Oman Academic Accreditation Authority Report of an Audit ...oaaa.gov.om/Review/zcw_report_final.pdfAl Zahra College for Women (ZCW) was established in 1999, with the express aim of

Oman AcademicAccreditation Authority

Report of an Audit ofAl Zahra College

for Women

November 2010

HEI Quality Audit Report Al Zahra College for Women

Audit Report Number 014

©2010 Oman Academic Accreditation Authority

P.O. Box 1255P.C. 133Al-KhuwairSultanate of OmanPh +968 2461 4361/2Fax +968 2461 4364http://www.oac.gov.om

http://www.oac.gov.om

Al Zahra College for Women HEI Quality Audit Report

Page 1 of 46 © Oman Academic Accreditation Authority

CONTENTS

Overview of the Quality Audit Process ..................................................................................................... 3

How to Read This Report........................................................................................................................... 4

Conclusions.................................................................................................................................................. 5Executive Summary of Findings ............................................................................................................. 5Summary of Commendations .................................................................................................................. 7Summary of Affirmations........................................................................................................................ 7Summary of Recommendations............................................................................................................... 7

1 Governance and Management............................................................................................................ 101.1 Mission, Vision and Values......................................................................................................... 101.2 Governance................................................................................................................................. 111.3 Management ............................................................................................................................... 111.4 Institutional Affiliations for Programs and Quality Assurance................................................... 121.5 Strategic Plan.............................................................................................................................. 131.6 Operational Planning .................................................................................................................. 131.7 Financial Management ............................................................................................................... 141.8 Risk Management ....................................................................................................................... 141.9 Policy Management .................................................................................................................... 141.10 Entity and Activity Review Systems .......................................................................................... 151.11 Student Grievance Process ......................................................................................................... 161.12 Health and Safety ....................................................................................................................... 161.13 Oversight of Associated Entities (e.g. owned companies) ......................................................... 16

2 Student Learning by Coursework Programs .................................................................................... 172.1 Graduate Attributes and Student Learning Objectives ............................................................... 172.2 Curriculum.................................................................................................................................. 172.3 Student Entry Standards ............................................................................................................. 182.4 Foundation Program ................................................................................................................... 182.5 Teaching Quality ........................................................................................................................ 192.6 Plagiarism................................................................................................................................... 202.7 Student Placements..................................................................................................................... 202.8 Assessment Methods, Standards and Moderation ...................................................................... 212.9 Academic Security and Invigilation ........................................................................................... 212.10 Student Retention and Progression............................................................................................. 212.11 Graduate Destinations and Employability .................................................................................. 21

3 Student Learning by Research Programs ......................................................................................... 23

4 Staff Research and Consultancy......................................................................................................... 244.1 Research Planning & Management ............................................................................................ 244.2 Research Performance ................................................................................................................ 244.3 Research Funding Schemes ........................................................................................................ 244.4 Consultancy Activities................................................................................................................ 244.5 Professional Development for Research..................................................................................... 254.6 Research – Teaching Nexus........................................................................................................ 25

5 Industry and Community Engagement ............................................................................................. 265.1 Industry and Community Engagement Planning & Management .............................................. 26


© Oman Academic Accreditation Authority Page 2 of 46

5.2 Relationships with Industry and Employers ............................................................................... 265.3 Relationships with Professions................................................................................................... 265.4 Relationships with Other Education Providers........................................................................... 265.5 Relationships with Alumni ......................................................................................................... 275.6 Relationships with the Community at Large .............................................................................. 27

6 Academic Support Services ................................................................................................................ 286.1 Academic Support Services Planning & Management............................................................... 286.2 Registry (Enrolment and Student Records) ................................................................................ 286.3 Library ........................................................................................................................................ 296.4 Information and Learning Technology Services......................................................................... 296.5 Academic Advising .................................................................................................................... 296.6 Student Learning Support........................................................................................................... 306.7 Teaching Resources .................................................................................................................... 30

7 Students and Student Support Services............................................................................................. 317.1 Students and Student Support Services Planning & Management ............................................. 317.2 Student Profile ............................................................................................................................ 317.3 Student Satisfaction and Climate................................................................................................ 327.4 Student Behaviour ...................................................................................................................... 327.5 Career and Employment Services .............................................................................................. 327.6 Student Finances......................................................................................................................... 337.7 Accommodation, Catering and Transport................................................................................... 337.8 Medical and Counselling Facilities ............................................................................................ 337.9 International Student Services .................................................................................................... 347.10 Social and Recreational Services and Facilities ......................................................................... 34

8 Staff and Staff Support Services ........................................................................................................ 358.1 Human Resources Planning & Management.............................................................................. 358.2 Staff Profile................................................................................................................................. 358.3 Recruitment and Selection.......................................................................................................... 358.4 Induction..................................................................................................................................... 368.5 Professional Development.......................................................................................................... 368.6 Performance Planning and Review............................................................................................. 368.7 Promotion and Other Incentives ................................................................................................. 378.8 Severance.................................................................................................................................... 378.9 Staff Organisational Climate and Retention ............................................................................... 378.10 Omanisation................................................................................................................................ 37

9 General Support Services and Facilities............................................................................................ 399.1 General Support Services and Facilities Planning and Management ......................................... 399.2 Public Relations and Marketing ................................................................................................. 409.3 Communication Services............................................................................................................ 409.4 Facilities Management................................................................................................................ 40

Appendix A. Audit Panel ...................................................................................................................... 42

Appendix B. Abbreviations, Acronyms and Terms............................................................................ 43



OVERVIEW OF THE QUALITY AUDIT PROCESS

This Quality Audit Report (the ‘Report’) documents the findings of a Quality Audit by the OmanAcademic Accreditation Authority (OAAA) (formerly the Oman Accreditation Council) of Al ZahraCollege for Women (ZCW). It comments on ZCW’s Mission and Vision, and the appropriateness andeffectiveness of their systems for achieving that Mission and Vision. Quality Audit is the first stage inOman’s institutional accreditation process. It is designed to provide a level of assurance to the publicabout the quality of ZCW’s activities, and constructive feedback to ZCW to assist with its ongoingimprovement efforts.

The Quality Audit commenced with ZCW undertaking a self study of its Mission, Vision and systems.The results were summarized in their Quality Audit Portfolio (the ‘Portfolio’). This document wassubmitted to the OAAA by the due date of 5 December 2009.

The OAAA appointed an external Audit Panel (the ‘Panel’), comprising suitably qualified andexperienced local and international reviewers, to conduct the quality audit. For membership of the Panelsee Appendix A. The Panel met (international members by telephone) on 23 January 2010 to considerZCW’s Portfolio. Following this, the Audit Panel Chairperson’s representative and Executive Officerundertook a planning visit on behalf of the Panel to ZCW on 13 February 2010 to clarify certain matters,request additional information and make arrangements for the Panel’s audit visit.

Prior to the Audit Visit, the Panel invited submissions from the public about the quality of ZCW’sactivities. One submission was received and considered.

The Audit Visit took place over 21-23 March 2010. During this time, the Panel spoke with approximatelyninety people, including governing authorities, staff, students and external stakeholders. It also visited aselection of venues and considered a selection of additional materials.

No information provided after 23 March 2010 (being the last day of the Audit Visit) was taken intoconsideration for the purposes of this audit, other than pre-existing items specifically requested by thePanel in advance.

The Report contains a summary of the Panel’s findings, together with formal commendations where goodpractices have been confirmed, affirmations where ZCW’s ongoing quality improvement efforts meritsupport, and recommendations where there are significant opportunities or improvements not yet beingadequately addressed. The Report aims to provide a balanced set of observations, but does not commenton every system in place at ZCW.

The Panel’s audit activities and preparation of this Report were governed by regulations set by the OAAABoard. This Report was approved for release by the OAAA Board on 1 November 2010.

The OAAA was established by Royal Decree No. 54/2010 to replace the Oman Accreditation Council.Its responsibilities include conducting Quality Audits of higher education institutions (HEIs) in theSultanate of Oman. For further information, visit the OAAA website (http://www.oac.gov.om). Fulldetails of the quality audit process are available in the HEI Quality Audit Manual (available fromhttp://www.oac.gov.om/qa/HEI/).

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HOW TO READ THIS REPORT

Each OAAA Audit Report is written primarily for the institution being audited. The Report is specificallydesigned to provide feedback to help that institution better understand its own strengths and opportunitiesfor improvement. The feedback is structured according to nine broad areas of activity and presented asformal Commendations, Affirmations and Recommendations, or as informal suggestions, eachaccompanied with explanatory paragraphs. It is expected that the institution will act upon this feedbackas part of its continuous efforts to provide the best possible education to students.

The Report is made public because it also may be of interest to students and potential students, theirfamilies, employers, Government, other higher education institutions in Oman and abroad, and otheraudiences. Students, in particular, may find this Report interesting because it provides some independentcomment on the learning environment at this institution (particularly sections 2, 6 and 7). However,prospective students should still undertake their own investigations when deciding which highereducation institution will best serve their particular learning needs.

Quality Audit is the first stage in Oman’s two-stage process for institutional accreditation. Its focus isformative (developmental) rather than summative. In other words, although the audit addresses nineareas of activity which are common to all institutions, it does not measure the institution againstexternally set standards of performance in those nine areas. Instead, it considers how well the institutionis attending to those areas in accordance with its own Mission and Vision and in the context of relevantlegal regulations. Therefore, Quality Audit recognises that each institution has a unique purpose andprofile; it does not directly compare one institution with all the other institutions in Oman.

For these reasons, a Quality Audit does not result in a pass or fail; nor does it provide any sort of grade orscore. It should also be noted that the precise number of Commendations, Affirmations andRecommendations that an institution receives in its Audit Report is not as important as the substance ofthose conclusions. For example, some Recommendations may focus on critical issues such as assessmentof student learning, whereas others may focus on issues such as the maintenance of teaching equipment inclassrooms which, while important, is clearly less critical. Therefore, it is neither significant norappropriate to compare the Audit Reports of different HEIs solely on the numbers of Commendations,Affirmations and Recommendations.

