The Process of Accreditation of Higher Education Institutions

By Sam Sophorn

May 20-21, 2013: The University of Cambodia (UC) held a two-day internal workshop on the Process of Accreditation of Higher Education Institutions in Cambodia, in response to the requirements of the Accreditation Committee of Cambodia (ACC).

Senior university staff (Ms. Por Malis, Vice-President for Operations; Dr. Sokhom Sovathana, Vice-President for Academic Affairs; Dr. Y Ratana, Dean for Undergraduate Studies and Director of Academic Foundation Department; Mr. Chheang Sangvath, Associate Dean for the College of Education and Director of OSAA; and Mr. Pay How, Associate Dean for the College of Arts and Humanities) gave an intensive workshop for full- and parttime staff, aimed at familiarizing UC employees with the accreditation procedure and requirements set by the ACC Nine Minimum Standards.

Ms. Malis gave a general picture of the ACC’s process for institutions to be considered for provisional and full accreditation. She highlighted that UC has already received full accreditation for its Academic Foundation Program (AFP) since 2006 and was going to get another full accreditation for 2013-2015: this will be the last one for AFP on its own. The University is working on getting the entire institutional program fully accredited by May 2014.

Ms. Malis emphasized that UC needs to work hard to gain adequate scores for each indicator for each of the nine standards identifi ed by the ACC. Mr. Pay How added that UC has to be clear on a specific level of accreditation (provisional vs. full) that should be applied. Dr. Y Ratana noted that there is a need to form at least two working groups: an Internal Assessment Team and an internal report-writing team.

The University has been tracking all aspects of its operations to meet the ACC Nine Minimum Standards requirements. It is necessary to continue working on compiling documents based on the implementation of the strategic and action plans. Ms. Por Malis emphasized the need for full understanding, participation and collaboration from each individual staff in order to achieve our goal of receiving full accreditation for the University. Ms. Malis made everyone aware that there will be sub-committees developed, whose aim will be to get UC prepared and ready to achieve Nine Minimum Standards required by ACC.