Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Registering a Qualification with SAQF (Saudi Arabia Qualification Framework)


In my previous article (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/understanding-saudi-arabia-qualification-framework-saqf-usmani/) , I introduced SAQF mentioning that it has standards for institutions and program and that the institutions in the Kingdom have to take accreditation with SAQF and later they have to get their Qualifications (programs) registered by following certain standards.
In this article, I am going to discuss how a qualification may be registered under Saudi Arabia Qualification Framework. There are seven standards to meet in order to register a qualification. I have discussed them in brief with some conclusion at the end.
Standard-1 Eligibility: As mentioned before that applicants for qualification registration are required to register the institute first to make sure that providers of qualification have adequate resources to offer the qualifications.
Standard-2  Stakeholders Involvement: It is a common observation that many programs are prepared by a small group of faculty members borrowing contents from various sources. SAQF requires program to provide evidence as to how stakeholders were taken on board for preparation and review of the program. This guarantees that a program is based on market needs.
Standard-3 Qualification Purpose: This standard requires program to provide evidence that the program is based on market needs and has specific objectives to contribute to society. This is where the programs would face challenges as objectives need to be focused and measurable in the long run.
Standard-4 Qualification Title: This standard requires program to keep the title of the program in line with specific level of SAQF. This standard makes sure that all the qualifications offered in the kingdom are in line with national policy guidelines.
Standard-5 Qualification Components: This standard is quite crucial and challenging as it requires program to set learning outcomes of courses and program in line with SAQF levels. That means program and course learning outcomes should clearly identify the knowledge, skills and competencies to be achieved.  
Standard-6 Assessment of Learning Outcomes: This is the most significant standard as it makes it mandatory for the program to provide evidence of assessment of learning outcomes at the level of the program as well as at the level of courses in the program. This is quite challenging as the faculty in most cases is not trained enough to link assessment practices with learning outcomes. This standard would make it mandatory for each program to assess PLOs through direct and indirect assessment measures.
Standard-7: Entry Requirements, Progression and Transfer: This standard requires program to categorically mention the entry requirements and the policy of credit transfer in case a student moves from one institution to another for any reason.

Looking at these standards and looking at the standards for institutional registration it appears that these are the common yet not practiced standards. If implemented in letter and spirit, it would bring lasting impact on education sector in the Kingdom. Although SAQF is taking its roots though workshops at different institutions, they need to make an independent and interactive website with helpline for technical assistance and technical manuals for those seeking accreditation. This would give them wider visibility and it will attract more institutions to come into its folder for registration
Though I have provided a detailed introduction of the standards, feel free to get back to me for any assistance you may need for further understanding of SAQF standards.

Sunday, January 20, 2019

Understanding Saudi Arabia Qualification Framework (SAQF)


Saudi Arabian Qualification Framework (SAQF) is a document aiming to integrate education, training and employment in a unified system. It has replaced the old National Qualification Framework (NQF) document. Educational Institutes in the Kingdom are required to register their institutions as well as the qualifications/programs they are offering on a set of standards. This article provides basic understanding of SAQF for an institution seeking accreditation with SAQF. There are two sets of standards i.e. standards for institution, standards for the program.

Standards for Registering Institutions :
The purpose of setting standards for institutions is to make sure that appropriate systems are in place to develop, manage, review and issue qualifications at various institutions in the kingdom.
Once the institutions get registered with SAQF through demonstrating evidence based compliance of standards, they would be eligible to move to the second level i.e. registering qualification (programs).
There are 07 standards for the institution registration. Each standard is further divided into one or more criteria (25 in total). Institutions have to demonstrate compliance to each criterion with specific evidence. SAQF provides guidance on understanding the criteria as well as the possible evidence to support compliance. However, these are just the guidelines and the list of evidence would depend on the institutional context.

1.      Standards for Registration of Qualification :
The purpose of these standards for registration of qualification is to make sure that there are effective systems in place to design, deliver, review and issue a qualification.
Thus all the institutions in the Kingdom are required to get themselves registered first as qualified institute for offering qualification, they would get their programs registered with SAQF by showing compliance to qualification registration standards.
There are 07 standards for the registration of qualification. Each standard is further divided into one or more criteria (21 in total). Institutions have to demonstrate compliance to each criterion with specific evidence. SAQF provides guidance on understanding the criteria as well as the possible evidence to support compliance.
SAQF would certainly bring several positive changes. Institute would review their level of preparation before offering a qualification. Even if the resources are available at the institute, registration of qualification itself would guarantee that the program is well thought-out and has potential to prove its significance to the recipients.