The second stage in the institutional accreditation process is Standards Assessment. This stage, whichwill take place about four years after the Quality Audit, does provide a summative assessment againstexternal standards in the same nine areas of activity. It should be noted that Oman also operates a systemof accreditation/recognition for academic programs, separately from the institutional accreditationprocess. For more information on Oman’s System of Quality Assurance in Higher Education please visitwww.oac.gov.om.

This Report contains a number of references to source evidence considered by the Audit Panel. Thesereferences are for the HEI’s benefit in further addressing the issues raised. In most cases this evidence isnot in the public domain.

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CONCLUSIONS

This section summarises the main findings and lists the Commendations, Affirmations andRecommendations. They are listed in the order in which they appear in the Report, and are notprioritised. It should be noted that other favourable comments and suggestions for improvement arementioned throughout the text of the Report.

Executive Summary of FindingsAl Zahra College for Women (ZCW) was established in 1999, with the express aim of providing highereducation to women in Oman. It is based in Muscat and attracts female students from both the capitalarea and outlying regions. In the academic year, 2008/2009 there were 862 students with 211 of thesestudying on the Foundation Program. The other students were enrolled in one of four academicdepartments: Information Technology; English Language and Literature; Managerial and FinancialServices; and Graphic Design. The College has had an affiliation agreement with Ahliyya AmmanUniversity (AAU) in Jordan since 2000 in order to quality assure its programs. AAU awards the degreesand the diplomas are conferred by ZCW.

ZCW participated in a Pilot Quality Audit by the former Oman Accreditation Council (OAC) in 2008which resulted in a Quality Audit Report that was shared with the College. ZCW was encouraged tomake use of that Report in its own quality improvement efforts; however, under the OAC’s Pilot QualityAudit protocols, Pilot Quality Audit Reports do not count as official Quality Audits. Consequently, theReport was not made available to the public. In addition, the protocols confirm that Pilot Quality AuditReports are not to be used as the basis for subsequent Quality Audits, so the previous Report wastherefore not taken into consideration by the Panel for the purposes of this audit.

ZCW submitted a Portfolio which was developed by a team within the College. The Portfolio isprimarily descriptive though there is some evidence of reflection. ZCW has identified strengths andopportunities for improvement in a number of the sections and has suggested approaches to address someof these. However, there does not appear to be sufficient or systematic information gathering to provideevidence for the College to reflect on its performance. At the time of this quality audit, the College wasundergoing a process of change as a new campus was currently under construction. This has the potentialto have a significant impact on future ZCW activities.

ZCW is committed to providing the Omani labour market with female graduates and the Panel fullysupports this Mission. ZCW now needs to take steps to ensure that a consistent Mission Statement isdisseminated and understood by all stakeholders. Its relationship with AAU is an important element inthe achievement of the Mission but the Panel found varying interpretations on the nature of the affiliationagreement with AAU, indicating that ZCW needs to promote a shared understanding of its relationshipwith its affiliate. ZCW has developed a Strategic Plan and now should build on this in terms ofdeveloping measurable targets, resource allocation and mechanisms for accountability. This should thenhave a positive impact on operational planning at the department level. The College would benefit fromreviewing its approach to risk and policy management, including health and safety and developing arobust system for data collection and analysis in order to monitor its performance against its strategicobjectives.

In terms of the teaching and learning activities of the College, the curricula are provided by its affiliate,AAU. While there is some contextualization within courses to ensure their appropriateness for ZCWstudents, this could be managed in a more systematic way. ZCW has broad expectations for its graduatesand now needs, in consultation with staff, students and external stakeholders, to develop specific graduateattributes which reflect the needs of the workplace. At the time of the audit, ZCW was reviewing itsFoundation Program in line with Oman’s National Standards for Foundation Programs and the Panel



supports the College’s efforts in this area. Students interviewed by the Panel indicated their satisfactionwith the teaching at the College; however, a system needs to be established to support and monitor thequality of teaching. ZCW has developed a plagiarism policy but needs to ensure that this is welldisseminated and underpins a rigorous approach to maintaining academic integrity throughout theCollege. There are limited student placements on offer for students; ZCW could work with localemployers to provide more opportunities to enhance this aspect of the student learning experience.

ZCW is an institution primarily devoted to teaching; nevertheless it considers that research within theCollege and with the community is an important area that not only improves staff performance but theCollege’s prestige as well. ZCW recognizes that it needs to review its approach to research and is makingefforts to do so through the formation of a research committee and the allocation of funding.

ZCW is aware that engagement with industry and the community will contribute positively to nationaldevelopment and ZCW has outlined its intention to strengthen ties with local society and civil societyorganizations in its Strategic Plan. The College needs to identify specific strategies to support itsintentions and develop measurable targets to monitor its success in this area. The Panel supports theCollege’s efforts to establish an alumni association and develop relationships with key partners within thecommunity.

In the area of academic support services, ZCW has identified the need to review the operation of itsregistration system. Whilst the Panel agrees that this is an important priority, such a review needs to bepart of an overall strategic and operational plan in this area to ensure that all departments involved have ashared understanding of their purpose. In its move to the new campus, the College should also review itslibrary provision and ensure that its information technology (IT) infrastructure meets the needs of allacademic departments and professional services. ZCW would benefit from developing an integrated,comprehensive approach to its student support services, including the recruitment of qualifiedprofessional staff in key areas. The Panel acknowledges the College’s commitment to gathering andacting upon student feedback and encourages it to look for additional approaches to measure studentsatisfaction and using results for improvement. ZCW needs to develop a clearly documented system fordealing with student misconduct and to ensure that this is clearly communicated to all stakeholders. Inorder to achieve its Mission, ZCW should take the opportunity to establish a career’s training adviceservice for students and recent graduates.

ZCW approach to human resources (HR) management has been focused up until now on meeting shortterm needs. The College needs to develop medium and long-term strategies in order to fulfill its HRneeds and meet its goals. These strategies need to include a set of transparent, fair HR policies thatinclude recruitment, induction, promotion, and appeals and to ensure that these are consistentlyimplemented and reviewed on a regular basis. The Panel confirmed through interviews that staffmembers are provided with some training courses on an ad hoc basis and that the College would benefitfrom formulating a training plan for staff development activities and a formal training policy. ZCW’sefforts with respect to the Omanisation of its staff were noted and this has been identified as one of theCollege’s strategic objectives. The College now needs to consider mechanisms in order to recruit morelocal faculty members.

As mentioned above, at the time of the audit, ZCW was anticipating the opening of a new campus in timefor the start of the 2010-2011 academic year. The new facility is expected to accommodate all activitieson the present campus excluding student hostels. The Panel heard that significant efforts have been madeto generate the resources needed to build the new campus and that it is intended that the new campusprovides room for significant expansion of the College’s activities. This may well be the time for ZCW toidentify and present a coherent, consistent image of itself to its stakeholders and to the public, and supportits ambitious growth plans with a well-resourced plan for marketing and public relations. ZCW needs todevelop and implement a college-wide strategy to support its external and internal communicationstrategies.



Summary of CommendationsA formal Commendation recognises an instance of particularly good practice.

1. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority commends Al Zahra College for Women forits commitment to providing higher education opportunities for women in Oman.......................... 10

2. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority commends Al Zahra College for Women forproviding academic advising arrangements which support a positive overall studentexperience......................................................................................................................................... 30

Summary of Affirmations

A formal Affirmation recognizes an instance in which ZCW has accurately identified a significantopportunity for improvement and has demonstrated appropriate commitment to addressing the matter.

1. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority supports Al Zahra College for Women’s plansto review and develop its Foundation Program in line with national standards. .............................. 19

2. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority agrees with Al Zahra College for Women’splans to review the role of research and supports its efforts to develop, implement and fundresearch activities in line with its Mission and strategic objectives. ................................................ 24

3. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority agrees that Al Zahra College for Womenneeds to develop its relationship with its alumni and supports its efforts to establish analumni association. ........................................................................................................................... 27

4. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority agrees that Al Zahra College for Womenneeds to review the operation of its registration system and supports its efforts to furtherupdate the registry support systems.................................................................................................. 28

5. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority supports Al Zahra College for Women’sefforts to improve its library services through collection development and expanded access toonline resources and journals. .......................................................................................................... 29

6. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recognises Al Zahra College for Women’scommitment to gather and act upon student feedback and encourages the College to exploreadditional approaches to measuring student satisfaction and using results for improvement. ......... 32

7. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority supports Al Zahra College for Women’sefforts to improve its accommodation, catering and transport arrangements, through theupgrading of services where necessary and routinely monitoring progress. .................................... 33

8. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority agrees with Al Zahra College for Women thatthe College infrastructure needs to be upgraded and fully supports its endeavours to build anew campus. ..................................................................................................................................... 39

Summary of Recommendations

A Recommendation draws attention to a significant opportunity for improvement that ZCW has either notyet accurately identified or to which it is not yet adequately attending.

1. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al Zahra College forWomen review, revise and disseminate clear and consistent Mission and Vision Statementsthrough an inclusive process involving all stakeholders to guide the next stage of theCollege’s development. .................................................................................................................... 10



2. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al Zahra College forWomen refine its governance and management structure and further clarify the roles andresponsibilities of all key governance and management stakeholders in order to provideleadership to drive the College’s Vision and Mission forward. ...................................................... 11

3. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al Zahra College forWomen take steps to develop and document a consistent, shared understanding of the natureof its relationship with Ahliyya Amman University as a basis for the effectiveimplementation of the agreed roles and responsibilities................................................................... 12

4. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al Zahra College forWomen develop, disseminate and implement a revised, comprehensive Strategic Plan withclearly stated goals that includes measurable targets with timelines, accountability, resourceallocation and a monitoring and review system. .............................................................................. 13

5. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al Zahra College forWomen develop and implement detailed annual Operational Plans with associatedmonitoring mechanisms that will support the College in achieving its Mission and strategicgoals.................................................................................................................................................. 13

6. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al Zahra College forWomen, as a matter of urgency, develop and implement an approach to risk managementwhich looks beyond financial risks to consider operational risks which may have a negativeimpact on the educational goals of the College. ............................................................................... 14

7. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al Zahra College forWomen establish an overarching approach on how to develop, implement, disseminate andreview policies and procedural guidelines........................................................................................ 15

8. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al Zahra College forWomen develop and implement a comprehensive, robust system for data collection andanalysis in order to support the monitoring of its performance in all its core functions. ................. 15

9. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al Zahra College forWomen develop College-wide graduate attributes, and ensure that these are embedded in allits programs, clearly disseminated to all stakeholders and reviewed regularly. ............................... 17

10. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al Zahra College forWomen, in collaboration with its affiliate, develop and implement a consistent, well-documented approach to contextualizing and reviewing its curricula to meet the needs of theCollege’s students in line with its Mission and Vision..................................................................... 18

11. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al Zahra College forWomen review, develop and implement fair and transparent systems to support, monitor andassure teaching quality. .................................................................................................................... 20

12. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al Zahra College forWomen develop and implement a comprehensive approach to dealing with plagiarism,including supporting staff and students in developing academic integrity....................................... 20

13. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al Zahra College forWomen review its assessment approaches and consider the introduction of moderation toensure consistency throughout the College. ..................................................................................... 21

14. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al Zahra College forWomen develop a comprehensive and inclusive plan for industry and communityengagement which will support the College’s efforts in curriculum development, studentplacement and career progress.......................................................................................................... 26



15. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al Zahra College forWomen develop a plan with clear goals and objectives in line with the institutional Missionand a framework for the review and quality enhancement of each area........................................... 28

16. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al Zahra College forWomen develop and resource a plan to ensure that its IT infrastructure meets the needs of allacademic departments and professional services and that it develop and implement policies,procedures and regulations for the proper use, reuse and disposal of IT equipment andresources. .......................................................................................................................................... 29

17. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al Zahra College forWomen ensure student support services are managed and delivered by suitably qualifiedprofessional staff and coordinated under a unified and well-articulated student supportstrategy. ............................................................................................................................................ 31

18. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al Zahra College forWomen review its processes for dealing with student misconduct in order to ensure that thereis a clearly documented system that is known by all concerned and reviewed on a regularbasis. ................................................................................................................................................. 32

19. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al Zahra College forWomen establish careers' training and advice services for its students and recent graduates,in addition to providing information about and access to employment opportunities...................... 33

20. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al Zahra College forWomen develop and implement a set of transparent and fair human resources policies thatincludes recruitment, induction, promotion, and appeals and ensure that these areconsistently implemented and regularly reviewed. .......................................................................... 35

21. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al Zahra College forWomen develop a more systematic approach to staff development which is clearly linked toperformance review and includes senior management, academic and non-academic staff inits scope. ........................................................................................................................................... 36

22. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al Zahra College forWomen carry out regular staff satisfaction surveys and use the results of these surveys topromote a positive working environment for all staff. ..................................................................... 37

23. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al Zahra College forWomen agree upon and adopt a marketing strategy and provide adequate human and capitalresources to enable the College to achieve its growth agenda.......................................................... 40

24. The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al Zahra College forWomen develop and implement external and internal communication policies in order tosupport its activities. ......................................................................................................................... 40



1 GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Al Zahra College for Women (ZCW) is committed to providing the Omani labour market withfemale graduates. This Chapter examines how ZCW puts that commitment into action through itsMission, Strategic Plan, governance and management structures and its affiliation agreement withAhliyya Amman University (AAU). The Panel examined the consistency with which theseaspects of ZCW’s operations are understood, implemented and evaluated by the College. TheChapter also examines ZCW’s approach to risk and policy management and its system for datacollection and analysis in order to monitor its performance against its strategic objectives.

1.1 Mission, Vision and Values

ZCW’s Mission, was articulated in the Portfolio as follows:

The mission of ZCW is to contribute to the Omani national development byproviding the local community and the labour market with female graduates,specialized in the fields of Information Technology, Graphic Design, EnglishLanguage and Literature, Finance and Banking, Accounting and BusinessAdministration (Portfolio, p.1).

Being the only College in Oman providing women-only education, ZCW has a good opportunityto fulfill its Mission of providing specialized female graduates through its program offerings.This was made evident to the Panel during interviews, as most students suggested that their mainreason for choosing to study at ZCW was the fact that it is a women’s College. The Panelcommends the College for its commitment to the education of Omani women.

Commendation 1

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority commends Al Zahra Collegefor Women for its commitment to providing higher education opportunitiesfor women in Oman.

During the audit visit, it was evident to the Panel that whilst the spirit of the Mission stated indifferent College documents was coherent, no consistent written Vision and Mission statementshave been publicized throughout the campus. Moreover, it was not evident to the Panel the extentto which there is awareness among staff and students of the College’s Mission beyond itscommitment to produce female graduates or how ZCW can assure that it prepares its students tobe “leaders of Omani and Arab Society” (Portfolio, p.1). The Panel suggests that ZCW, throughan inclusive process that involves its various stakeholders, develop clear, specific and workableVision and Mission statements that reflect its unique role in the community. Once the Missionand Vision statements are agreed upon, the College needs to develop a mechanism to ensure thatthere is a common understanding of all the different aspects of the Mission among allstakeholders. This will underpin the development and implementation of the College’s strategicgoals and objectives.

Recommendation 1

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al ZahraCollege for Women review, revise and disseminate clear and consistentMission and Vision Statements through an inclusive process involving allstakeholders to guide the next stage of the College’s development.



1.2 GovernanceAs a result of the pilot Quality Audit conducted by the former OAC in 2008, ZCW hasundertaken a modification of its governing body. The present governing body consists of threemain boards: the Board of Stakeholders (BoS) which comprises the owners of ZCW; the Board ofDirectors (BoD) which comprises four members elected from the BoS and the Dean of theCollege; and the Board of Trustees (BoT) which is appointed by the BoD and consists of twomembers from the BoS, the President of the affiliate University (AAU), two membersrepresenting the local community, a representative from the Ministry of Higher Education(MoHE) and the College Dean. The BoS meets annually to endorse the annual financial plan,while the BoT meets twice a year and is said to be the custodian of academic decisions. The BoD,on the other hand, meets on a monthly basis and is responsible for running the College on day-to-day basis (Portfolio, p.1)

The Panel considered that the re-structured governance and management structure of the Collegeraises a number of issues. It notes the appropriate commitment of the BoD to the financial healthof the College. The Panel saw evidence, however, of blurring between the roles of the governanceand management bodies. This is also evident in the College’s Organisational Bylaw, which doesnot provide clear evidence as to who is the final custodian of academic decisions. The Panelheard that a number of academic decisions have been taken, not by the BoT but by the BoD (suchas the intention to change the language of instruction) without being fully informed of theacademic risks these decisions may involve.

The reporting relationships between the different governing bodies and the College Dean needclarification. It was not evident to the Panel that members of different governing bodies are clearas to their roles and remits or have a shared understanding of their responsibilities and thereporting lines within the College.

The separation of ownership, governance and management is essential to avoid potential conflictsof interest and to ensure that the contribution of each is made within the sphere of its ownexpertise. The governance structure and roles and remits of all governing bodies need to beexplicitly stated in writing and available to all stakeholders. The Panel advises the College toreview its governance and management structure in order to clarify the roles and responsibilitiesof all key stakeholders and to develop a clear mechanism to monitor and evaluate theeffectiveness of the different governing boards. This would include a review of the role of theDean of the College, reporting lines and evaluation mechanisms.

Recommendation 2

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al ZahraCollege for Women refine its governance and management structure andfurther clarify the roles and responsibilities of all key governance andmanagement stakeholders in order to provide leadership to drive theCollege’s Vision and Mission forward.

1.3 ManagementZCW states that the “day-to-day operation of the College is run by the Dean of the College andHead of Departments” (Portfolio, p.v), constituted as the College Council. However, members ofthe BoD “help the administration to run the daily administrative operation” (ibid) further blurringthe line between governance and management.

The Panel was informed that the present College Dean is appointed on secondment from AAUand approved by the BoS, and that this will be the College’s policy for the future. However, thereis no clear written policy on this, or on the monitoring and evaluation of the Dean’s performance.Both these matters should be formalized and documented.



The College Council meets on a regular basis to discuss academic and departmental issues. TheCollege committees are formed annually by a resolution taken by the College Council (Portfolio,p.2) and none appears to have formal terms of reference, but rather to operate on an ad hoc basis.

All academic departments and committees, including the quality assurance department, report tothe Dean and all administrative and student service units report to the Assistant Dean. However,at the time of the site visit, the position of Assistant Dean was vacant, and there were no clearplans or timeline for filling it. The Panel heard that the matter will be addressed when the Collegemoves to its new campus. This vacancy has caused the Dean to assume responsibility for manyadministrative matters that fall within the remit of the Assistant Dean with implications both forhis own workload and for the centralization of decision making in a single individual. The Panelurges the College to address this matter, and considers that the appointment of the Assistant Deanshould not be contingent on the move to the new campus.

1.4 Institutional Affiliations for Programs and Quality AssuranceZCW signed an affiliation agreement with AAU in February 2000 under which AAU providesthe College with assistance in discipline areas and in expertise for running the College. ZCWoffers programs developed by AAU in Jordan with some flexibility to incorporate Omani content.The Bachelor degrees are awarded by AAU while the Diplomas are awarded by ZCW andaccredited by AAU. It was evident to the Panel that students were not clear about who will issuetheir certificates. More details are given in section 2.2 of this Report.

