015, BAU was awarded unconditional international institutional accreditation by “The Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation” (FIBAA), for 6 academic years, until April 12th, 2021.

Since Institutional Accreditation from “Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA)”, needs renewal, the following tasks were managed:

1. A University Committee prepared BAU Self-Assessment Report 2021, and BAU submitted it in October 2021.
2. The Online Conference was in November 8 to 10, 2021.
3. BAU attained the renewal of international accreditation in the strategic management of educational institutions from the German council (FIBAA) for the second time for a period of 8 years that ends in 2029.