Oman Academic Accreditation Authority

CALL FOR PUBLIC SUBMISSIONS

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority (OAAA) will be undertaking a General Foundation Program (GFP) Quality Audit of MoHE Colleges of Applied Science (include: the college of applied science Ibri, the college of applied science Sohar, the college of applied science Nizwa,   the college of applied science Sur, the college of applied science Salalah, the college of applied science Rustaq). All higher education institutions in Oman delivering a General Foundation Program undergo GFP Quality Audit. The purpose of GFP Quality Audit is to inform the public about the quality of GFPs and to help institutions to prepare students for their higher education studies. The GFP Quality Audit involves a Self-Study by the institutions of their GFPs resulting in a GFP Quality Audit Portfolio, followed by external review by a GFP Quality Audit Panel resulting in publication of the GFP Quality Audit Report.

As part of its deliberations, the GFP Quality Audit Panel invites submissions from interested persons. Submissions may cover any issue relevant to the GFP Quality Audit. A submission will be received by the GFP Quality Audit Panel only under the following conditions:

·         It must be sent by email to tess@oaaa.gov.om by no later than 21 September 2019.

·         It must include the name, position, organisation (HEI, workplace, etc.) and contact details of the person/s making the submission. This information will be treated in confidence. Anonymous submissions will not be considered by the GFP Quality Audit Panel under any circumstances.

·         The person/s making the submission must be willing to participate in a telephone interview should the GFP Quality Audit Panel consider such a discussion to be necessary.

·         The submission should address aspects of University of MoHE Colleges of Applied Sciences’ activities that will assist the GFP Quality Audit Panel in forming conclusions about the HEIs’ GFP. It should contain specific evidence for any claims being made. Vague statements or allegations will not be pursued by the GFP Quality Audit Panel.

·         The submission should not refer to personal grievances or single out individual members of staff (the GFP Quality Audit Panel has no mandate to address grievances).

·         The submission (excluding any particular corroborating evidence) should be no more than 1,000 words (two sides of an A4 page in length).

All submissions are confidential in the sense that the GFP Quality Audit Panel needs to be able to use the information provided in submissions, but will not reveal their source.

If the GFP Quality Audit Panel chooses to investigate, it will be only as part of the overall GFP Quality Audit, and not in terms of the details of a particular complaint. The GFP Quality Audit Panel will not make any response or report to the person(s) making the submission.

Staff and students of MoHE Colleges of Applied Sciences may wish to contact Dr Halima Al Badwawi on halima.dg@cas.edu.om for further information about MoHE Colleges of Applied Sciences. For more general enquiries about the OAAA or the GFP Quality Audit contact Ms Gargi Chugh on 24121652 or visit www.oaaa.gov.om