The Panel heard that AAU quality assures the delivery of programs offered by ZCW, includingthe availability of competent staff, facilities and infrastructure, through an academic supervisioncommittee that visits the College for 4 -5 days each academic semester. As a result of thesevisits, a detailed report is submitted to ZCW about the College’s academic performance.

Besides the Dean, there are a number of faculty members seconded by AAU to ZCW. Accordingto the affiliation agreement, AAU should provide ZCW with a range of support activitiesincluding, but not limited to, monitoring the quality of delivery and the training and developmentof academic staff. The Panel found that AAU’s input to training ZCW staff is very limited andthere was no evidence available of training activities planned or provided by AAU for ZCWacademic and administrative staff. Almost all training activities are carried out on an ad hoc basisand are a result of individual initiatives.

The only written document explaining the relationship between the two institutions is theaffiliation agreement signed by the two parties. There is no operational document or set of writtenguidelines outlining how the agreement between ZCW and AAU is put into operation. This hasleft the execution of the agreement to be based on individual interpretations and initiatives, andthe Panel heard quite different accounts of these arrangements in the course of its interviews. TheCollege needs to ensure that there is a consistent, shared understanding of the agreement with itsaffiliate.

Recommendation 3

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al ZahraCollege for Women take steps to develop and document in operationalguidelines a consistent, shared understanding of the nature of itsrelationship with Ahliyya Amman University as a basis for the effectiveimplementation of the agreed roles and responsibilities.



1.5 Strategic PlanZCW has developed a five-year Strategic Plan for the period from 2008-2013. In its Portfolio, theCollege explains how it intends to achieve its planning objectives (Portfolio, pp.3-11). Thesubmitted document comprises 16 strategic objectives without details as to how these objectiveswould enable the College to achieve its Mission or to how these objectives are to be achieved.There are no defined targets, allocations of responsibilities, or set timelines, budget, or keyperformance indicators. There are no monitoring systems or detailed annual plans. It is not clearwhat the College has achieved since the development of the Strategic Plan.

The College states in its Portfolio that the Strategic Plan was developed as an outcome of aSWOT analysis (Portfolio, p.3). The College did not, however, explain how the SWOT analysiswas fed into the strategic planning process. Moreover, serious issues emerging from the SWOTanalysis, such as shortage of academic staff in some specializations and low staff retention rates,were not addressed in the Strategic Plan.

ZCW states that the developed Strategic Plan is the result of a draft proposed by the CollegeQuality Assurance Committee (Portfolio, p.3) with inputs from BoD, Dean and College Council.The Panel found that the BoT had not been involved in the different stages of the development ofthe Strategic Plan, nor had the Plan been disseminated and adopted by different departments indetailed annual Operational Plans. ZCW needs to develop a mechanism to disseminate itsStrategic Plan throughout the College and to ensure that its strategic goals, performanceindicators and monitoring mechanisms are fully understood and acted upon at department level.

Recommendation 4

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al ZahraCollege for Women develop, disseminate and implement a revised,comprehensive Strategic Plan with clearly stated goals that includesmeasurable targets with timelines, accountability, resource allocation and amonitoring and review system.

1.6 Operational Planning

The Panel appreciates the substantial investment and effort ZCW has made for the establishmentof the new campus (see Chapter 9) and acknowledges the College’s decision, largely reflected inits 16 strategic objectives, to expand its programs and increase its student intake. The Panelbelieves, this will require wide ranging, short and long-term planning as well as the provision ofresources for staffing (both academic and professional support staff) and infrastructure. Apartfrom a master plan for the construction of its new campus, ZCW does not yet have OperationalPlans for its different academic departments and administration units addressing the 16 strategicobjectives stated in its Strategic Plan (see section 1.5). Although the College has identified this asan area for improvement (Portfolio, p.12) there has been little progress in this area. ZCW needsto develop and implement a detailed annual Operational Plan which can be translated intospecific action plans for each of its operational units.

Recommendation 5

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al ZahraCollege for Women develop and implement detailed annual OperationalPlans with associated monitoring mechanisms that will support the Collegein achieving its Mission and strategic goals.

The Panel was informed that ZCW has taken a decision through its BoD, which was adopted bythe BoT, to offer most of its programs with English as the medium for teaching starting from theacademic year 2011 – 2012. The Panel found little indication of forward planning on how the



College intends to provide the needed faculty with the required qualifications or ensure that itsexisting as well as incoming students have the necessary language ability. Possible risksassociated with the transition were not addressed or dealt with at different levels of the College.The Panel heard contradictory statements about the way the College is proposing to handle thematter. ZCW needs to engage in a College-wide discussion where different stakeholders(including students) are involved in order to develop and implement a detailed Operational Planthat covers the transition period.

1.7 Financial ManagementWhilst the Panel was informed that ZCW has engaged in a number of investment activities tosecure its financial situation, tuition fees provide the College’s major revenue stream (Portfolio,p.14), with some ZCW students receiving government scholarships. The number of suchscholarships has been decreasing lately due to increased competition for government funding andthis, in the Panel’s opinion, poses a financial risk to the stability of the College. The BoS is awareof this, and has set a goal to expand and diversify enrolments as a partial response.

ZCW’s budget is developed annually in a bottom-up manner. Each department and unit submitsits ‘wish-list’ based on its needs for the coming year to an ad hoc committee formed to compilethe submissions and develop the College’s annual budget. This is then submitted to the BoT andafterwards to the BoD for approval. Once it is approved, the budget is under the direct control ofthe BoD (Portfolio, p.12) with limited delegation to the College management, further reinforcingthe blurred lines between governance and management noted previously in Sections 1.2 and 1.3.In approving the annual budget, the BoD should delegate a more appropriate level of autonomy tomanagement and through it, to the different departments and units.

The College’s budget does not currently directly link to the Strategic Plan. ZCW needs to developa long-term financial plan that is transparent, provides financial flexibility and is connected to theCollege’s Strategic Plan (see Section 1.5).

1.8 Risk ManagementAlthough ZCW does not have a risk management system, it conducts a number of riskmanagement activities within its different functional areas (Portfolio, p.14). These could,however, be managed in a more coordinated and systematic manner. The Panel notes the financialrisk management approach laid out by the BoS and the identification of areas for improvement inthis regard. Nonetheless, management of a HEI does not involve consideration of financial riskonly. The College needs to look at the academic and infrastructure risks it will be introducing asit moves to the new campus and, more urgently, while it is still using the facilities of the currentcampus. The Panel urges the College to develop and implement an overarching risk managementstrategy which looks at all aspects of its main functions.

Recommendation 6

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al ZahraCollege for Women, as a matter of urgency, develop and implement anapproach to risk management which looks beyond financial risks to consideroperational risks which may have a negative impact on the educational goalsof the College.

1.9 Policy ManagementZCW has recently developed a suite of policies and Bylaws. The College needs to develop amechanism for informing staff and students about these and for monitoring their implementation.The College would benefit from developing an overarching procedure governing the way inwhich policies are developed, approved and reviewed. Scrutiny of these Bylaws by the Panel



revealed a degree of incoherence and contradictions, for example, in some cases the same party isreferred to, in different documents, by different titles. In addition, the lines of reporting andauthority are not consistent between documents.

The Panel noted a number of gaps in policy coverage, for example, with regard to health andsafety and student grievances, as well as other areas identified elsewhere in this Report. ZCWneeds urgently to examine its existing Bylaws and policies and where necessary revise them toachieve better coverage and coherence and facilitate their implementation. The Panel furtheradvises the College to develop and implement an overarching procedure for systematic policydevelopment, approval, dissemination and review.

Recommendation 7

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al ZahraCollege for Women establish an overarching approach on how to develop,implement, disseminate and review policies and procedural guidelines.

1.10 Entity and Activity Review SystemsIn its Annual Report, ZCW states that each academic and administrative department must submitannual reports. The Panel considered these reports and found they contained, in general, simply adescriptive listing the number of students, list of papers/books published by faculty membersthrough the academic year, as well as the main activities of the unit with some indication of theobstacles faced by the unit in conducting such activities. The content of the annual report is notclearly connected to the department’s planning or to the College’s strategic goals and does notreflect the monitoring of progress towards any pre-set targets. ZCW needs to systematicallyreview the performance of its governance and management committees; for example, the Collegeneeds to develop a policy to monitor the effectiveness of the BoT and BoD (see Recommendation2)

The Panel noted ZCW’s stated commitment to assuring the quality of its academic provision butfelt that this could be further developed. The College has established a Quality AssuranceDepartment (QAD) which reports directly to the Dean. All academic departments also have aquality assurance representative who serves as the liaison with the QAD. Following a review ofrelevant documents and interviews with staff, the Panel found that the quality culture within theCollege was one of compliance rather than quality enhancement. The College needs to formaliseits quality management system and develop and implement an overarching quality assurancefunction to assist the College in achieving its Mission and strategic objectives.

ZCW uses a number of instruments to monitor its performance, ranging from studentquestionnaires, and “module” reports from teaching staff, to reports from the MoHE visits(Portfolio, p.16). The College depends on student questionnaires to evaluate students’ satisfactionwith their courses and faculty members. In some of the annual reports, the Panel saw evidence ofthe results of this feedback being discussed and actions being taken as a result of thesediscussions. However, the College needs to ensure that the implementation of these activities andthe effectiveness of the changes are monitored. The Panel noted that the data collected providesinsufficient information and is not gathered systematically, and that most data is not analyzed orused to provide evidence for reflection about performance or for decision-making.

Recommendation 8

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al ZahraCollege for Women develop and implement a comprehensive, robust systemfor data collection and analysis in order to support the monitoring of itsperformance in all its core functions.



