‘In just a week’: UAE’s new licensing system to help universities launch academic programmes faster

UAE’s newly launched fast-track licensing and accreditation process —which has cut down approval time from several months to just a week —will help expedite the roll-out of new academic programmes, said officials from Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).

The previous lengthy procedures, which also included multiple site visits, often delayed the launch of new programmes. The move is part of the UAE government’s Zero Bureaucracy initiative aimed at all sectors.

Education leaders say the reforms will give a thrust to the country’s ambition to become an education hub. “This shift enables universities to launch programmes faster, enabling quicker response to the needs of the market,” said Dr Rawan Ghali, director of Institutional Effectiveness at the American University in Dubai. “In fact, our university has already experienced this new process with the accreditation of its new programme, the BS (Bachelor of Science) in Game Design and Development.”

“Previously, the licensing and accreditation visit could span from six to 9 months or longer, involving various steps and site visits. Under the new outcome-based framework, the process has been dramatically reduced to as less as one week for qualifying institutions, particularly those with medium and high confidence and holding valid international accreditation,” she added.

Ghali also pointed out while the approval process may seem faster, the adoption of this process ensures it remains evidence-based, rigorous and tied to actual deliverables.

Agreeing with the idea, Dr Adam Fenech, provost at Canadian University Dubai, said the new system dramatically reduces timelines and simplifies procedures. This ensures that educational institutions can achieve licensure and accreditation of various programmes with unprecedented speed.

“Previously, obtaining institutional licensure and program accreditation involved extended timelines with multiple site visits, leading to prolonged periods before institutions could commence operations or offer new programs,” he explained.

“Under the new framework, institutional licensure can be achieved within one week, provided a local license exists, and requires only a single site visit. Similarly, new programe accreditations are designed to be completed within one week, followed by a verification visit before the programme begins,” he added.

Other industry experts emphasised that fast-track model can add significant value to the country’s expanding knowledge-based economy if implemented correctly.

“This change makes universities in the country more competitive through enabling quicker establishment of new institutions and programmes and fostering academic innovation,” said Fadi Khalek, managing director – International, Education Development Trust.

“The ability to expedite accreditation for new programmes or revised programmes allows higher education to stay on track with rapid market transformations. Otherwise, universities risked not being able to stay in sync and needing to play catchup with the industry,” Fadi added.

Mid-cycle evaluation by Ministry

In line with international best practices, the Ministry has also introduced mid-cycle visits to follow up on the improvement of universities and thus maintain high academic standards.

Professor Souri Banerjee, director of BITS Pilani Dubai Campus, said, “The new licensing and accreditation process help the Universities and Branch campuses which meet the required standards to get the IIL (Initial Institutional Licensure) and IPA (Initial Program Accreditation) over a short period of time and is designed to accelerate approvals for them without compromising academic quality, through several built-in safeguards and quality assurance measures.”

The new approval process is based on evidence-based documentation and the emphasis is on continuous monitoring.

“This has a focus on outcome-based evaluation via 24 pre-defined KPIs (key performance indicators) on six pillars. This documentation helps us to assess quality upfront, minimising the need for lengthy evaluation without reducing rigour. Periodic and data-driven reviews are to be built into the system to ensure that the institutes maintain high academic and operational standards over time,” added Banerjee.