Institutional Accreditation Standards

Institutional Accreditation Standards

The institutional accreditation standards document (general accreditation) for higher education institutions in Yemen contains (9) main criteria, and each criterion includes a set of sub-criteria. The number of sub-criteria reaches (30) criteria, and each criterion includes a number of performance indicators and a list of sample guides that need to be submitted by the Higher Education institution to show that it has met the standard. The main criteria and sub-criteria for institutional accreditation are as follow:

1- Strategic planning

1.1 Strategic directions

1-2 Strategic plan

2- Leadership and Governance

2.1 Organizational Structure

2-2 Systems, Policies and Procedures

2-3 Institutional leadership

2-4 Good Governance

3- Academic Programs

3-1 Policies and controls for designing academic programs in accordance with the regulations of the Accreditation Council

3-2 Graduate specifications and institutional education outcomes

3-3 Learning Resources

3-4 Continuous improvement and development of academic programs

4- Students

4.1 Admission, registration and records

4.2 Students’ rights and duties

3-4 Student guidance and counseling

4-4 Student services and activities

4-5 Graduates

5- Human Resources

5-1 Recruitment and Retention

5.2 Professional and Career Development

5.3 Performance Development

6- Financial resources and infrastructure

6.1 Financial Resources

6.2 Facilities and equipment

6.3 Technical resources and digital transformation

6.4 Safety and Risk Management

7- Scientific research

7.1 Scientific research plans, policies and procedures

7-2 Financial and technical support for scientific research

7.3 Scientific Activities

8- Partnership and community service

8-1 Community service plans, policies and procedures

8.2 Financial and material support for community service

8.3 Community partnerships and activation

9- Quality assurance and continuous improvement

9-1 Quality Assurance System, Policies and Procedures

9-2 Continuous improvement and development

The standards are based on a complete conviction of the importance of the diversity of Higher Education institutions, and at the same time unify within the framework of the general policy of Higher Education in Yemen, which seeks to meet the local and regional needs for human resources and the needs of socio-economic development in Yemen. It should be noted that the preparation of these standards is not intended in any way to mold Higher Education institutions in Yemen into rigid molds. The standards specify the basic requirements for quality assurance from Higher Education institutions in Yemen in a very general way, allowing them to design their academic programs in innovative ways that enable them to allocate and use resources effectively in a manner consistent with their respective mission, goals and learning outcomes for the academic programs they offer.

While standards are applied to all Higher Education institutions in Yemen, the accreditation process is based on the mission of the institution itself since there is a variety of institutions such as universities that focus on preparing cadres, university colleges and colleges that prepare cadres in certain professions; public and private Higher Education institutions; and institutions that offer distance education programs.

While this document presents samples of guides required to show the extent to which a Higher Education institution has achieved each of the accreditation standards, it should be noted that the responsibility to provide sufficient and diverse guides on the extent to which a Higher Education institution has achieved the standards of academic accreditation rests with the Higher Education institution itself, as it is expected that such guides be part of its quality system.

In the following, we present a description of each criterion and performance indicators that show the extent to which it has been achieved.