News

OAAAQA Accredits Mazoon College

18 Oct 2022

The OAAAQA has now completed an Institutional Standards Reassessment (ISR II) of Mazoon College (MZC). This was carried out in accordance with the OAAAQA Institutional Standards Assessment Manual and its Addendum: Institutional Standards Reassessment (ISR), dated February 2018 (click here).
 
The institutional accreditation system in Oman consists of two stages: Institutional Quality Audit (IQA), followed by Institutional Standards Assessment (ISA). Where a Higher Education Institution (HEI) is unable to meet one or more of the applicable accreditation standards, they are obliged to undergo Institutional Standards Reassessment (ISR I) a maximum of one year after the ISA. An HEI may be entitled, depending on the results of the first ISR attempt, to a second ISR attempt to meet any standards outstanding from the first ISR attempt. The second attempt at ISR occurs a maximum of one year after the first attempt.
 
MZC’s ISR I results were approved (On Probation) by the OAAAQA Board on 27 December 2020 and the College was placed On Probation for one year. MZC submitted an ISR II Application on 15 February 2022 and a Panel was formed to undertake the Reassessment process; this comprised experienced locally-based and international external reviewers (click here). During the Visit, which took place from 31 May - 2 June 2022. The Panel spoke with more than 64 people, including representatives of the governing authorities, staff, students and external stakeholders. The Panel also reviewed a range of additional materials.
 
The OAAAQA Board approved the resulting ISR II Accredited (Second Attempt) Report on 13 October 2022 and the College has received a copy of that report. This report will not be made publicly available but will be circulated as a confidential document to OAAAQA Board Members and the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation. 
 
The MZC ISR II resulted in an Accreditation Outcome of ‘Accredited’. MZC now joins the ranks of other HEIs already accredited by OAAAQA. You can find all accredited institutions on OAAAQA website www.oaaaqa.gov.om.