1.11 Student Grievance ProcessZCW states that students have the right to complain about their assessment results (Portfolio,p.17). Through interviews, the Panel confirmed the students’ awareness that such policy exists.The College, however, needs to develop a mechanism to monitor the implementation andeffectiveness of its policy. Moreover, ZCW needs to expand its grievance policy to address notonly final grades and assessment but also other aspects of students’ grievances.

1.12 Health and Safety

ZCW provides an on-campus clinic which is said to be able to deal with emergency cases(Portfolio, p.17). The Panel found that this clinic is not adequately equipped or staffed to handleemergencies except by referral to hospital; rather it is able to deal only with minor medicalproblems. The College needs to elevate the level of health services provided by the clinic.Moreover, the present campus has to comply with building safety and fire regulations for as longas it is still in use. Although the Panel was told that the new campus is expected to overcome allsafety and health issues, the Panel suggests that, in reviewing its policies and procedures, ZCWneeds to develop and implement an overarching health and safety policy so as to ensure that it isin fact fully compliant and exercising its current duty of care for staff and students.

1.13 Oversight of Associated Entities (e.g. owned companies)

ZCW partly owns the Oman Institute for Human Resource Development (Portfolio, p.v). Thiswas not an area investigated by the Panel.



2 STUDENT LEARNING BY COURSEWORK PROGRAMS

ZCW offers Diploma and Bachelor level qualifications in Information Technology; GraphicDesign; English Language and Literature; Business Administration; Finance and Banking; andAccounting. Its curricula are provided by its affiliate, Ahliyya Amman University (AAU). ThisChapter comments on aspects of the curriculum, including ZCW’s broad expectations for itsgraduates and the extent to which the AAU curricula has been contextualized to the Omanienvironment. The Chapter also considers the College’s approach to the review of its curricula,including its Foundation Program, and ZCW’s systems to support and monitor the quality ofteaching and learning. The Panel also makes specific comments on academic integrity andsupport for students in avoiding plagiarism and the availability of placements to enhance thestudent learning experience.

2.1 Graduate Attributes and Student Learning Objectives

ZCW notes that it:

… offers two types of degrees; Diploma and Bachelor. The outcome of theseprogrammes has to meet [sic] a number of expected qualities such as: acquiringgeneral skills in thinking, problem solving, as well as knowledge and skills in thecore subject areas (Portfolio, p.19).

The graduate attributes are generic areas that all undergraduate programmes address, and in otherinstitutions are often codified in an institutional policy statement. Panel enquiries revealed thatacademic staff, students and external stakeholders were unaware of any specific set of graduateattributes or policy on intended student learning outcomes. Graduates noted that they learnt a lotat the College but they were not able to name specific skills or attributes. Accordingly, the Panelurges the College to consult with graduates and in particular with employers and other externalstakeholders to develop a statement about this aspect of its curriculum design.

Recommendation 9

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al ZahraCollege for Women develop College-wide graduate attributes, and ensurethat these are embedded in all its programs, clearly disseminated to allstakeholders and reviewed regularly.

2.2 CurriculumIn the Portfolio, ZCW states that:

… programs are designed in accordance to the affiliation agreement with AAUand in harmony with the Omani context. Certain courses have been selected topromote the local culture. For example, some College compulsory and electivecourses are deeply connected to Omani culture (Portfolio, p.20).

The College follows the AAU curricula but under the affiliation agreement has the freedom tochange up to 20% of a curriculum with elective courses to suit the Omani context. However, areview of a sample of course materials and interviews with academic staff did not clarify whereexactly the changes are applied, as at times the name of the course is changed but the content iskept the same. Thus the Panel concluded that the College needs to reconsider its approach toensuring that its curricula as a whole are contextualized for its students in a systematic way.



Almost all of the courses in the Business and Finance specializations are delivered in Arabic. Asstated before, the Panel learned from minutes of meetings of the BoT, BoD and interviews withstaff that a decision has been taken to move towards adopting English as the medium ofinstruction in most of its programs in the academic year 2011-12. The Panel did not see anystrategic or operational plan or systems in place to support such a radical move. This changerequires provision of English language learning resources as well as academic staff with thefluency to teach courses in English. Additionally, some of the students and graduates whom thePanel met said that they chose ZCW because it is a college for women and Arabic is the mediumof instruction. The Panel urges the College to take into account the potential impact on its intakeof this change in the language of instruction when planning the implementation of this newpolicy.

ZCW states that its programmes are monitored and reviewed through departmental planningcommittees (Portfolio, p.21). The Panel found no formally documented mechanisms for doingthis and was unable to ascertain to what extent the views of academic staff and externalstakeholders are taken into account. Given the risk potential created by ad hoc approaches tocurriculum review and development, such as a change in the language of instruction or adaptationof Jordanian courses to the Omani cultural context, the Panel concluded that the College needs amore formal and robust approach to curriculum development, adaptation and review.

Recommendation 10

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al ZahraCollege for Women, in collaboration with its affiliate, develop andimplement a consistent, well-documented approach to contextualizing andreviewing its curricula to meet the needs of the College’s students in linewith its Mission and Vision.

2.3 Student Entry StandardsZCW occupies a niche position in Omani higher education in that it “… allows the enrolment offemale students only” (Portfolio, p.21). For entry, students should have the General EducationDiploma or its equivalent with no thresholds on the minimum score for any discipline, except that“Students joining the IT Department for the Bachelor Degree should have studied more science-oriented modules (such as mathematics, physics etc)” (Portfolio, p.21). ZCW should considerperiodically monitoring and evaluating the appropriateness of its admission policy in achievingthe College’s target to attract ‘best possible students’ in line with good practice.

ZCW notes that:

Students from other Colleges who join ZCW are referred to the respectiveCollege departments that will then check to see if the work done previously bystudents is comparable to the department’s programme (Portfolio, p.22).

The Panel was not able to find a systematic written procedure for this process or to ascertain howprospective students are informed about the final decision regarding their previous credits. Thiswas further explored during the interviews with both staff and students. The Panel was not able toconclude whether or not there are formal systems for dealing with credits gained from otherhigher education institutions. Thus the Panel urges the College to formalize a systematicapproach to deal with students who have credits gained from other college or universities.

2.4 Foundation ProgramZCW uses a placement test to decide whether students should be enrolled in one or two semestersof the Foundation Program or be directly admitted to the undergraduate programmes.



The College has already started the process of reviewing its Foundation Program in line withnational Foundation Standards. The Panel learned from interviews with external stakeholders thatthe College sends five students from each Foundation group to sit the TOEFL exam to get an ideaabout the standard of its Foundation graduates. The Panel supports the College’s efforts in thisarea.

Affirmation 1

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority supports Al Zahra College forWomen’s plans to review and develop its Foundation Program in line withnational standards.

2.5 Teaching QualityIn describing its teaching methods, ZCW states that:

Traditional methods are the predominant ones. However, modern methods thatdepend on application, scientific research and student’s involvements [sic] arealso employed; use of the discussion method and the case study method arecommon (Portfolio p.23).

The Panel was pleased to hear from most of the students they met that they are happy with theteaching and their lecturers. Interviews with staff and students, however, did not reveal the use ofany new or innovative teaching methods.

The Panel was able to conclude from interviews with academic staff that good practices wereshared within departments but not between different departments or College-wide. The Collegehas developed a system of course files (Portfolio, p.22) which seems to be widely used, althoughthe content may vary from one department to another. Scrutiny of teaching materials revealedthat, in most courses, instructors depended heavily on single textbooks. The Panel encourages theacademic staff to introduce students to a broader range of reading materials such as journals andconference proceedings so that students realise the importance of primary sources in their studies.Moreover, the Panel was informed that in cases where assigned readings included journalmaterial, some of these journals are not available in the College library and students are notprovided with access to them. The College needs to ensure that all materials on the reading listsare accessible to students.

According to ZCW, the effectiveness of teaching methods is reviewed and revised based on theresults of student questionnaires, distributed at the end of each semester (Portfolio, p.23). ThePanel did not find a section in the questionnaire for feedback about resources for the course. Oncestudents’ feedback is collected, there is no evidence as to how the data is analysed andsystematically used to improve the quality of teaching (see also Recommendation 8).

The Panel was informed that the quality of teaching is also reviewed through sample lecturesattended by AAU members of the review committee and by the concerned Head of Department(HoD). Other than this, there is no provision for internal peer review of teaching throughobservation of classes. Interviews with academics and HoDs indicated that there is a fear thatcolleagues may not appreciate collegial feedback and this could lead to conflicts. This led theCollege to introduce a questionnaire-based system of peer review that takes into consideration thelecturers’ attitudes, personal qualities and conduct outside the class. The College needs to ensurethat this approach informs the College about its teaching and learning provision and that it is notmisused. The Panel advises the College to review the effectiveness of its monitoring processes toensure the quality of the teaching and learning experience its students receive.



Recommendation 11

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al ZahraCollege for Women review, develop and implement fair and transparentsystems to support, monitor and assure teaching quality.

2.6 PlagiarismZCW has stated its policy on plagiarism in the Bylaws (Portfolio, p.23). The majority of studentswhom the Panel met, however, did not show awareness of plagiarism. Nor was there a clear,shared understanding among teaching staff to what comprises plagiarism. The Panel concludedthat there should be a more comprehensive training and support system for educating studentsand providing them with techniques to avoid plagiarism. Some academic staff members who metthe Panel said that they would look forward to having plagiarism software introduced, althoughthe system mentioned deals with material written in English and is inapplicable for courses taughtin Arabic.

It was not clear to the Panel how a student is referred to the Disciplinary Committee, which dealswith both academic and non-academic offences. There is no systematic approach as to howstudents’ work is deemed to have been plagiarised or who takes such a decision. The Panel urgesthe College to revisit its procedures for identifying and handling plagiarised work.

Recommendation 12

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al ZahraCollege for Women develop and implement a comprehensive approach todealing with plagiarism, including supporting staff and students indeveloping academic integrity.

