Forum Highlights
- Experience enlighten talks led by professionals and leading practitioners
- Network with professionals in quality assurance and accreditation
- Attain new knowledge and learn about best practices
One of the most useful indicators to evaluate the quality and value of education is learning outcome assessment data, which have been widely used to evaluate learning and inform policy and progress. In the past few years, higher education institutions have made significant progress in evaluating student learning outcomes; nevertheless there are a number of significant challenges that need to be overcome in order to fully reap the benefits of these efforts. The big questions is:
Why it is difficult to design, develop, implement, and sustain a comprehensive approach to assessing student learning outcomes?
To answer this question and to provide specific suggestions we organized this Quality Forum, where higher education institutions, national quality assurance and accrediting agencies, and stakeholders share their insight and best practices to facilitate the development, implementation, and continued support of student learning outcomes achievement and beyond.
We hope that you will have a productive and pleasant time at this very special event.
Dr. Susanna Karakhanyan
is President of INQAAHE, a global network of tertiary education providers, which brings together more than 300 members worldwide. She is the founding member and Past President of the Accreditation Commission of the National Center for Professional Education Quality Assurance in Armenia. Currently, she is employed by the Abu Dhabi Government as Higher Education and Research &Development Policy Director at the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge in the United Arab Emirates.
Dr. Karakhanyan holds M.S.Ed in Educational Administration/Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania, the USA and PhD in Social Sciences from Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Dr. Sh. Lobna Al-Khalifa
is Director of the Higher Education Reviews Directorate at the Education and Training Quality Authority (BQA) in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Previously, she was the Acting Director of the National Framework Operations Directorate and a Consultant/Expert in Academic Affairs for the BQA since 2015. She participated in numerous reviews of higher education institutions and academic programs nationally and in the region.
Dr. Al Khalifa holds a Ph.D. from the University of Leeds and a master’s level qualification in academic practice from York St John University. She is Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy, a Reviewer Board Member and a Fellow Member of the Center of Business and Economic Research, UK.
Dr. Ramzi A. Haraty
is Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Mathematics at the Lebanese American University in Beirut, Lebanon. He is the chairperson of the Arab Computer Society and program evaluator (PEV) for CSAB/ABET. He is a member of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), ACM SIGAPP, Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, the International Society for Computers and Their Applications, and Syndicate of Computer Sciences in Lebanon
Dr. Haraty holds Ph.D. in Computer Science from North Dakota State University – Fargo, North Dakota and B.S. and M.S. degrees in Computer Science from Minnesota State University – Mankato, Minnesota.
Axel Borschbach
is Business Development Manager for ACADEM by Rimaone, supporting higher education institutions worldwide with managing data for accreditation processes and closely works with AACSB and EFMD. Prior to joining RimaOne, Axel was Director of Quality Management at EBS Universität in Germany, being responsible for all accreditation and ranking processes as well as overall Quality Assurance. He was also part of the strategic planning committee at the university. Axel also has substantial teaching and training experience in introductory Computer Science courses for students and employees alike.
Mr. Borschbach holds a Bachelor and a Master degree from the University of Brighton.
Dr. Omar Al-Rawajfah
is currently the Dean and Associate Professor, College of Nursing at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman. Dr. Al-Rawajfah is an experienced nurse academician, scholar, and leader. He was awarded as Nursing Fellow by the American Academy of Nursing, USA on 2019 and he was recognized as Program Coordinator by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). He is frequently being recruited as a program evaluator and external examiner by several national and international nursing programs and he contributed to the profession of nursing by leading the establishment of different graduate nursing programs in Oman.
Dr. Al-Rawajfah received his PhD in Nursing from USA and his MSc and BSc. in Nursing from Jordan.
Dr. Khaled Alomari
is the Director of Quality Assurance and Academic Accreditation at the College of Nursing of Sultan Qaboos University (SQU). He is the Head of Adult and Critical Care Department and an assistant professor at West Coast University, USA. Dr. Alomari is a certified program evaluator with the American Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). He has led accreditation initiatives in the US and Oman. Under his leadership, the BSN program was accredited in 2015 and has contributed to the accreditation of SQU.
Dr. Alomari received his BSc in Nursing from Jordan; MSc and Ph.D. from the US.
