Abu Dhabi University continues pursuit of international accreditation

ABU DHABI 28th September 2015 (WAM) -- As the United Arab Emirates progressively transitions into a diversified knowledge-based economy that instills a culture of entrepreneurship and promotes innovation the country's wise leadership is focused more than ever on the investment in the development of internationally competitive human capital.

Perhaps the most fundamental aspect of this process is ensuring that graduates from the nation's universities are equipped with globally benchmarked degrees. With more than 6715 students on a quest to obtain their higher education degrees from Abu Dhabi University's undergraduate and postgraduate programmes the university has increased its efforts to achieve international accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges WASC.

The Provost of Abu Dhabi University Dr. Richard Gibb explained that in spite of its importance many parents and students have yet to understand fully the value of an internationally accredited degree and the university is working on spreading awareness emphasising the credibility that comes with international accreditation. "It's very simple; if we were to consider that an educational degree is a currency of some sort then international academic accreditation enhances the value and ensures the quality of that currency.

"Nowadays more and more parents are realising that an internationally accredited degree is an investment in the future of their sons and daughters. However unlike other investments a higher educational degree stays with you for a lifetime. Employers worldwide recognise [that] internationally accredited degrees are of more value" explained Dr. Gibb.

He added "The UAE's government is set on achieving top ranks in global competitiveness indices and has already transformed the economy into an international hub for the aviation retail hospitality and engineering industries. Similarly the nation is now looking into evolving into a hub for higher education that fosters innovation and entrepreneurship and ADU is playing its part to contribute to that process.

Dr. Jacob Chacko Dean of ADU's College of Business Administration said that in the UAE's multicultural society an internationally accredited degree is a highly valued asset. "Looking at Abu Dhabi University's student body as an example you'll find students who hail from more than 66 nationalities across the globe and a large percentage of them need to have a recognised and internationally credible degree. As is the case with currencies although a nationally accredited degree would be highly valuable within the borders of its country that degree losses some of its value the minute you step outside.

"In today's mobile and global society your higher education degree should be portable so that the degree is recognised wherever you may decide to look for employment. In addition should there be a need the credit hours taken at AACSB accredited business programme is transferable to business programs around the world. For business administration programmes the challenge is keeping up with the constantly changing international trends and being AACSB accredited means that the curriculum and faculty are current and up to date in their disciplines. There is an estimate of 20000 business schools around the world yet only 5% have been able to achieve international accreditation from the 100-year-old prestigious AACSB" said Dr. Chacko.