Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, -Saturday 15 December 2018 [ AETOS Wire ]
The
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
(SACSCOC) officially announced the accreditation of the American
University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK) at its 2018 Annual Meeting which
was held in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the United States of America.
SACSCOC,
the regional body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher
education institutions in the Southern United States, has a membership
of more than 800 institutions in the Southern states and other
international sites approved by SACSCOC that award associate,
baccalaureate, master’s, and/or doctoral degrees. SACSCOC also awards
accreditation to other international institutions of higher education
that satisfy all its requirements and demonstrate compliance with its
accreditation standards. AURAK now joins the very small group of elite
international higher education institutions that have attained SACSCOC
accreditation and can enjoy the diverse benefits of membership in this
highly revered organization.
“Accreditation
by SACSCOC signifies that the institution has a mission appropriate to
higher education, has resources, programs, and services sufficient to
accomplish and sustain that mission, and maintains clearly specified
educational objectives that are consistent with its mission and
appropriate to the degrees its offers, and that indicate whether it is
successful in achieving its stated objectives.”
“The
culmination of the accreditation process is a public statement of an
institution’s continuing capacity to provide effective programs and
services based on agreed-upon requirements. The statement of an
institution’s accreditation status with SACSCOC also represents an
affirmation of an institution’s continuing commitment to the
Commission’s principles and philosophy of accreditation.”
AURAK
is a nonprofit, government-owned institution of higher education which
provides the local, regional and international communities with a North
American-style education integrated with Arabic customs and traditions.
It is licensed by the Ministry of Education in the UAE and offers a
total of 22 accredited undergraduate and graduate programs across a wide
range of disciplines. Despite having this primary local accreditation,
AURAK was determined to broaden its impact in higher education by
obtaining internationally recognized institutional and program
accreditations. To date, the institution has six programs accredited by
the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) and
institutional accreditation by SACSCOC. It should be noted that in the
case of institutional accreditation by SACSCOC, an institution is also
expected to document and demonstrate the quality and effectiveness of
all its programs and services although the agency does not award
individual program accreditation.
AURAK
has been working diligently towards obtaining SACSCOC accreditation
since 2014 and successfully achieved candidacy status in July of 2017.
This paved the way for the institution to undergo even more rigorous and
comprehensive onsite review by a SACSCOC Accreditation Committee. The
Committee found the institution to be in compliance with all
accreditation standards and requirements. Further internal reviews were
conducted by SACSCOC in keeping with its multi-tiered peer review
process, the culmination of which was AURAK obtaining SACSCOC
accreditation.
This
was a formidable achievement that was four years in the making. It
demonstrates the tenacity, determination and commitment of AURAK to
achieving excellence in all its undertakings – for its students,
faculty, staff and other stakeholders.
“The
long- standing dream and goal has come true in a record time. The
report is positive and clear.” Professor Hassan beamed proudly during
the declaration of AURAK’s SACSCOC accreditation status. “Today AURAK is
among the first universities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
region to successfully initiate and complete the entire accreditation
process as an applicant institution to secure membership from the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
(SACSCOC), affirming that AURAK is not only as an institution of quality
among Arabic educational institutions, but also on an international
level as well. This accreditation validates our claims of providing
students with a highly rigorous curriculum from the credentialed and
highly knowledgeable faculty we have always strived to hire and support.
AURAK has achieved in a very short time what some other institutions
have failed to do in decades.
I
would like to seize this opportunity to thank the AURAK family and
supporters for their loyalty, dedication, and hard work. Without them,
AURAK would not be the exemplar of educational excellence it is. Today
our aspirations and our hard work have been realized. In gaining SACSCOC
membership we join a community of highly respected institutions. We
look forward to offering a vast array of educational opportunities
through which we will continue to develop and excel.”
Contacts
American University of Ras Al Khaimah
Helen Amhani,
Manager, Department of Communications and Public Relations
+97172210900 Ext: 1445
hamhani@aurak.ac.ae
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