Accreditation:
Education Quality Accreditation Standards
The World Association for Distance Education Standards become an easy and effective instrument for measuring institutional distance education quality on international level because they are not affected by local legislative formats, regulations or cultural idiosyncrasies.
Any educational institution that intends to earn the accreditation status from the World Association for Distance Education must demonstrate compliance, through the application for accreditation (Self Assessment Report), with the education quality standards set forth by the World Association for Distance Education
The accreditation standards set forth by the World Association for Distance Education are:
Administrative Responsibility Accreditation
A1. Identification
A2. Legal authorization
A3. Accreditation, recognition and references
A4. Facilities
A5. Financial stability
A6. Qualified staff
A7. Educational values & ethics
A8. Permanent quality control
A9. Continuous improvement
Institutional Integrity Accreditation
B1. Information & Veracity
B2. Admission Procedures
B3. Legal contract
B4. Assistance
B5. Post-Graduate Service
Academic quality Accreditation:
C1. Courses / Programs description
C2. Hours of study
C3. Course objectives or expected learning outcomes
C4. Course contents & materials
C5. Course delivery & availability
C6. Course update
C7. Teaching methodology
C8. Tutorial or guidance
C9. Teachers proficiency
C10. Assessment & Evaluation
C11. Certificate or diploma
C12. Transcript or equivalent
Why is Accreditation Important
In nearly every country, higher education is controlled and monitored by the national government, which promulgates higher education policy. As free markets, open frontiers, and individualism spread around the world, however, many nations are adapting their higher education systems to the more liberal, competitive and diverse. Today, higher education is emerging as a diverse, competitive, decentralized "system," with vibrant private and public sectors in which colleges and universities enjoy comparatively high autonomy. Accreditation is one of the major factors to monitor education quality behind this global trend. Accreditation reflects the comparative advantages of numerous and diverse institutions and methods of higher education, and respects their core values of autonomy, self-governance, scholarship, and the assurance of academic quality through peer review or accreditation.
Employers, parents, students, and others look to accrediting organizations for consistent and reliable information about educational institutions. There is no single model for providing information about education quality that is so important for public accountability. The accreditation from the Education Quality Accreditation Commission want to relate each educational institution own structure and procedures with an efficient way to guarantee their accountability