Quality assurance departments at Iraqi universities and educational institutions work for the benefit of students, faculty, and the higher education process. The Department of Quality Assurance has numerous objectives, the most important of which are:
- Ensuring the quality of education (teaching).
- Ensuring the quality of learning.
- Ensuring that faculty members and academic departments adhere to standards and criteria in curriculum development and knowledge transfer to students.
- Making curricula somewhat relevant to the needs of the labor market.
- Encouraging scientific research according to standards that align it with the needs of the labor market.
- Providing a quality assurance system that includes a transparent and efficient accountability process.
- Ensuring that all faculty members and academic departments adhere to the requirements of the Bologna Process.
- Studying and developing the educational process and its various needs, including the infrastructure of the educational institution, on a regular basis through an annual student satisfaction survey.
- About the Department of Quality Assurance and University Performance at Al-Kharkh University of Science
The Department of Quality Assurance and University Accreditation at Al-Kharkh University of Science was established at the beginning of the university’s founding. The department is administratively affiliated with the President of the University.
Vision:
Leadership and excellence in quality assurance practices in accordance with local and international standards.
Mission:
Continuous monitoring and improvement to achieve academic accreditation and promote a culture of quality at the university.
Objectives:
- Preparing the university and its academic programs for institutional and programmatic accreditation.
- Enhancing the university’s position in international rankings and the national ranking of Iraqi universities.
- Instilling a culture of quality in the university’s activities and practices.
- Ensuring the quality of teaching and learning and meeting academic standards.
- Holding seminars and workshops in the field of quality and academic accreditation.
- Improving and updating the university’s ongoing quality processes.
- Conducting periodic internal quality reviews for the university’s various units and departments.
- Developing a performance measurement system.
- Adopting Bologna Process standards to achieve academic excellence.
Organizational Structure of the Quality Assurance and University Performance Department
- – Quality Assurance and Performance Evaluation Division: The division aims to achieve the university’s academic accreditation requirements, both institutional and programmatic, in addition to enhancing the university’s reputation by competing in accredited national and international rankings and improving its rankings to enable the university to continue fulfilling its mission and achieving its goals. Division Tasks:
- Promoting a culture of quality among faculty members and students at the university.
- Reviewing and updating the university’s vision, mission, and strategic objectives in light of developments and changes, and in line with the university’s aspirations.
- Preparing a periodic self-evaluation report on the implementation of institutional accreditation.
- Identifying the evidence and proof required to meet each institutional and programmatic accreditation standard and coordinating with all colleges to meet accreditation requirements.
- Preparing improvement plans for academic accreditation standards.
- Monitoring the implementation of improvement plans on an ongoing basis.
- Preparing a conformity report in accordance with institutional and programmatic accreditation standards.
- Reviewing the methodology of international rankings and identifying best practices for the university’s advancement within the rankings.
- Collecting data from university departments regarding each ranking and including it in the electronic portals for national and international rankings. Preparing periodic reports regarding the governorate and improving the university’s ranking in international rankings.
- Establishing a database on the university’s activities, which can be used in national and international rankings.
- Preparing periodic reports on the division’s activities and submitting them to the division director.
- Holding courses and workshops according to the needs of university departments and in accordance with the department’s requirements.
- Distributing tasks to the division’s units in a manner consistent with the achievement of its mission and objectives.
- Documenting and archiving, both paper and electronic, all official documents related to the division.
- Any other tasks assigned to the division by the Director of the Quality Assurance and University Performance Department to enhance the quality of the educational process.
Accreditation Division:
The division aims to achieve the accreditation objectives and indicators for academic programs in specialized colleges and ensure compliance with the standard specifications for scientific laboratories in accordance with the requirements of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
Division Tasks:
- Supporting teaching and learning processes by conducting external evaluations of the educational process and contributing to the enhancement and improvement of academic programs.
- Supervising and monitoring the achievement of objectives and indicators circulated by accreditation councils in various academic disciplines, and striving to obtain programmatic accreditation at the academic department level.
- Supervising and monitoring the implementation of Iraqi laboratory quality standards issued by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research for all university laboratories by preparing self-assessment reports for all college laboratories, monitoring their performance, developing and implementing improvement plans, and coordinating with the Accreditation Department at the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research to develop and improve laboratory performance to achieve accreditation by a specialized and relevant body. Also, taking the necessary measures to ensure that university laboratories obtain accreditation from the Iraqi Accreditation Commission.
- Conducting field visits to all university laboratories to assess laboratory quality, determine the competence and capabilities of their staff, and monitor and audit laboratory specifications in accordance with the requirements of approved standard specifications relevant to the nature of the laboratory’s work and specialization.
- Supervising and monitoring the coding and maintenance of laboratory equipment and documentation, and submitting periodic reports on laboratory performance and improvement plans.
- Preparing periodic reports on the division’s activities and submitting them to the department director. Distributing tasks to the division’s subordinate units in a manner consistent with the achievement of its missions and objectives.
- Documenting and archiving, both paper and electronic, all official documents pertaining to the division.
- Any other tasks assigned to the division by the Director of the Quality Assurance and University Performance Department to enhance the quality assurance of the educational process.