MUSCAT: Al Zahra College for Women has been recognised by Oman Authority for Academic Accreditation and Quality Assurance of Education (OAAAQA) as conforming with institutional accreditation after meeting academic accreditation requirements.
The requirements are in three standards, namely Standard 2 Student Learning by Coursework Programmes, Standard 4 Staff Research and Consultancy, and Standard 8 Staff and Staff Support Services.
Dr Musallam Al Maani, Dean of Al Zahra College for Women (ZCW), says the College's achievement comes as a result of strenuous efforts exerted over the last two years or so.
"ZCW devotes serious efforts to make certain that the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices of quality are customary characteristics of the College, highly commending the outstanding performance of ZCW academic and administrative staff, and their self-sacrificing devotion and loyalty, without which ZCW would have fallen short of achieving its target," he adds.
ZCW has clearly defined graduate attributes and learning outcomes for each programme of study, in line with the National Qualifications Framework (NQF), which are derived to the full and entire extent from its mission and vision.
As a result, teaching is in an intrinsic manner and by natural character linked to learning outcomes and to the academic weights of courses, including the credit points/hours and their overall intellectual and academic weight.
The College has a set of instructions and procedures for the development and review of the curriculum to make certain that courses are appropriate, up-to-date, and effective in achieving the level required for the academic degree awarded.
To measure how academic standards are maintained, the College has introduced a number of mechanisms, including students’ evaluation of courses, peer assessment, and senior management classroom observation, and boosted by the recruitment of highly qualified and experienced academic staff.
Placing emphasis on the quality of teaching, the College has adopted a student-centered approach to teaching and learning, benchmarking it with other top universities at the national, regional, and international levels.
The College also maintains an excellent staff-to-student ratio (1-20), which is not only benchmarked with other higher education institutions but also conforms to the best international practices and norms.
To further maintain academic standards, external examiners have been invited from other HEIs to assess final-year students’ graduation projects, with plans underway to establish an incubator that aids the development of new business ventures that would enter the Omani market as a byproduct of graduation projects.
The College focuses on scientific research by providing an array of incentives to academic staff who embark and engage in a form of organised and responsibly ethical research, including research published in international scientific journals, and participation in conferences, seminars and forums.
ZCW also places special emphasis on research ethics and intellectual property rights, for which an external expert from another higher education institution is appointed to serve as a member of the college's scientific research committee, with the task of ensuring that all scientific research published in the name of or carried out within the College is in full compliance with policies and practices concerning ethical considerations as well as intellectual property rights.
To keep in line with the latest development in the field, the College with its research-teaching nexus policy encourages the link of the latest research findings to courses within the study plans, so that students stay abreast of development taking place in their field of study up to the standard and level of knowledge of recent developments.
In addition, as part of the College’s endeavours to promote an atmosphere conducive to the growth and development of staff, the College accords staff planning and career development utmost importance, giving particular prominence and special consideration to professional development to superintend the training and instruction of its staff in various fields.
Guided by its strategic plan (2021-2025), ZCW makes advances to create the desired result on staff development by linking together the staff’s annual performance appraisal with professional development and career path.
A special strategy, named Staff Planning and Professional Development Strategy (SPDS), has been devised and brought about. As per SPDS, approximately 300 training workshops in the form of brief intensive educational programmes for both academic and non-academic staff will be conducted over 3 years, focusing especially on techniques and skills within the staff area of work.
Creating and sustaining a positive organisational climate, the College has long carried into action deliberately to hire Omanis who are given and meriting attention before others. As Omanisation reaches more than 70 per cent at both institutional and academic levels, the move makes the College represent a source of intense stimulation of its feelings.
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