Sciknow Publications Ltd.

OJE 2014, 2(2):106-110

Open Journal of Education DOI: 10.12966/oje.06.06.2014
©Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0)

Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Education

Hassan Al-Haj Ibrahim*
Al-Baath University, Homs, Syria
*Corresponding author (Email: hasahi123@hotmail.com)

Abstract - In today's fast changing and volatile world, quality education has become a universal goal where university education
should aim at the formation of personalities and intellectual abilities of the graduates and their continuing education and must not
be regarded solely as a means of providing them with diplomas and entry tickets to the job market. Striving for quality education
has become critical for any nation that would not be content to be an underdeveloped dependent nation; for it is a demonstrated
fact that economic growth is determined not so much by the growth of physical capital and labour as by the stock of knowledge
and its rate of growth. To aspire to higher standards of educational quality is no longer a luxury, even for so-called third-world
universities. Third-world universities may ignore quality education or neglect self evaluation procedures at the risk of stagnation
or worse. Quality assurance is in most cases encouraged by continuous self-assessment and by seeking some form of internal or
sometimes external validation or accreditation. Accreditation, in education, is the process by which an association or agency
evaluates an educational institution or programme of study and formally recognizes it as having met and satisfied, or exceeded,
certain predetermined requirements and criteria or standards of educational quality. Apart from ensuring quality in an
educational institution, accreditation can also provide public confidence or trust and accountability. Through accreditation the
reciprocity of recognition of qualifications and facilitation of the mobility of academic personnel are ensured. Accreditation also
contributes to the unity of the professions by bringing together practitioners, teachers and students in an activity directed at
improving professional preparation and professional practice. An inherent danger, however, is often encountered in institutions
seeking external assessment and accreditation. This danger lies in placing a premium on the production of documents, the writing
of quality assurance plans and policy documents rather than the demonstrable implementation of effective means of assuring
academic quality.
Keywords - Quality Assurance, Accreditation, Education

Now it is a fact that a promise of a "lifelong career" has

1. Aims of Higher Education always been the central selling point of higher education. It is
important to take account of information from "worklife" in
It is an undisputed fact that the world has witnessed during the the planning of relevant academic curricula and in the design
last hundred years or so a tremendous expansion in the field of of instruction. As employers' expectations of graduates have
higher education, whereby higher education has been increased over the years, information from "worklife" has
transformed from an elite organisation to a mass participation become an important consideration in the improvement of
system. Increasingly, more and more people, including a fair university education. This attention to feedback from those
number of older students, are seeking higher education, which who employ or educate graduates, and from graduates
is often associated with better careers and higher employment themselves, is an important new element of contemporary
opportunities. For many people, university education is the efforts to improve education in universities ( Dill, 2000).
only means for improving their life standards both socially Universities must work in partnership with industry to define
and materially. key work-related skills and develop university programmes to
Within a few decades, the number of students jumped deliver them.
from 13 millions in 1960 to 72 millions in 1999 and further to Employability, however, is by no means the only factor
around 132 millions in 2004, a tenfold increase in forty years. for assessing the value of higher education. Some educators
In China, the gross enrolment rate in higher education would argue that the concern with worklife represents a
increased dramatically from 9.8% in 1998 to 21% in 2005. classical ‘public-service attitude’ which aims at preparing
The numbers of universities and higher-education institutions graduates for immediate employability rather than for
have also increased as never before. In Latin America alone, leadership in the community (Moses, 1995). For many students,
the number of higher education institutions rose from a mere particularly older learners, going to university is a chance to
164 in 1960 to over 7500 in 2002.
 Open Journal of Education (2014) 106-110 107

