Tuesday 19 March 2024 (UAE)

University Quality Assurance (UQAIB) Dubai

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University Quality Assurance International Board (UQAIB)

The University Quality Assurance International Board (UQAIB, not UQAB) was established by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority Dubai (KHDA) in 2008 to assess and license universities operating in the education free zones in Dubai like Academic City (DIAC) and Knowledge Village (KV). This is different from accreditation from the Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA), a federal body that monitors tertiary institutes and courses for the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MOHESR).

The usefulness of the UQAIB is to smooth over some of the hiccups that students encountered when they obtained a degree from an institute or course (some institutes are accredited but not for all courses that are offered) that had not been accredited by the CAA.

  1. Federal public organisations (the police, the military, government departments, etc) will not recognize qualifications from non-accredited institutions.
  2. Private organisations may recognise qualifications from non-accredited institutions but the UAE Ministry of Labour must attest degrees before a work permit can be issued, and that can be a time-consuming process if the degree did not come from a CAA accredited university or college - the certificate has to go back to the home country university.
  3. Accredited institutions will not accept undergraduate degrees as prerequisites for post-graduate study if a student wants to transfer from a non-accredited college or university.

However, if the free zone universities and colleges can get a licence from the UQAIB, then that may mean graduates can apply for government jobs, or have an easier time of it getting a work permit in the private sector.

Now, let's just review all those acronyms again. The UQAIB is a new organisation under the umbrella of the KHDA. The INQAAHE is not, but the UQAIB wants to join the INQAAHE, which is unrelated to the CAA and the MOHESR but you need CAA accreditation for a federal job in the UAE or for MOL attestation of your BA, BSc, MBA etc but if the UQAIB does join the INQAAHE, it might become easier for DIAC and DKV institute degrees to be recognised in the UAE. GI*?

*Got it?

April 2011 courses approved at Dubai universities and colleges by the UQAIB
Dubai universities ordered to close
Dubai universities and colleges moving out

A Khaleej Times report 20 September 2010 listed several campuses that had been "forced to move out of Dubai," however, the quoted comment about one institute was that it had "chosen to move out of Dubai". Institutes referred to in the report included

Previous moves

Last update Saturday 16-Jun-2012
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www.dubaifaqs.com/uqaib.php (PDF and print version).

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