Faculty Perceptions of Accreditation: A Case Study of Prince Nora University

Faculty Perceptions of Accreditation: A Case Study of Prince Nora University

Introduction

        Education has been identified as one a key to development in the modern and future era. Most people are accessing education to reduce the risk of being left out in development and growth issues in almost every aspect of the society. It is a factor that affects the political, economic, and social welfare of a population. In Saudi Arabia, Education has been identified as the fundamental pillar to growth and sustainability (Al-Filali & Gallarotti, 2012). It is being considered because the oil reserves from which the country heavily relies on for economic development have been projected to dry up within the next one hundred years (Onsman, 2010). Tertiary education in the kingdom is thus being closely monitored by both internal institutional and external government initiatives. The goal is to ensure that quality education is being provided to the students to ensure that the kingdom has a large percentage of educated and trained personnel in the future. Having an educated population would also help the country to establish their place in the global scholarly place. More so, the citizens of the country shall be in a better position to drive globalization in the modern era (Burbules, & Torres, 2000).

        Globalization in the tertiary education sector involves reorienting the structures and enlarging the scope of education in order to meet the challenges and exploit the opportunities of globalization (Gnanam, 2008). Thus, provision of quality education is a vital responsibility for any university across the world. Colleges want to be the best in providing education to their students so that they can have a competitive advantage against other institutions. More so, ministries for higher education are formed to monitor and control the quality of education in these institutions. In Saudi Arabia, the National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment establishes standards and procedures that must be followed by the universities and faculties for them to attain accreditation (Onsman, 2010). An investigation on the relationship between accreditation and quality of educational services offered has to be centered on the stakeholders involved directly in the education sector for the long-run. The best suited group for such research is the faculty members and administrators of an institution because they are directly involved with the students’ day to day learning activities. More so, they are constantly evaluated to ensure they maintain quality services in line with accreditation policies (Alkhazim, 2003 

Personal Experience

        The Prince Nora University is in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the leading women’s universities in the region with a visionary goal of establishing women of rich knowledge and ethics. I undertook my studies in the institution in the recent past, prior to them undertaking the accreditation process. I studied in the college of Education at a time they were using internal controls to measure the quality of services they offered. During this process of accreditation, there has been a tremendous change in the learning environment and most of the standards being followed are well conversant with accreditation guidelines. This research will help me to analyze the organizational changes that have taken place within the institution as they seek accreditation.

Statement of the Issue

        To attain accreditation, there are certain organizational changes that are realized in an institution (Moraca, 2011). The activities and standards of an institution are first aligned to the guidelines of an accreditation body. To drive such a change, the faculty members are directed on which way to go about their activities towards achieving the defined goals (Darandari et. Al., 2009). The College of Art and Education at the Prince Nora University is on the process of seeking accreditation for their programs. In this research, the faculty perceptions shall be investigated on the basis of the organizational change theories. Accreditation adds value to an institution because there is an assurance of quality education services that are in line with the national and international standards (Onsman, 2011). Therefore, this research investigates the perceptions that faculty members of the colleges have prior to accreditation and the changes that occur within the institution before and after seeking accreditation. The various categories of organizational change theories including evolutionary, teleological, life cycle, dialectical, social cognition, and cultural models shall be looked into in order to establish the dynamics of the change process (Kezar, 2001).

Significance of the issue

        Accreditation has been identified as a driving force towards organizational change. According to Pomey, Contandriopoulos, François, and Bertrand, (2004) who investigated the effectiveness of accreditation in hospital service improvement, there is an increase in quality when an institution is accredited. The research points out that in the normal operating environment, an organization’s internal mechanisms does not effectively support change as compared to the use of an external accreditation policy. One of the reason that this research is being conducted is to investigate the validity of this approach in the education sector. It seeks to answer whether accreditation increases the quality of services in Saudi Arabia’s education sector. Various accreditation elements have been identified to drive change in an institution (Braithwaite et. al., 2011). Furthermore, there is always a shift in perceptions regarding the changes to an institution during accreditation. For this study, these claims are being investigated based on a women’s institution in culture where female has been stereotyped in most of the cultural history. Thus, another reason is that it seeks to establish the validity of organizational change dynamics in such a cultural setting. Reviewing the opinions and perceptions of the faculty and administrators of the women’s institution will increase the understanding of the organization changes happening (Savery, 2002). Because people drives organizations, their perceptions always affect how the organization adapts to the specified working environment (Paccioni, Sicotte, & Champagne, 2008). A study of the organizational behavior of the institution will also help in reviewing the quality assurance process for women education in Saudi Arabia. More so, studying the university would provide insight on women issues in the kingdom because it has been established as a women’s institution.