enrich their lives. Also, the value of higher education for the disposal of such universities may not be much to speak of, and
society at large must not be underestimated. A highly the difficulties they have to face may not be easy to overcome
educated society is an ambitious society, an entrepreneurial or few in number, but to ignore quality assurance altogether
society, a society of citizens who have the capacity to think and to neglect self evaluation procedures may lead sooner or
and learn. University education should aim at the formation of later to stagnation or worse. Even renowned old
personalities and intellectual abilities of the graduates and establishments need to be wary of trusting too much to their
their continuing education and must not be regarded solely as traditional ways and past glories.
a means of preparing them for the job market. Towards a generally-accepted definition of quality, a
number of recognized higher education organizations have
formulated quality standards and guidelines. In general,
2. Quality in Education quality in education may be defined as specifying a mission
In today's fast changing and volatile world, quality education and worthwhile learning objectives and enabling students to
achieve them. Specifying worthwhile learning objectives
has become a universal goal and striving for quality education
has become critical for any nation that would not be content to involve articulating academic standards to meet (1) society’s
be a dependent nation, "a nation that just takes what is learnt expectations and the demands of government, business and
industry; (2) students’ aspirations; and (3) the requirements of
or produced elsewhere and adapts it, if it can, for its own use".
The economist Paul Romer demonstrated that economic professional institutions.
Enabling the students to achieve these objectives would
growth is determined not so much by the growth of physical
require good course design, an effective teaching/learning
capital and labour as by the stock of knowledge and its rate of
growth. strategy, competent teachers and a suitable learning
environment.
The nineties of last century can be described as a "decade
of heightened interest in quality in higher education. There are
more people involved in investigating, researching, auditing, 3. Quality Assurance in Education
applying, analysing, controlling, assessing and writing about
the subject than ever before. This has inevitably led to greater Increasingly, quality assurance in education is becoming of
knowledge and a deeper understanding of policies and paramount importance.
practice of quality in the sector" (Roffee, 1996).
The notions of quality originated from the business
practices. Many of the concepts are borrowed directly from 4. Accreditation
business e.g. Continuous Improvement, Total Quality
As maintained by many authorities on education, quality
Management etc. But whereas the organisational processes in assurance is in most cases encouraged by continuous
business are, by and large, amenable to measurement and self-assessment and by seeking some form of internal or
control, and are predictable in behaviour, in education this is
sometimes external validation or accreditation.
far from being the case. Much of the processes in education, The words accreditation and validation are often used
particularly at the university level, take place deep within the
interchangeably, but for some associations and agencies there
intellects of the people involved, and are not in most cases
are significant differences between the two terms. Whereas
easy to comprehend, let alone be amenable for measurement the emphasis in validation is on output criteria such as student
and/or control (Srikanthan, n.d.).
portfolios, examination scripts, course work etc, the emphasis
Deming's philosophy of quality management is based on in accreditation is on input criteria such as the nature of the
the premise that an organisation's productivity and quality curriculum, the quality and quantity of teaching staff and
consistently rise with increasing empowerment of employees.
teaching, information and technical resources.
But the reality of the work place also dictates that there has to To accredit is officially to recognise a person or
be accountability, in order to economise the resource
organisation as having met a standard or criterion.
utilisation and also to give a direction to the organisation’s Accreditation implies demonstrated progress toward quality
response to market conditions (Srikanthan, n.d.). improvement beyond the minimum standards specified by the
Because of the perceived inefficiencies of universities,
accrediting body.
pressure is sometimes applied on the universities to institute Accreditation, in education, is the process by which an
strong managerial modes of operation. Unfortunately, this has
association or agency evaluates an educational institution or
the effect of treating the academic staff more like employees
programme of study and formally recognizes it as having met
of a corporate enterprise, rather than independent thinkers of and satisfied, or exceeded, certain predetermined
future vision (Lynn Meek, 1995).
requirements and criteria or standards of educational quality.
Be that as it may, the goal of improving teaching and These agencies establish basic standards designed to reflect
student learning should be pursued vigorously. It is no longer the qualities of a sound educational programme. The agencies
a luxury, even for so-called third world universities, to aspire
then develop procedures to determine whether educational
to higher standards of educational quality. The means at the programmes and institutions meet these standards. In addition
108 Open Journal of Education (2014) 106-110