2.7 Student PlacementsZCW states that it has a system for students’ placement and field experience which is supportedby an overall training plan provided by the Student Affairs Department (SAD), in collaborationwith academic departments (Portfolio, p.24). Interviews with academic staff revealed that theyare familiar with the training plan but that it is not systematically applied.

ZCW states that:

In some departments, supervisors visit trainees to evaluate their generalperformance at the end of the training period, the employer provides the traineewith a report … Staff members in some departments do field visits to theirtrainees and write a report … Due to the logistic [sic] difficulty of supervising the… trainees, some departments send a special evaluation form to the employer,which is to be submitted to the College at the end of the training period(Portfolio p 24).

Interviews with external stakeholders, students and graduates confirmed that apart from theevaluation form filled in by the training provider, the College does not routinely send anysupervisors to evaluate their students. The Panel feels that the SAD, in collaboration with theacademic departments and training providers, should institute a more systematic approach tostudent placements, taking into consideration the feedback from both training providers andstudents.



2.8 Assessment Methods, Standards and ModerationZCW claims to use a wide variety of assessment practices (Portfolio, p.24). The Panel examineda sample of the course files presented by the College but found that class tests were the primarymethod of assessment and did not find a varied approach to course assessment. Moreover, thetype of questions used in the tests, although linked to the course outcomes, did not invite orrequire critical thinking skills.

The academic staff confirmed that the College does not currently have a system for peer reviewof assessment tasks or moderation of marking of scripts to ensure consistency. It was apparent tothe Panel, from its interviews with staff and students, that there is no formal and systematicapproach to providing feedback on assessments. Interviews with students show that if they areunhappy with their marks they can go to their lecturers. Although there is a procedure for formalappeal, some students do not seem to be aware of it. The College would benefit from reviewingits current approach to assessments and moderation to ensure that these are appropriate andconsistent.

Recommendation 13

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al ZahraCollege for Women review its assessment approaches and consider theintroduction of moderation to ensure consistency throughout the College.

2.9 Academic Security and InvigilationZCW states that “… the entire process of examinations is under the continuous surveillance of theCollege Council and the Quality Assurance Department (QAD)” (Portfolio, p.27). A centralexamination committee is formed by the College Council every year and another one is formed ata departmental level. Both committees are expected to take responsibility for ensuring that examsare conducted according to the standards set by the College. Despite the College’s claims, thePanel did not have any evidence of the involvement of the QAD in the security of examinationand invigilation procedures. Examination protocols were identified as an area for improvement inthe Portfolio (p.28) and the Panel supports the College’s effort to review these.

2.10 Student Retention and ProgressionThe College presented statistics to show the retention and completion rates (Portfolio, p.29) of itsstudents. The usefulness of the figures is limited because some include temporarily discontinuedand internally transferred students. Moreover, the Panel was informed that the figures are notvery accurate because of troubles in the registration system during the first few years of theCollege’s establishment and heard that the College is working to improve its current system. Atthe time of the audit, the College did not appear to be using the data to identify problems orsupport planning. For example, figures given to the Panel indicate that 558 students withdrewfrom their studies from 2005-2010 but there is no analysis of the reasons for or implication of thisdropout rate nor any action plan for addressing potential issues with student retention. Inaddition, the AAU 2009 Report notes that the number of part-time students is decreasing butthere is no clear action plan from the College in response to this. ZCW needs to develop a robustsystem for the collection and analysis of data to support informed decision making (seeRecommendation 8).

2.11 Graduate Destinations and EmployabilityThe College states that it has a plan to follow up its graduates and their employability (Portfolio,p.30). Interviews with the SAD, graduates, and external stakeholders confirm that there is noformal and systematic approach to following up graduates once they leave the College. Indeveloping a strategy for community and industry engagement, (see Recommendation 14), ZCW



needs to consider how to engage employers to provide feedback on the employability of itsgraduates.

The College recognizes that it has faced challenges monitoring graduate destinations and hasbeen able to contact only 4% of its graduates (Portfolio, p.32). The Panel supports ZCW’s effortsto develop its relationship with alumni (see Affirmation 2) which should form a basis forimproving the tracking of graduate destinations.



3 STUDENT LEARNING BY RESEARCH PROGRAMS

ZCW does not run any student learning by research programs; therefore this area was notincluded in this Audit.



4 STAFF RESEARCH AND CONSULTANCY

4.1 Research Planning & Management

ZCW is an institution primarily devoted to teaching; nevertheless it considers that research withinthe College and with the community is an important area that not only improves staffperformance but the College’s prestige as well (Portfolio, p.33). In its Strategic Plan, ZCW statesthat it intends to support and encourage its academic staff to pursue research and currentlyprovides some support for the research work of staff but it does not run any student learning byresearch programs. ZCW recognizes that it needs to review its approach to research and ismaking efforts to do so through the formation of a research committee and the allocation offunding.

Affirmation 1

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority agrees with Al Zahra Collegefor Women’s plans to review the role of research and supports its efforts todevelop, implement and fund research activities in line with its Mission andstrategic objectives.

As it develops in these areas, the College will need to develop and implement policies on ethics,intellectual property and research commercialisation.

In order to organize its research activities, ZCW forms a research committee at the beginning ofeach academic year. The development of the research plan is a bottom up process, based on staffsubmitting their research project titles (Portfolio, p.33). There is no overarching research plan inline with the College’s main activities. Research among faculty members at ZCW is limited as itis mostly carried out on an individual basis according to individual interests.

There are no research groups internally at the College or collaboration with research institutionsin Oman or abroad. ZCW has recently nominated a new faculty member to take responsibility forresearch management. The Panel urges to the College to develop a clear research plan once it hasreviewed the role of research in the institution.

4.2 Research Performance

ZCW submitted information showing staff research contributions for each department. It appearsthat the level of contribution is very low.

4.3 Research Funding Schemes

Although ZCW indicated a desire to increase its support for research and presently allocatesmoderate funding to support staff research, the Panel found that there is no clear process ormechanism for monitoring or accessing funding. As ZCW develops its research profile, it willneed to consider developing a transparent and consistent system for allocating research funds tostaff.

4.4 Consultancy ActivitiesZCW consultancy services are limited to evaluating research work for promotion for the Instituteof Public Administration in Muscat. ZCW does not currently have any policy or plan to supportits staff to develop consultancy opportunities with local industry and organizations. This areaneeds to be developed as ZCW reviews the role of research for the College community and itsstakeholders.



4.5 Professional Development for Research

ZCW needs to consider how to support professional development for research in line with itsresearch plan (see section 4.1).

4.6 Research – Teaching Nexus

The contribution which faculty research can make to teaching has not yet become a focus atZCW. The link between research and teaching is not presently articulated, and there was noevidence available to the Panel that staff in any of the disciplines have been drawing on theirresearch to enhance their teaching. This is an area in which the College could move forward insome disciplines.



5 INDUSTRY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

In order to improve job opportunities for its graduates, ZCW is targeting the Omani market andaiming to satisfy the needs of both the private and public employment sectors. ZCW is aware thatengagement with industry and the community will contribute positively to national development(Portfolio, p.35) and in its Strategic Plan, has outlined its intention to strengthen ties with localsocial and civic organizations. This Chapter comments on steps the College needs to take toachieve this objective.

5.1 Industry and Community Engagement Planning & ManagementZCW is aware that the successful implementation of its programmes is based on building a strongrelationship with both industry and the community (Portfolio, p.35). The Panel found, however,that ZCW does not have a clear strategy or plan for the short or long term in order to strengthenits position with industry and the community. Responsibility for managing this aspect of itsactivities was not clearly allocated within the management structure; for example, the Panelfound conflicting information about the location and status of the Public Relations portfolio, andsome apparent overlaps and gaps in responsibility for external communications. ZCW needs towork on developing a comprehensive plan in this area and ensure that the human and financialresources are in place to support this. Strengthening its activities in this area will enable theCollege to incorporate industry views into its curriculum development and student placementactivities. The implementation of a clearer vision in this area will also support improved graduaterecruitment.

Recommendation 14

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al ZahraCollege for Women develop a comprehensive and inclusive plan for industryand community engagement which will support the College’s efforts incurriculum development, student placement and career progress.

5.2 Relationships with Industry and EmployersThe primary relationship with industry and employers is through student placement activities (seesection 2.7). As part of their academic program, students have one month’s industry training andother short field trips. Many of these arrangements are made by the students themselves. Asindicated earlier, ZCW does not actively engage with industry and employers to elicit theirfeedback on training programs or the quality of their graduates. In general, it seems that there is alack of formal engagement with the industry and relations between these stakeholders and theCollege are very limited. This is an area where the College needs to improve.

5.3 Relationships with Professions

ZCW has been involved with benchmarking its activities (Portfolio, p.35) but has not as yetdeveloped formal relationships with professional bodies, nationally or internationally. This is anarea it needs to pursue as it develops its plans for industry and community engagement.

5.4 Relationships with Other Education ProvidersBesides its affiliate, AAU, the College has approached Sultan Qaboos University in order to useits library and education resource facilities. The College has also contacted other HEIs forcooperative borrowing purposes but as yet these relationships have not been established(Portfolio, p.36). The Panel acknowledges the College’s efforts in this regard but considers thatZCW needs to diversify its contacts with other HEIs beyond requests for access to library



resources to include other mutually beneficial educational collaborations. It advises ZCW towiden its relationship with other education providers and to monitor and evaluate theeffectiveness of these relationships.

5.5 Relationships with Alumni

The College has just started a system for tracking its graduates and is working on establishing anAlumni Association (Portfolio, p.32). During the audit visit, the Panel was informed that ZCW isusing phone communication to contact its alumni and provide information about job opportunitiesto those without jobs. The Panel supports the College’s efforts in this area and encourages theCollege to use this relationship to improve its tracking of graduate destinations (see section 2.11).

