Institutional accreditation explained

THE EDITOR, Sir:

Having read the letter titled "Accreditation purgatory" by Michael McAnuff-Jones, published December 26 in The Gleaner, I am moved to add to this discourse.

First, let me congratulate UWI, NCU and UTech which have been granted Institutional Accreditation by the University Council of Jamaica (UCJ).

There are two types of accreditation namely programmatic and institutional. Accreditation is a status given to a programme or institution that meets or exceeds certain standards/criteria set by the quality assurance agency, UCJ.

I am compelled to explain this issue as an ISO trained and certified academic quality assurance auditor. Mr McAnuff-Jones made mention of courses of study in medicine, pharmacy and engineering. It must be understood carefully that UCJ which was set up 31 years ago by an Act of Parliament as the quality assurance agency in Jamaica to ensure quality in higher education, in granting programmatic and institutional accreditation would consult with the various stakeholders so members of the professions, Medical Council of Jamaica, Pharmacy Council of Jamaica, and the Institute of Engineers would be consulted. Also, other stakeholders locally and internationally, would be consulted and would also form part of the team of assessors on the site-visits to these institutions to ensure that there is quality and that they are complying to local and internationally standards.

These three institutions, UWI, NCU and UTech, have therefore demonstrated that their programmes are of a high quality and that they possess a robust internal quality assurance mechanism deemed acceptable by UCJ, they are granted institutional accreditation for a period of seven years, after which they will apply for re-institutional accreditation. It must be noted that within the seven years, these institutions will have to send yearly reports to UCJ.

I urge other tertiary institutions in Jamaica to prepare themselves and apply for institutional accreditation which means a lot to students and employers locally and internationally.

Michael-Anthony Dobson-Lewis

Academic Quality Assurance Auditor

Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Specialist.