Ema Janahi
is the Director of Academic Development, Commercial and Community Initiatives, as well as the Acting Director of Student Services at Bahrain Polytechnic. She taught health care professionals at the College of Health Sciences for seven years. Ms. Ema has extensive background in academic quality assurance, student centered approaches, and employability skills.
Ms. Janahi holds a Master in Nursing/ Advance Adult Care with a minor in Education from American University of Beirut. Currently, she is enrolled in a doctorate in education programme higher education stream at Sheffield University. Her research interest is in Problem Based Learning (PBL), employability, knowledge based economy and self-efficacy
Basim Al Saie
is the Managing Director and founder of INSTALLUX GULF, Director of POLYCON BAHRAIN and board member for the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He is also active in the community and business organizations. He was a founding member of the French Bahrain Business Club, served as a board member at AlRajah (American Mission) School since 2010 and he served on the Board of the Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) Bahrain chapter since 2007, and currently serving as the President of the Bahrain chapter.
Mr. AlSaie holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Boston University.
Dr. Luisella Balbis
is the Director of Quality Assurance and Accreditation Centre at University of Bahrain. From 2014 till 2018, she held the chairperson position in the Department of Computer Engineering, College of IT. In 2014 she was awarded the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PCAP) and the Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy UK, which bolstered her interests in teaching and learning in higher education, teacher education and participatory pedagogy.
Dr. Balbis received her MSc Degree in Computer Engineering from University of Genoa, Italy in 2002. She completed her PhD in Control Engineering at University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, in 2007.
Past, Present and Future of External Accreditation
Although a number of quality assurance measures seem successful in evaluating the HE performance, many of the tools and indicators applied can still be labelled as proxies since very few directly measure the achievement of the intended learning outcomes, the learning gain of the program, and links with labor market needs. Program accreditation has been a method enjoying some credibility in this respect, although this procedure is evidently more resource demanding than institutional accreditation. Thus, recent trends in QA lead external quality assurance in exploring ways of and methods for addressing measurement of learning gain as an essential component for institutional quality management approaches. It should be done in combination with some form of external validations ensuring student and professional mobility, and stimulating societal legitimacy. As such, the current contribution will provide insights into the most recent developments in external quality assurance, measurement of learning gain, in particular. A tangible solution in the form of an internationally piloted methodology will be presented, with an actual application within a Middle East context.
Learning Outcomes-based Assessment as a Tool to Enhance Teaching and Learning
Learning outcomes have been at the forefront of academic discussions and the restructuration movement of many education systems around the globe. Currently, there are national and transnational qualifications frameworks in approximately 142 countries, which are based on learning outcomes.
Legislators, quality assurance agencies and specialized European and US accreditors put strong emphasis on learning outcomes-based assessment as a tool to enhance teaching and learning. It is seen as an effective measure in identifying the aspects within the curriculum that need to be modified or retained based on results. The learning outcomes- based assessment has also been embraced as one of the main requirements of the American accrediting agencies. In the Arab regions, there is a growing number of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), which seek to be accredited by specialized US and European agencies that accredit graduate professional programs in business, engineering, medicine, law, and other disciplines. Perceived benefits of specialized accreditation include possible improvement in academic programs, marketing and recognition. The aim of this talk is to discuss Learning outcomes-based assessment as a tool to enhance teaching and learning, which is still not fully taken advantage of by many HEIs in Bahrain
Addressing the Challenges of Assessing Students Learning Outcomes
The great thing about effective education is that everyone wins. Students love being involved. Faculty appreciates the enthusiasm that comes from students’ assignation. Senior brass rejoices in high-impact career placement and augmented retention and graduation rates.
The subtlety about high-impact educational approaches is that they can be hard to sustain and tough to assess. This talk will focus on identifying the primary challenges universities need to address in developing, implementing, and sustaining an inclusive approach to assessing student learning outcomes and to offer suggestions and recommendations for how university practitioners can respond to these trials.
The Importance of Data Management in Higher Education
Higher education institutions are required to collect and manage a plethora of data for national and international accreditations, rankings, and overall quality assurance processes. Collecting and managing data ties up significant human and technical resources resulting in a potentially substantial financial impact for institutions. In this presentation, we identify key aspects of what institutions can do to collect and manage data effectively and efficiently. We explore how data can be used meaningfully beyond accreditations and rankings to steer decision-making as well as potential hurdles, such as data protection, data quality, and resistance from certain stakeholder groups to share data.