Affirmation 2

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority agrees that Al Zahra Collegefor Women needs to develop its relationship with its alumni and supports itsefforts to establish an alumni association.

5.6 Relationships with the Community at Large

The College seeks to have good relations with industries and the local community (Portfolio,p.36) but does not appear actively to pursue relationship building. Some activities have beencarried out in conjunction with the Omani Women’s Association. Some College exhibitions areopen to public. These activities appear to take place on an ad hoc basis and not as part of aCollege-wide approach. The Panel encourages ZCW to develop a strategy to strengthen itsrelationship with the community at large, keep a comprehensive record of activities in this areaand to develop a monitoring system to evaluate the effectiveness of such activities.



6 ACADEMIC SUPPORT SERVICES

ZCW’s self-study states that “Academic support services ... reveal a considerable alignment withstudent needs and teaching plans” (Portfolio, p.43) and that, in particular, “the technologicalfacilities and equipments available to staff and students have increased significantly: this ensuresthat the College has kept pace with technology” (Portfolio, p.3) The Panel assessed evidenceagainst these claims, and this Chapter discusses the findings.

6.1 Academic Support Services Planning & Management

There are a number of departments responsible for the area of academic support services,including the Department of Admissions and Registration (DAR); the Student Affairs Department(SAD); Library; Computer Centre and academic advisors (Portfolio, p.38). The Panel found thatthere was no clear strategy for academic support service groups or goals/objectives for theindividual academic support service functions. There was neither a long-term strategic plan foracademic support services as a whole nor short-term operational plans for individual academicservice functions. There was only limited evidence that systematic data gathering to support themonitoring of academic service functions has been undertaken. This is an area that the Collegeneeds to address.

Recommendation 15

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al ZahraCollege for Women develop a plan with clear goals and objectives in linewith the institutional Mission and a framework for the review and qualityenhancement of each area.

The College would benefit from developing a clear plan as to how these services are managedand overseen as a whole. This plan needs to address the absence of professionally qualified staffin student support services and resource management (see Chapter 1). A clear remit and terms ofreference for managers in these areas need to be developed to ensure an integrated approachbetween these services and other units/activities of the College. ZCW also needs to consider theeffectiveness of communication between different units and functions and communicationbetween academic support services and the College as a whole.

6.2 Registry (Enrolment and Student Records)

In the academic year 2006/2007, ZCW installed a new computerized registration package andupgraded the equipment in the DAR (Portfolio, p.38). The College acknowledges that there havebeen continuing problems since the installation, particularly with compatibility between the oldand new registration systems. This has had an impact on the College’s ability to maintain andreview student data (Portfolio, p.39), and has been referred to earlier in the Report (seeRecommendation 8). Overall, the evidence supports ZCW’s self-assessment and the Panel agreeswith the identified areas for improvement including the need for improved registry functions tobe carried out in partnership with the Information Technology (IT) and quality assurance (QA)services. The College also plans to provide online registration and results access; providedepartments with improved access to academic information and improve staff skills throughprofessional development activities. The Panel supports the College’s efforts in this area.

Affirmation 3

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority agrees that Al Zahra Collegefor Women needs to review the operation of its registration system andsupports its efforts to further update the registry support systems.



6.3 LibraryZCW states that the services provided by the Library are of ‘vital importance’ to the College’sacademic programmes and research work (Portfolio, p.40). The College has distributedquestionnaires to staff and students to gauge their satisfaction with the services provided; and hastaken a number of actions, such as increasing the lending time for books, in response to theresults of these surveys. Interviews with students and graduates indicated that the Library’sopening hours do not take attendees at evening classes into consideration as there is no access tothese facilities in the late afternoons or evenings. This is a matter which needs to be addressed.The Panel agrees with ZCW that its collections and resources are currently not sufficient tosupport the academic programs, and that external access to online resources and journals needs tobe extended. The Panel supports the College’s efforts in this area.

Affirmation 4

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority supports Al Zahra College forWomen’s efforts to improve its library services through collectiondevelopment and expanded access to online resources and journals.

6.4 Information and Learning Technology Services

The College states that its information technology services make a significant contribution to itsvarious academic activities and that ‘updating and expanding this service is one of the prioritiesadvocated by the College’ (Portfolio, p.41). The Panel noted a lack of investment in both physicaland human resources in this area on the current campus. The security arrangements currently inplace are inadequate, especially in backup arrangements of mission-critical data and thesecurity/confidentiality aspect of the data. The IT practices with respect to management of serversand external connectivity (firewall and anti-virus) do not meet the needs or aspirations of theCollege. There is a lack of policies for the proper use of computing resources (students and staff)and governing the replacement/reuse/disposal of equipment. The local area network (LAN)arrangements and the infrastructure supporting teaching and learning need significantimprovement. The IT infrastructure supporting internal communication (e.g. email for staff andstudents) needs to be revised. It was noted that IT support for other institutional functions andprofessional services is limited.

Recommendation 16

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al ZahraCollege for Women develop and resource a plan to ensure that its ITinfrastructure meets the needs of all academic departments and professionalservices and that it develop and implement policies, procedures andregulations for the proper use, reuse and disposal of IT equipment andresources.

6.5 Academic Advising

ZCW has developed an academic advising system in order to support the academic achievementof students and to improve College performance (Portfolio, p.42). Department committeessupport the work of the academic advisors. The College has set up a robust academic advisingprocess which was confirmed by the Panel during the audit visit through the review of documentsand discussions with key stakeholders. In interviews, students expressed their satisfaction withthe accessibility of advisors and appreciation for the support they provide. The College plans tocarry out a ‘satisfaction analysis’ of its academic advising mechanism (Portfolio, p.43). The Panelconcluded that this is an area of strength within the College.



Commendation 2

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority commends Al Zahra Collegefor Women for providing academic advising arrangements which support apositive overall student experience.

6.6 Student Learning SupportThis area was not included in the Portfolio and not investigated by the Panel.

6.7 Teaching Resources

ZCW claims that teaching resources are in alignment with teaching requirements (Portfolio,p.43). Teaching staff and students seemed satisfied with the current teaching resources. ThePanel was pleased to see that computer laboratory assistants are appointed to support teachingand learning in some academic areas although several computer laboratories are poorly resourcedfor their function. The Panel was informed that these facilities will be improved when theCollege moves to the new campus (see Chapter 9).



7 STUDENTS AND STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

ZCW states that it focuses on students’ welfare and aims to provide support services which willencourage students, and particularly young Omani women, to pursue their education at theCollege (Portfolio, p.44). “Giving graduates guidance to find jobs” is one of the 16 objectives inthe College’s current Strategic Plan, and ZCW expresses its belief that the good atmospherewhich career and other services help to provide for students will contribute to improving theireducational achievement (Portfolio, p.44). In this Chapter, the Panel discusses ZCW’s studentprofile, the policies affecting student life at the College, the support services provided and thestudents’ satisfaction with these. The Chapter also includes comments on the management, rangeand effectiveness of these services.

7.1 Students and Student Support Services Planning & ManagementThe main ZCW student support services are in the areas of student finance, studentaccommodation and transportation, and student medical care. This support is managed through arange of departments and units (Portfolio, p.44) most, but not all, of which are overseen by theStudent Affairs Department (SAD). In terms of planning, the Panel found that there are no statedgoals or objectives for the individual student support service functions, or strategic or operationalplanning in these areas. The College needs to consider the integration of student support servicesinto overarching institutional plans (see Recommendation 15) and an integrated, comprehensiveapproach across the units in order to provide better student support services.

The Panel found that some specialized functions were being carried out by individuals who, whilededicated, lacked professional qualifications in the fields for which they were responsible. Therewere no feedback loops apparent for use in the improvement of the range of services on offer.The Panel believes that the use of student evaluations and the active involvement of the studentsin the process would provide the College with positive feedback on improving the quality ofservices.

Recommendation 17

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al ZahraCollege for Women ensure student support services are managed anddelivered by suitably qualified professional staff and coordinated under aunified and well-articulated student support strategy.

7.2 Student ProfileThe great majority of students studying at ZCW are Omani; although there are Arab studentsfrom different countries including students from Gulf region. Approximately 74% of the currentstudents are privately funded and the remaining 26% are sponsored, mainly by the Ministry ofHigher Education (MoHE) (Portfolio, p.45). Although the College has provided data on its intakebetween the years 2005-2009, there was little evidence of data or trend analysis. The data showsthat there has been a drop in the number of student in the areas of Computer Science; BusinessAdministration; Finance and Banking; and Accounting and a considerable increase in the numberof students enrolling on the Graphic Design program but the College does provide any analysison the possible reasons for the changes in student numbers (Portfolio, p.45). Moreover, it is statedthat the College accepts students with average high school grades of 50% and above, but does notmaintain data on the actual profile of students accepted into different programs.

ZCW has taken the initiative to provide evening classes to support working Omani women finishtheir studies while continuing in their jobs. However, data on these students was not included in



enrolment figures. As noted earlier, ZCW needs to develop and implement a comprehensive datacollection and analysis system in order to inform its activities (see Recommendation 8).

7.3 Student Satisfaction and Climate

ZCW has carried out a number of surveys to measure the level of student satisfaction with studentsupport services (Portfolio, p.46). The Panel saw evidence that results of the surveys had beenanalyzed and an attempt made to address the opportunities for improvement identified. The Panelsupports these efforts and advises the College to monitor these improvements and the impact theyhave on student satisfaction.

The College also needs to consider additional mechanisms for measuring student satisfaction andto integrate the analysis of student satisfaction data in short-term planning within all service units,and in long-term planning at the institutional level. It must also ensure that students are informedof changes or improvements made in response to their feedback.

Affirmation 5

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recognises Al Zahra Collegefor Women’s commitment to gather and act upon student feedback andencourages the College to explore additional approaches to measuringstudent satisfaction and using results for improvement.

