نحو بناء معايير اعتماد اكاديمية عراقية

Abstract

ABSTRACT:As soon as a new managerial concept emerges (such as TQM, ISO, e-government, and atomization) organizations jockey to adopt such concepts. Academic Accreditation is a new concept that entered into the academic domain in Iraq. However, this concept is not new; in fact it was originated in the USA in the mid 60s of the last century. In addition, academic accreditation was adopted in Jordan at private colleges as an attempt to control the academic programs, and to upgrade the programs to the level of public colleges. In the present time, a number of Iraqi colleges attempt to enter the global classifications, in fact, and according to the Shanghai standards, the University of Baghdad was ranked 601 from 700 universities in the world last year. Although, the University of Baghdad is at the bottom of the list, its academic performance has improved because some of its colleges obtained the academic accreditation. This event triggered an interest among private and public colleges to start adopting the academic accreditation. But which academic accreditation standards could be adopted and applied in these colleges? In fact, several entities (Arabic & Foreign) are eligible to provide academic accreditation. Each entity has its own standards which are different from other entities' standards. Combining the differences of accreditation standards with the newness of the academic accreditation, public and private colleges may wonder about which academic standard should be adopted. Moreover, some academic standards may not work within the Iraqi academic domain and social context. Therefore, the objective of this research is investigate the academic accreditation standards for a sample of countries to derive a set of standards that suit the Iraqi colleges. It is recommended that the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research be the authority responsible for the academic accreditation through technical committees. It is believed that this approach shall help colleges to overcome the obstacles which impede the adoption of academic accreditation, and shall help Iraqi colleges to compete with colleges in the neighboring countries.