Nine universities in Dubai are presently being observed by the Ministry of Education (MoE) and are prevented from accepting any new admissions and even introducing new programmes.
The officials keep a close watch on the institutions after being ranked ‘low’ in the new evaluation system and committing other fundamental breaches of academic accreditation standards.
As per Dr Muhammad Youssef Baniyas, Advisor to the Ministry of Education (MoE) and Director of the Academic Accreditation Commission, said around 15 other universities in the UAE have been closed in the last three years due to their poor performance and not meeting the needed standards.
According to the new assessment, the official stated that seven universities have obtained high ranking based on their evaluation of higher education institutes and their programs within the country.
The seven universities include five national universities, namely UAE University, Sharjah University, Khalifa University, Mohammed bin Rashid University for Medicine, American University of Sharjah and Health Sciences, and two international universities, including Birmingham University Dubai and NYU-Abu Dhabi.
According to the official, 40 universities in Dubai were ranked as ‘medium’.
Dr Baniyas said, “Since its establishment in the academic year 2019 till now, the evaluation system has resulted in the shutting down of 15 universities. Three of these universities asked to be closed voluntarily and to withdraw their licenses, as they could not meet the norms and requirements for evaluation.”
“The Academic Accreditation Commission shut the other 12 universities due to significant poor performance, breach of standards, and low ratings.”
The officials indicated that the accredited universities are evaluated at two different levels, “Accredited” and “unaccredited”. It was not among the standards for determining weak, medium, or high performing universities.
He further added that in 2019, the Academic Accreditation Commission made several updates to the academic accreditation standards, including a new assessment based on risk measurement to evaluate a set of indicators when evaluating.
These indicators include international classification, international accreditation, academic programs, the university’s future plans, student support, adherence to standards, and having a clear strategy and financial and administrative matters, disclosure, and governance.