Accreditation as an Opportunity for Improving Learning Assessment
Accreditation remains one of the best ways for higher education institutions to demonstrate accountability and to assure the public of the quality of the education they provide. Some perceive accreditation as additional, burdensome, compliance-driven demands that are rarely connected to the desired outcomes of programs or institutions. However, the philosophy of accreditation is to inspire confidence in programs and to foster their continuous development and improvement. Accreditation should not be perceived as an act of compliance but rather an opportunity for continuous improvement that makes quality a habit. When institutions work in harmony with accreditors, quality can be assured and improved through effective, mutually interested assessment that yields valuable evidence. In this presentation, assessment of student learning will be used to illustrate how can both, accreditors and institutions, work together to undertake, implement, and sustain a meaningful assessment of student learning.
years of
ACHIEVEMENTS
This is an exciting year for the Quality Assurance and Accreditation Center (QAAC) at University of Bahrain, as it marks its 10th Anniversary.
Ten years is indeed an important milestone worth celebrating. It presents an opportune moment to look back at the past achievements, reflect on the current situation and plan for the future.
The QAAC started in the academic year 2009-10 as an essential part of University of Bahrain’s commitment to promoting quality of education.
Over the past 10 years QAAC established a comprehensive quality assurance system which includes academic legislation, procedures and review mechanisms to support institutional accreditation and auditing, national and international accreditation and revision of programs, and other activities related to the development of programs and curricula.
Among our achievements we count: 18 programs gaining international accreditation; 29 programs placed on the National Qualification Framework; 31 programs reviewed by the Education and Training Quality Authority that received Full Confidence; 2 successful Institutional reviews.
Now as we look forward to the next ten years, we will strive to reinforce the culture of excellence and continuous quality improvement, through training of faculty and staff, while maintaining quality standards, processes and measures for achieving national and international accreditation and ranking.
The QAAC will continue to be a key contributor in offering the best academic services and programs to our students for many years to come.
We hope that today will be an occasion to celebrate our past accomplishments, renew friendships and extend our networks, and jointly explore current and future opportunity to collaborate for promoting quality assurance.
| 08:00 – 09:00 | Registration |
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Welcome to the Forum H. E. Riyad Y. Hamzah, President of University of BahrainSpeakers and Panelists Awards |
| 09:30 – 10:00 | Plenary Session 1: Past, Present and Future of External Accreditation Dr. Susanna Karakhanyan, President, INQAAHE |
| 10:00 – 10:30 | Plenary Session 2: Learning Outcomes-based Assessment as a Tool to Enhance Teaching and Learning Dr Lobna Al Khalifa, Director of the Higher Education Reviews Directorate (BQA) |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Coffee Break and Networking |
| 11:00 – 11:30 | Plenary Session 3: Addressing the Challenges of Assessing Students Learning Outcomes Dr. Ramzi A. Haraty, Chairperson, Arab Computer Society Program Evaluator (PEV), CSAB/ABET |
| 11:30 – 12:00 | Plenary Session 4: The Importance of Data Management in Higher Education Axel Borschbach, Business Development Manager, RimaOne |
| 12:00 – 12:15 | Short Coffee Break |
| 12:15 – 12:45 | Plenary Session 5: Accreditation as an Opportunity for Improving Learning Assessment Dr. Omar Al-Rawajfah, Dean and Associate Professor, College of Nursing, Sultan Qaboos University Dr. Khaled Alomari, Director of Quality Assurance and Academic Accreditation, College of Nursing, Sultan Qaboos University |
| 12:45 – 13:30 | Panel Discussion: The Value of Stakeholders’ Engagement in Developing a Learning Outcomes Assessment Framework Moderator: Dr. Luisella Balbis, Director of QAAC, University of BahrainPanelist: Dr. Susanna Karakhanyan, President, INQAAHE Ema Janahi, Director of Academic Development, Commercial and Community Initiatives, Bahrain Polytechnic Basim Alsaie, Business Owner, Board member of Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry. |
| 13:30-13:45 | Forum closing |
| 13:45 | Lunch |