to establishing criteria, accrediting associations have could even speak of a five-star university or a two-star
responsibility for visiting and evaluating institutions, and college.
awarding accreditation to those programmes and institutions Accreditation is also a tool for improvement used by
that meet their criteria. educational institutions. While the certification of
Accreditation, properly understood and practiced, has two accreditation indicates an acceptable level of institutional
fundamental purposes: to assure the quality of the institution quality, any institution, however excellent, is capable of
or programme, and to assist in the improvement of the improvement, which must come from its own clear
institution or programme. identification and understanding of its strengths and
There are two basic types of educational accreditation: (1) weaknesses.
institutional and (2) specialized. Institutional improvement is encouraged by an
Institutional accreditation indicates and verifies that the institutional accrediting body through the requirement that the
entire institution has met certain accreditation standards of accredited institution conducts periodic self-evaluations.
educational quality. It assesses both institutional effectiveness Institutional improvement is also encouraged by the
and student learning outcomes and it suggests that each of an institutional accrediting body through the advice and counsel
institution’s parts, such as its academic departments or degree provided by the visiting team, which comprises experienced
programmes, contributes to the achievement of the educators drawn primarily from accredited institutions, and
institution’s general educational objectives. Besides the by the publications of the accrediting body. The assessment
educational offerings of the institution, other characteristics results are often used to promote institutional improvement
are also reviewed and assessed such as governance and and to stimulate institutions toward higher levels of quality
administration, recruiting practices, financial condition, and efficiency.
institutional resources, admissions procedures and student Specialized accreditation, also called professional,
personnel processes, and relationships with outside programmatic, or programme, accreditation usually refers to
communities. the assessment of specific programmes, departments, or
The main purpose of institutional accreditation is to ensure schools that make up an institution. An accredited unit may be
quality in an educational institution through the use of as large as a college or school within a university, or as small
standards and rigorous evaluation criteria. External as a curriculum within a specific academic discipline.
assessment can also act as an incentive to direct the wavering Specialized accreditation focuses on a narrower set of
universities into some action for seeking quality assurance. standards particular to the field of study under consideration.
Through accreditation the reciprocity of recognition of It is often associated with professional associations, such as
qualifications and facilitation of the mobility of academic those for engineering, medicine, and law, or with specific
personnel are ensured. disciplines, such as business, teacher education, psychology,
To students who want to study in other parts of the world, or social work.
accreditation provides assistance in the transfer of credits Because of the limitation of focus to a single programme,
between institutions, or in the admission of students to many specialized accrediting bodies require that the
advanced degrees through the general acceptance of credits institution offering the programme be institutionally
among accredited institutions when the performance of the accredited before consideration can be given to programme
student has been satisfactory and the credits to be transferred accreditation.
are appropriate to the receiving institution. Student exchanges, Accreditation serves the professions by providing a means
summer schools and joint project work are also increasingly for the participation of practitioners in setting the
common. A network of schools across the world with requirements for preparation to enter the professions; it also
mutually agreed standards provide students with opportunities contributes to the unity of the professions by bringing together
for international exchange and dialogue between schools. practitioners, teachers and students in an activity directed at
For students who want to work in other parts of the world, improving professional preparation and professional practice.
an accredited qualification is necessary for their professional Institutional and specialized accreditations are
practice, and can help in interview and selection procedures. It complementary. The focus of an institutional accrediting body
may also lead to a wide range of opportunities across the on an institution as a total operating unit provides assurance
globe. that the general characteristics of the institution have been
Finally, accreditation is a system or process for providing examined and found to be satisfactory. The focus of a
public confidence or public trust and accountability. It can specialized accrediting body on a specific programme
help to market the success of the institution within the local, provides assurance that the details of that particular
national and international context and assist institutions programme meet the external accreditation standards.
recruit students and staff. Accreditation could in theory lead Institutional accreditation, concerned with evaluating the
to a system of classification of educational establishments institution as a whole, does not seek to deal with any
whereby top institutions are marked off from other less particular programme in great detail although programmes are
favoured institutions in a manner similar to the way hotels and reviewed as a part of the consideration of the entire institution.
restaurants are marked with variable numbers of stars. One Specialized accreditation, speaking to a specific programme,
 Open Journal of Education (2014) 106-110 109

