Villa College’s (VC) Qasim Ibrahim School of Business (QISB) gets accredited under the South Asia Quality Assurance System. (SAQS)
According to VC, Qasim Ibrahim School of Business has become the first higher education institution in Maldives to get the accreditation.
Providing details on the historic achievement, the Vice Rector of Villa College, Ali Najeeb stated that the accreditation represents a tremendous honour to Maldives and is a considerable achievement for the nation’s highest education sector.
Vice Rector Najeeb said the review process of Villa College examined the college's governance policies, teaching and learning methods, methods of designing and reviewing curriculum and internal quality assurance arrangements. The party concerned had noted that these arrangements and procedures were in accordance with receiving the SAQA accreditation, he noted. He also highlighted the implications of this achievement to the broader higher education sector in the Maldives, stating this is a good opportunity to strengthen the quality of the nation’s higher education. He revealed that 13 courses conducted by the institution will now carry forth the SAQS accreditation. These are five master’s level courses and eight bachelor’s level courses conducted by QISB. With this achievement, QISB can use the “SAQS Accredited” label.
Najeeb described the success of Villa College's Business School as an important step to advance higher education to an international standard. This is the first time an educational institution in Maldives has been accredited in this way, he reiterated.
SAQS is an international quality assurance program implemented by the Association of Management Development Institutions in South Asia (AMDISA), established in 1989, to assess and accredit the quality of business schools in the South Asian region. AMDISA is an international association connecting more than 334 management institutes in South Asia. SAQS accreditation is a quality improvement mechanism integrating mentoring, self-assessment, peer review, and strategic guidance. One evidence of the international status of SAQS is that the Association of Indian Universities in India has recognised SAQS accreditation as equivalent to its National Board of Accreditation.
The Maldives Qualifications Authority (MQA) has systems of program accreditation, institutional review, and professional bodies to ensure the quality of higher education institutions in the country. However, VC has proven the quality of its faculties, staff and programs beyond those systems, at an international level.