Association Project for Higher Education Development and Outcomes in Arab Higher Education Institutions

Arab Quality Assurance

Why Arab QA?
Arab higher education sector enjoys some competitive edge, not the least its high turnout at all educational stages. Moreover, a great majority of graduates look for employment as a vessel for human, national and personal sustainable development. This has led to a high increase in unemployment rate in some Arab countries, and other countries cannot afford to empower graduates with the prerequisites of the job market, even to those who enter the workforce. Hence comes the necessity for every country and particularly every Arab country to drive greater emphasis to higher education sector, adopt a sustainable development responsive strategy, and keep pace with the rapid development and artificial intelligence technology. On the one hand, skill promotion is an imperative to revive graduates’ employability to many local occupancy options, and to promote an added value skill so they can start their own business, on another. Therefore, we anticipate through this project, to partner with German-European higher education model as a successful paradigm to promote Arab graduates’ skills and mirror the standards that brought about stellar results in this regard.

Why Quality Standards?
Quality standards and assurance are vital factors in the education process that galvanize it to the right goals. That quality standards apply to all educational institutions’ departments, they comprise the most important field of the development of education outcomes. Those standards vary by state which in turn results in different education outcomes. For instance, some standards may capitalize on, but are not limited to:
 Governance
 Education Courses and outcomes
 Research and innovation

These standards are key to education institutions’ effectiveness and quality assurance to their education courses which are, by necessity, gauged by their alumni’s employability, recruitment, and innovation.

Quality Assurance in Arab Universities
Quite long ago, Arab higher education institutions started implementing quality standards, and grant quality certificates based on regular reviews to academies. However, have quality certificates granted to those institutions influenced graduates’ employability and innovation?
Answer does not come around as simple! Still, a simple track to unemployment rates shows a constant increase. This can come down to one basic root cause: education outcomes inconsistency with international job markets requirements. Several reasons underlie this disharmony. First, the underprepared specialized skills of the academic and applied programs’ graduates. Second, graduates lack competencies and soft skills. Third, the small number of education systems that harmonize its outcomes with the international markets. Fourth, some academia lack of awareness of the importance of preparing their students for the professions of the future and keeping pace with artificial intelligence technology.

Quality Relevance to Accreditation
Academic programs’ accreditation is the key to grant credit to and recognize their graduates’ qualifications. Also, seeking international accreditation to academic programs is a reframing of their graduates within the international markets. Quality and its standards are a guaranteed obtainment of sustainable and well-refined accreditation. Therefore, quality standards applied by Arab education institutions should first conform to Arab and international accreditation criteria before setting sail to international accreditation.

Arab Quality Assurance (ARA-QA)

First Phase: promote and verify management and specific skills in universities administration.
Training Provider: German Institutions with the co-ordination and organization of Human Restart Organization.

Target audiences:
o University President and Vice President
o Dean and Head of Faculties
o Director of University Performance Development Center
o Director and Deputy of Quality Assurance Center in Universities
o Director of Central Administration in Faculties and Universities.

First phase consists of several intensive training programs on international quality assurance standards on higher education administration in the following topics:
 Holistic approach to administration of internal quality assurance
 Approach to challenges faced by faculty heads in varied levels.
 Promote administrative and specialist skills in university management.
 Devise action and continuous improvement plans (implementation of participants’ practical and applied training in their home institutions).
 Reinforce and utilize participants’ acquired skills to develop and manage quality issues in their universities.

Training Plan
Practical projects are implemented under the supervision of the designated experts in participants’ local universities and with the co-ordination and organization of Human Restart Organization.
First Phase Term: an 18-month course; 1-week long workshop every two months.
Venue: workshop venue is hosted by periodical rotation among participating universities (a hosting university for each workshop); in Germany, France, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Tunis, etc.
A participant university quorum is a maximum of two executives in every workshop. This project call to quorum is 15 participating universities from MENA: a total of thirty participant individuals.

Project Targeted Learning Outcomes
Strengthening executives’ ability to administer an effective quality management to higher education institutions that includes setting plans for, following up on, and improving the following topics:
 Quality assurance tools and procedures
 Information management
 human and material resources
 education courses and job market studies
 active learning and teaching
 market-ready equipped graduates
 follow up on graduates’ performance in job markets.
 Effective Assessment
 Research studies
 Community service and sustainable development

Project Direct Objectives
 Building executives capacity of the Arab universities in quality management to keep pace with European higher education quality standards.
 Make avail of participating experts having successfully fulfilled all ARAB-QA programs and obtained experience certificates in higher education quality assurance to disseminate the training to new experts (peer support).
 Participating quality experts devise Arab higher education quality assurance standards by the close of the ARAB-QA project.
 Utilize Arab higher education quality assurance standards as a building block in agreements and memorandums among Arab institutions to first enable academic qualifications comparison among Arab states, and then with European countries (Bologna agreement).

