The reasons that drove higher education organizations to adopt the procedures of quality assurance and accreditation quality assurance and accreditation

a. The German case

The three German experts confirm the mandatory nature of applying these procedures.

182 b. The Saudi case

As evident from the table below, when the experts were asked about their opinions regarding the reasons driving higher education organization to apply these procedures, the majority of them saw the Saudi higher education organizations as having applied the quality assurance and academic accreditation system due to the competition between the different universities to achieve leadership, excellence, and students’ recruitment. They also believed that the Saudi higher education institutions applied the academic accreditation system only to save face for the educational organizations and their status. There were further different reasons listed by the experts, which included: a directive imposed by globalization and local needs, the need to narrow the gap between the Saudi universities’ students and their colleagues in international universities to which they were sent to complete their studies, a prerequisite for graduates to continue their studies abroad, a desire to be amongst the international classifications, a prerequisite for graduates to continue their studies abroad, an order by the Saudi Ministry of Higher Education, a prerequisite for the vision of King Abdullah for the knowledge society 2020, which had a significant role in this direction.

Table 15. The reasons drove Saudi higher education organizations to adopt quality assurance and accreditation procedures

The reasons: Number of

experts A direction imposed by the global and domestic competition 1

A willingness to enter international classifications 1

A prerequisite for scholarships 1

Narrowing the level gap between Saudi scholarship students at international universities and the other students there

1

Competition between universities for leadership, excellence, and students’

recruitment

4

To maintain the institution’s reputation and status 3

A prerequisite from the Saudi Ministry of Higher Education 2

183

To achieve King Abdullah’s vision for the knowledge society 2020 1

To enhance and upgrade the educational process 1

5.10.6 The motivation behind the adoption of quality assurance and accreditation practices a. The German case

In this question, five motivations encouraging the higher education organizations to adopt the practices of quality assurance and accreditation were suggested, and the experts were asked their opinions about the role played by these motivations. As can be derived from the table below, the German experts gave their opinions on the suggested motivations behind the adoption of quality assurance and accreditation practices. Two experts considered gaining legitimacy as the main motivations encouraging this adoption. Other motivations, given by one expert each, included: the cultural expectations of society, copying what were publicly known as the best practices from other organizations, and the influences of wider international agencies. The professionalization pressure played no role in this adoption in the experts’

opinions.

Table 16. The motivation encouraging German higher education organizations to adopt the practices of quality assurance and accreditation

The suggested motivations: Number of

experts

The cultural expectations of the society 1

To gain legitimacy 2

As a result of copying what were publicly known as the best practices from other organizations

1

Professionalization pressure 0

The influences of wider organizations or international agencies that controlled and supported the educational structures and strategies

1

184 b. The Saudi case

As seen from the table below, the majority of the Saudi experts believed that there were three prime motives for a higher education organization to apply the quality assurance system and accreditation. These were the cultural expectations of the society, the addition of legitimacy to the higher education organization, and a willingness to apply well known practices as publicized by international organizations. Four experts saw the desire to add professionalism to the educational process as a motive for this adoption. Two experts considered this adoption as being due to the influence of the international organizations and agencies.

Table 17. The motivation encouraging Saudi higher education organizations to adopt the practices of quality assurance and accreditation

The suggested motivations: Number of

experts

The cultural expectations of the society. 5

To gain legitimacy 5

As a result of copying what were publicly known as the best practices from other organizations

5

Professionalization pressure 4

The influences of wider organizations or international agencies that control and support the educational structures and strategies

2

5.10.7 The formation process of accreditation practices in higher education institutions a. The German case

The development process of the current German higher education accreditation system from the experts’ point of view went through different actions. First, in 1999, the law for applying accreditation was created, which required the establishment of the Accreditation Council. Then the agencies were founded. Afterwards, they noticed in 2007 or 2008 that there was no legal basis, so they established a legal basis for the whole system for the Accreditation Council. At the European level, an experts’ committee set up the common criteria, the European Standards and Guidelines, which were then reflected in the national accreditation

185

criteria. At the same time, German experts looked at how the procedures should be developed.

There was involvement by external peers, scientific peers and the entire state. They also looked at other countries, at what was done there, but there was no clear role from other international agencies. However, the British agency came to Germany as a consultant for the German Accreditation Council.

b. The Saudi case

For this part, the experts, especially those with the longest experiences in the NCAAA, were asked about the procedures for improving the current accreditation system. This process took several steps, starting with reviewing international accreditation systems, in particular the American, British, and Australian models. Next, the status of higher education institutions at the time was a subject for study to identify their problems and needs. In light of the previous two steps, the national accreditation and quality assurance system was built. That was followed by a number of preparation steps including: training the local experts by international experts (Americans, Australians, British) to take control over these practices, conducting seminars to discuss and explain these practices, conducting annual visits to international universities to review their successful experiences both in institutional accreditation and program accreditation, and developing new administrative structures and job titles in the administrative structures of the universities.

5.10.8 The required restructuring for establishing quality assurance and an accreditation