The Faculty of Sciences at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), in collaboration with the Quality Assurance Office, organized on November 10, 2011 a conference under the title of “Road Map to Program Accreditation”, given by Prof. Walid Chakroun, Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Kuwait.

In his conference, Prof. Chakroun elaborated on the Continuous Program Improvement, shedding light on the accreditation agencies, benefits, costs and criteria. He started by listing the accreditation agencies, or schools where we can find accreditation, namely: programs in engineering – Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), architecture – National Architecture Accrediting Board (NAAB), business administration – the Association to Advance Collegiate School of Business (AACSB), liberal arts – American Academy for Liberal Education (AALE), and media – Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC).

Prof. Chakroun highlighted as well the benefits of such program, particularly international recognition of its the academic quality, identification of elements for program improvement through strict criteria by an educational accreditation institution, recognition of graduates for international professional registration or certification, documentation of program resources for the efficient utilization and future expansion, documentation of course material that help faculty members improve course delivery, outcomes and program assessment that help improve teaching and learning. He added that the costs of accreditation include the pre-visit expenses, visit expenses, post-visit expenses and faculty time expenses. As regarding the criteria of accreditation, they cover: students, program educational objectives, program outcomes and assessment, professional component, faculty member, facilities, institutional support and financial supports and finally program criteria. Concerning the criteria of students, he clarified that the institution must enforce policies for the acceptance of students to assure all students meet all program. Last but not least, Prof. Chakroun underlined that at the end of the program, graduates must demonstrate an ability to apply knowledge of math and science, ability to design a system or process to meet a desired need, ability to design and conduct experiments, to analyze and interpret data, ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams, ability to identify, formulate, and solve technical programs, ability to communicate effectively, an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility, broad education to understand the impact of science and society, a recognition of the need and ability to engage in life-long learning, knowledge of contemporary issues, etc.