Project Indirect Objectives
This project contributes to:
 Improving education systems and major actors’ alignment with national and regional development goals.
 Building capacity of higher education institutions
 Internationalizing standards of respective institutions and universities.
 Building competencies necessary to achieve sustainable development goals.

Participation Terms
o Agreement to the joint work with international organizations and local experts in devising, organizing, and executing training programs.
o Support exchanges of experience between trainer and trainee universities, together with non-university active players.
o The program course is 12 to 18 months, but not fewer than 12 months.
o Experience certificate is granted upon the attainment of 95% of attendance of the delivered programs, in addition to the implementation of the intended plans and projects.

Direct Benefits for Participating Universities
• Certificates entitle holders to obtain accreditation by respective European institutions to monitor and assess quality.
• Provide the necessary support to the first batch of graduate trainees so that they pass on the acquired knowledge and skills to peers in their respective education institutions.
• Establish a board of the participating universities to develop an ‘European-Arab Quality Standards Document’.

ARAB-QA- Potential impact on Alumni
The ARAB-QA project has the potential to benefit alumni in several ways, fostering their personal and professional growth even after they have completed their education at the participating universities. Here are some potential benefits for alumni:

1. Enhanced Reputation and Recognition: ARAB-QA improves university reputation, increasing alumni value in the job market.
2. Skill Development and Innovation: Project emphasis on leadership and innovation enhances alumni’s problem-solving and critical thinking abilities.
3. International Exposure and Collaboration: Alumni engage in global projects, expanding perspectives and cross-cultural competencies.
4. Access to Quality Resources: Improved institutional management provides alumni with high-quality resources for ongoing professional development.
5. Employability and Industry Relevance: Harmonizing education with global standards enhances alumni employability in diverse sectors.
6. Alumni Networks and Continuous Learning: Emphasis on knowledge dissemination fosters alumni connections and ongoing learning opportunities.
7. Dual Study and Blind Learning: Various university structures improve alumni adaptability in different work environments.
8. Lifelong Learning and Professional Advancement: Commitment to quality culture ensures continuous professional development for alumni.

Overall, the ARAB-QA project’s focus on enhancing quality and aligning with global standards can significantly benefit its alumni by equipping them with the skills, knowledge, and international exposure needed to succeed in a rapidly changing and competitive world.

Long Term Impact Evaluation of ARAB-QA Project on Alumni

Using these methods will comprehensively assess the ARAB-QA project’s impact on alumni, providing valuable feedback for continuous improvement.

1. Surveys and Questionnaires: Collect alumni feedback on skills gained, career progression, education satisfaction, and job market relevance.
2. Alumni Success Stories: Gather testimonials showcasing project impact on individual alumni’s careers and contributions.
3. Employment and Career Progression Data: Track alumni employment rates and career advancement after graduation.
4. Alumni Network Engagement: Measure alumni involvement in networking and professional development activities.
5. Employer Feedback: Seek employer opinions on graduates’ skills and preparedness.
6. Longitudinal Studies: Conduct long-term studies to assess personal and professional growth.
7. Alumni Contributions: Evaluate alumni’s involvement in research and community development.
8. Alumni Surveys on Project Relevance: Assess project’s impact on alumni’s career paths and personal development.
9. Alumni Feedback Sessions: Organize focus groups for qualitative insights into alumni experiences.
10. Comparative Analysis: Compare achievements of participating and non-participating university alumni.

Human Restart
Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Yousef Al-Anzan
International Relations and Agreements
Prof. Dr. Eng. Abdul Ilah Abdou

Academic Committee
Dr Ayesh Al.Hroub
Dr Wael Al.Zyadat
Dr. Azza Eldiasty

Organizing Committee
Executive Director
Ahmed Said
International Agreement Official
Bainca Kurtz
Public Relations

Sachsenweg 7
59073 Hamm
Deutschland

info@humanrestart.eu
Alanazan@humanrestart.eu
+491736993378
+4915259808099