Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) received the international accreditation certificate from ASIC four years ago. During this period the establishment of International Quality Assurance and Accreditation Network (IQAAN) in university with the effective collaboration of offices for Educational Affairs, Research Affairs, Student Affairs, Management Development and Resource Planning, and International Affairs was put on the agenda and TUMS utilized this opportunity for surveying on indicators, self-assessment and documentation. Now on the verge of reaccreditation, Director of International Relations, Accreditation and Ranking and the university representative for International Affairs in IQAAN knows accreditation as a tool for quality assurance and improvement in educational services.
In this interview, I’ve talked to Dr. Mohammad Hossein Nekoofar about performance of office of International Affairs in implementing accreditation standards as well as some challenges and facilitators.
What is the purpose of reaccreditation?
The purpose is assurance of quality improvement of educational services in university and to make sure that we, alike the past are in accordance with world’s standards in higher education. TUMS, once received accreditation in 2012 and now by passing four years, inspectors are going to come back to check TUMS again for reaccreditation. As I mentioned, the main goal is quality assurance.
Have the indicators been changed or the same indicators are going to be inspected in reaccreditation?
No, the same indicators are going to be inspected. In reaccreditation process, there would be a reaccreditation checklist which doesn’t include all the respective indicators but just a miniature of indicators and it is to say that these indicators are vital and TUMS should provide inspectors with respective documents in these areas.
What have been the strong points of international area in university/school in operating accreditation indicators? In which indicators we have had a good performance?
We have had a good job in student recruitment and marketing. As an example, now we have around 700 International students from more than 37 countries in different parts of the world which is due to our colleague’s services in the university. It is to say, that always there is an opportunity for improvement and quality enhancement. As an example, improvement plans in the area of recruiting international students have been codified in order to improve our efficiency in future.
What attempts have been made in order to operate accreditation indicators during the last 4 years? And how well these actions have been implemented in comparison with the ideal condition?
Probably, one of the most important actions in the last 4 years, was the establishment of IQAAN in the university which is formed not only with the efforts of office of International affairs, but also with the effective cooperation of the other four sections in the university, i.e.; office of educational affairs, office of research affairs, office of management development and resource planning office and office of student affairs. I’d like to appreciate admirable efforts of my colleagues and their team in all four sections and as they spend a lot of time on checking indicators, doing self-assessment and documentation. Although, there is still space for more practice to achieve the ideal place, I hope with the collaboration of other areas in the university we can improve the culture of quality assurance throughout the university.
According to attempts that have been made in accreditation, which indicators are required to be considered carefully in International section? And what are your plans in future and in this area?
By doing self-assessment we make familiar with strength points and those points requiring more consideration. In International section we need to improve our interactions with Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Consulate Affairs of international students to inform them about rules and regulations for students who are on their visa in Iran. We also need to investigate students’ visa condition regularly. And if for example, students give up their education, We should be able to inform the related bodies using a proper infrastructure. We should also be able to develop a system to officially recognize students’ qualifications.
What challenges and obstacles did you face when operating accreditation indicators in your section?
Probably the most important challenge in this area was shortage of human resource. Additionally we should consider the budget limitation especially for implementation of some standards which need to be revised and, operation of improvement plans.
Translated By: S. Javedanfard