does not seek to deal significantly with the general conditions Finally, accreditation, as defined above, presupposes the
of the institution, although certain general conditions are existence of accrediting bodies or agencies who have the right
considered in the context in which the accredited programme and capability to determine the requirements and criteria of
is offered. educational quality, and who have the right to grant
Despite the advantages and benefits that can accrue from accreditation status to educational institutions or withhold it.
seeking external assessment and accreditation, this process But how do these accrediting agencies arise and who gives
has its critics. Overall, the critics conclude that a them the right to grant or withhold accreditation? Further, on
single-minded checklist-approach to safeguarding quality is what do they base their predetermined criteria or standards of
misguided and pernicious. To Rickett (Rickett, 1992) the educational quality?
disadvantages of a costly bureaucracy and the danger to There is currently much debate on the formation and
academic freedom inherent in external assessment affiliation of accrediting agencies. While many favour
outweighed any advantages that might accrue from external non-governmental or international organizations that are
validation. Alderman considered that it no longer mattered independent of the universities and the governments, others
‘how well an academic teaches’, and that the ‘paraphernalia are of the view that it is the responsibility of the government
of futile bureaucratization required for assessors’ has become to strengthen its own quality assurance framework.
more important (Alderman, 1996). Certain external assessment Standards and criteria of educational quality are by no
processes also appear to place a premium on the "production means predetermined or self evident. In theory such standards
of documents," the writing of quality assurance plans and and criteria may be based on pedagogical principles regarding
policy documents rather than the demonstrable efficient methods of teaching and education, but there are also
implementation of effective means of assuring academic many other principles on which such standards and criteria
quality. This may encourage a "culture of compliance," in may be based, including the satisfaction of the customers,
which departments produce documents that will meet a who are in this case the students. But we all know that
framework specified by the external assessors or the students value of their teachers those who teach them less and
accreditation agency, but engage in little genuine demand less of them. Students' satisfaction can hardly be the
improvement or commitment to student learning. Certainly proper basis on which to establish quality education.
the students in several departments where quality assurance Accreditation is sometimes defined with reference to
reports had been produced claimed that they saw little standards set by the institution itself that is seeking the
evidence of these plans "in action." (Dill, 2000). accreditation. Accreditation would then mean no more than
Other critics maintain that it is vital for the quality that the institution in question has met the standards it had set
evaluation systems to be run, not by an external agency, but itself. Obviously this defeats the whole purpose of the
by the institutions themselves, and that the universities must exercise, since the institution may set such standards as are
take the initiative by starting their own evaluation process. easily, or even already, satisfied.
The Dutch have a sophisticated assessment system where the
reward for the individual institution is more autonomy for
organising its own assessment (Van Der Weiden, 1995). The 5. Conclusion
individual universities would appoint their own evaluation Quality assurance and educational quality are no longer
teams, comprising external members, both national and
luxuries in today's world where quality education has become
international, who look at both research and teaching. The a universal goal and can only be neglected or ignored by
outcomes of the assessment are invariably critical, and usually
higher education institutions at the risk of stagnation or worse.
tend to lead to a substantial review of activities.
Quality assurance is in most cases encouraged by continuous
The strategy for quality assurance at some universities self-assessment and by seeking some form of internal or
emphasizes that academic quality is not solely the
sometimes external validation or accreditation. Accreditation
responsibility of the institution as a whole. Each department can also provide public confidence or trust and accountability.
or programme and each faculty, as well as the collective Through accreditation the reciprocity of recognition of
university faculties need to take responsibility for improving
qualifications and facilitation of the mobility of academic
teaching and academic quality. It is an essential responsibility personnel are ensured. Accreditation also contributes to the
of each academic department or programme to design a
unity of the professions by bringing together practitioners,
quality assurance process that is appropriate to its own needs teachers and students in an activity directed at improving
and requirements. This department or academic programme professional preparation and professional practice.
focus is characteristic of the most successful efforts at quality
improvement in many countries such as the UK, Finland and
Hong Kong. External quality assurance efforts that have References
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