AUB’s commitment to excellence in education can be demonstrated by several quality assurance measures that the University has taken over the last decade, including institutional and program accreditations and a variety of initiatives aimed at strengthening the assessment of student learning; introducing the periodic review of academic programs; and developing plans for the integration and oversight of academic assessment units and their activities.
Accreditation
AUB is accredited as an institution by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSCHE). Four academic units – namely, the Suliman S. Olayan School of Business, the Rafic Hariri School of Nursing, the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture – have also sought and obtained program accreditation with specialized bodies. For specific information, see the University’s accreditation website and the website of the appropriate faculty or school.
Assessment of Student Learning
Specialized accreditation projects usually motivate faculty to develop formal assessment processes for the improvement of teaching and learning at the program level. In their absence, universities can point to the requirements of institutional accreditors, such as MSCHE; the institution’s own goals for quality assurance in education; and the structures that it puts in place to support the achievement of those goals. In 2004, AUB established the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) to support faculty as educators and to assist departments in establishing and implementing plans for the assessment of student learning. Student learning assessment was the subject of the University’s March 2011 Monitoring Report to MSCHE.
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Periodic program review ensures that AUB provides superior academic programs that meet international standards, and provides a broader context and framework for the assessment of student learning. It also helps to align curricular revision and development with strategic planning and the allocation of University resources, including funding. Originally formulated by the Provost’s Office, the draft policies, procedures, and guidelines were discussed extensively by the academic deans, and approved by the Senate’s Academic Development Committee and, subsequently, the full Senate in June 2010. Dr Ali El Hajj was appointed as coordinator for program review in October 2010 and worked with the deans to set the PPR schedule for the next six years.
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Four Faculty of Arts and Sciences departments (Physics, Chemistry, Philosophy, and Political Science and Public Administration) initiated the review process in AY 2010-11. Departments and programs in FAFS (Nutrition and Food Sciences), FAS (History and Archaeology, Mathematics), FEA (Engineering Management), and FHS (Environmental Health, Medical Laboratory Sciences Program) began their reviews in AY 2011-12. The Provost’s Office maintains a budget that supports this initiative by funding one course release for two semesters or a one-month summer salary for the faculty member charged with drafting the departmental self-study; and honoraria plus travel and other expenses for two to three external evaluators for each department under review.
Institutional Assessment Committee
The Institutional Assessment Committee (IAC) was created in late Fall 2010 to address several assessment-related recommendations in AUB’s 2008 Institutional Self-Study, most importantly, the development of comprehensive academic and institutional assessment plans. The IAC is composed of the provost, associate provost, MSCHE accreditation liaison officer, program review coordinator (currently the chair of the Senate GE Committee), and the directors of the CTL, OSM, and OIRA; its membership may expand as it evolves. The committee was active in the preparation of the 2011 Monitoring Report to MSCHE. It has also begun drafting an IAC policy document that explains the reasons for its creation; its composition and functions; and the roles and responsibilities of various University units in institutional assessment activities. Although the functions of the IAC clearly indicate that it is charged with institutional assessment broadly defined, its initial focus is on the assessment of student learning and of institutional effectiveness in supporting the educational, research, and service activities of faculty and students.