7.4 Student Behaviour

ZCW’s code of conduct for students is documented in the College Bylaws and made available tostudents via the Student Handbook (Portfolio, p.46). Students are given the handbook during theorientation week; however, the Panel was informed that students who join after the orientationweek do not necessarily receive this.

Violations of the code of conduct are dealt with by the Disciplinary Committee (Portfolio, p.46).Depending on the nature and seriousness of the allegation, cases of student misconduct are dealtwith through the relevant academic department, the Student Affairs Department, or by the Dean.ZCW lacks comprehensive policies, procedures and regulations concerning student behavior andits management. In particular, there are no procedures or regulations covering the responsibilities,jurisdiction, authority, lines of communication, roles of individuals and committees, penalties,and appeal processes. There is no clear distinction between academic and behavioral offences.The Panel found that there is little awareness of these policies and processes among students.

The Panel concluded that comprehensive policies, procedures and regulations covering studentdiscipline and behavior are needed, ensuring that these cover the processes necessary to deal withbreaches of discipline efficiently and fairly. ZCW should further ensure that both facultymembers and students are clear of their responsibilities through appropriate documentation,induction and training.

Recommendation 18

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al ZahraCollege for Women review its processes for dealing with student misconductin order to ensure that there is a clearly documented system that is knownby all concerned and reviewed on a regular basis.

7.5 Career and Employment ServicesZCW’s Mission is to contribute to Omani development by providing the community and the labormarket with knowledgeable and skilled female graduates (Portfolio, p.1). Some of ZCW’s



graduates are pursuing their education in other higher education institutions (HEIs), some arehired within the College, and some of them are looking for jobs. ZCW advised the Panel that it iskeeping in contact with the graduates by phone, providing them with updated job advertisementsoffered in the local market. The Panel found, however, that ZCW does not have a clear strategyor operational plan to provide career guidance such as workshops on writing CVs, preparing forjob interviews or job search strategies in order to improve graduates’ skills needed foremployment and in their career. ZCW lacks professional management of these services and offersan essentially reactive approach to the provision of career and employment services. A full rangeof appropriate careers advice is not yet provided.

Recommendation 19

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al ZahraCollege for Women establish careers' training and advice services for itsstudents and recent graduates, in addition to providing information aboutand access to employment opportunities.

7.6 Student FinancesThe majority of students studying at ZCW are privately funded. The College Bylaws makeprovision for a range of scholarships and discounts based on student academic merit, familymembers attending the same college, students attending evening classes, and staff members. ThePanel supports these initiatives.

7.7 Accommodation, Catering and TransportZCW provides transportation services from students’ residences to the College and vice versa.Also, ZCW provides accommodation for female students who are not local residents and arrangesfor their transportation to and from campus. Interviews with students revealed that the number ofstudents in each room at the hostel depends on how much student is willing to pay. Students andstaff also noted that, in most cases, the hostel is overcrowded and appropriate study space is notavailable for students to do their homework and study.

Student satisfaction with food services is also quite low and ZCW has taken actions to improvefood quality and keep cafeterias clean. The move of ZCW to the new campus is expected toimprove the quality of service for cafeteria and food and other related areas (see Affirmation 7).

There is evidence from student feedback that there is general dissatisfaction with accommodation,catering and transport, although survey responses received at the time of the Panel’s visitsuggested that some improvement may have taken place. Although there have been investigationsand actions taken in relation to student complaints, the College now needs to ensure that theresults are analysed and monitor that the problems identified have actually been resolved.

Affirmation 6

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority supports Al Zahra College forWomen’s efforts to improve its accommodation, catering and transportarrangements, through the upgrading of services where necessary androutinely monitoring progress.

7.8 Medical and Counselling FacilitiesZCW acknowledges that medical arrangements on campus are limited to “...some necessarymedical services”, and that “the services provided and the procedures followed in these clinics arelimited to minor requirements” (Portfolio, p.48). In interviews, students indicated that those



living in hostels do not always have access to this service. The College needs to review its effortsin this area.

7.9 International Student ServicesAs indicated elsewhere, ZCW currently has very few non-Omani students. In its Strategic Plan,the College says it intends to attract more non-Omani students, including Gulf CooperationCouncil (GCC) citizens, although there are no clear strategies yet in place to realize this goal(Portfolio, p.6). As the College grows in this area, it will need to consider establishing systems tomeet the specific needs of international students.

7.10 Social and Recreational Services and Facilities

Social and recreational activities are run by the Department of Student Affairs. Although ZCWstates that it “seriously motivates students to take part” (Portfolio, p.49), the Panel found that thescope of these activities for students are very limited, partly because the current ZCW campuswould not support sports facilities due to limited ground areas. These activities could be enhancedonce ZCW moves to the new campus.



8 STAFF AND STAFF SUPPORT SERVICES

This Chapter considers ZCW’s approach to human resources (HR) planning and management.This includes staff recruitment, human resources policies and practices and comments on matterssuch as staff induction, performance management, appeals and promotion, as well as staffdevelopment activities.

8.1 Human Resources Planning & ManagementZCW states that “human resource planning is conducted in terms of College needs andbudgeting” (Portfolio, p.50). The Panel was informed that HR requirements are determined byHeads of Department (HoDs) but the Panel did not see evidence of medium and long-termplanning. Recruitment is carried out annually, when vacancies arise. This short-term approach isevident in the lack of planning to expand and alter the College’s staff profile as it moves todeliver its programs in English and to increase its program offerings (see Section 2.2).

ZCW has no clear written policies in place with regard to staff induction, performancemanagement, appeals or promotion. Although the College Bylaws cover some aspects of HRpractice, the Panel found in interviews that these were not clear to staff or transparentlyimplemented. ZCW needs to further develop its College Bylaws to include all human resourcepolicies and procedures and to implement a mechanism to monitor the implementation andeffectiveness of these policies.

Recommendation 20

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al ZahraCollege for Women develop and implement a set of transparent and fairhuman resources policies that includes recruitment, induction, promotion,and appeals and ensure that these are consistently implemented andregularly reviewed.

8.2 Staff Profile

ZCW submitted data to show that it has a staff complement of 37 full-time and two part-timeteaching staff, with 51 members of staff in other services. Most of the faculty members are non-Omanis who are recruited on a two-year renewable contract. Ten of the teaching staff and 18 ofthe administrative staff are Omanis. Around 40% of the teaching staff hold PhDs (Portfolio, pp.v-xii). In its SWOT analysis, the College highlighted the lack of faculty members in certainspecializations and the low retention rates as weak points that need to be addressed and has set agoal of recruiting culturally diverse staff members (Portfolio, p.8). The College now needs todevelop an Operational Plan to facilitate this goal.

8.3 Recruitment and SelectionThe College’s Bylaws set out staff job descriptions and define a recruitment policy. AhliyyaAmman University (AAU) has played an increased role in recruiting academic staff, throughparticipation in staff selection and the recruitment, through secondment, of the College Dean.Administrative staff vacancies are filled mostly through local appointments and the recruitmentprocess, as stated in the Bylaws, should be driven by the Assistant Dean and the HR department(Portfolio p.52). As the Assistant Dean’s position is still vacant, these responsibilities are carriedout by the Dean.

The Panel was informed that academic staff members are recruited by the Dean and HoDswhenever possible. The Panel notes the College’s commitment to employing its own graduates in



both administrative and academic positions but also encourages ZCW to seek alternativemeasures to maintain staff stability in the College. The College needs to review its Bylaws in thisarea and, as noted in Section 8.1, develop clear and consistent policies for recruitment andselection of all staff.

8.4 Induction

Staff induction for faculty members is carried out informally. ZCW recognizes that this it wouldbenefit from developing and implementing a formal procedure for the induction of new staff(Portfolio, p.52). The College needs to develop an approach to ensure that staff induction is anintegral part of its human resources system (see Section 8.1).

8.5 Professional DevelopmentZCW states that it has a “well-structured professional development program” (Portfolio, p.52).The Panel confirmed through interviews that administrative and support staff members areprovided with some training courses on an ad hoc basis. The Panel was provided with a sample oftraining courses attended by faculty members but saw insufficient evidence to support theCollege’s claim that training needs analyses are undertaken by different academic departments atthe end of the academic year (Portfolio, p.52). There is neither a training plan for staffdevelopment activities linked to their professional development nor a formal training policy.

ZCW does not discuss the professional development of its senior staff in its Portfolio. Moreover,the mechanism for evaluation of the Dean’s performance is unclear as discussed in Section 1.3 ofthis Report. The College needs to develop a performance measurement policy for its seniormanagement staff and use the outcomes of assessments to construct professional developmentplans that will assist senior staff to develop the skills they need to discharge their responsibilities.

Recommendation 21

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al ZahraCollege for Women develop a more systematic approach to staffdevelopment which is clearly linked to performance review and includessenior management, academic and non-academic staff in its scope.

ZCW identifies in its strategic plan the need to improve staff skills in information and learningtechnology and staff teaching and learning techniques in order to prepare to shift from teacher-centered learning towards student-centered learning (Portfolio, p.7). The College, however, didnot show evidence that it has in place approach targeted towards achieving these objectives. TheCollege needs also to develop a mechanism to monitor and measure the effectiveness of itstraining and staff development activities in keeping its teaching staff up to date withcontemporary teaching approaches.

8.6 Performance Planning and ReviewAccording to ZCW, staff performance is evaluated by HoDs and the resulting reports are sent tothe Dean. The HoDs’ evaluation is a reflection of their impression of the staff member whichtakes into account student feedback and peer evaluation (Portfolio, p.53). Evaluation of teachingstaff is heavily dependent on the result of student satisfaction surveys and this can influence thedecision about renewal of a faculty member’s contract. Whilst student evaluation can be a good,informative source for planning a faculty member’s development, it is not sufficient in itself to bethe primary source for staff evaluation. The Panel was concerned that such heavy dependency onstudent feedback to renew or terminate faculty members’ contracts might lead to distortions instudents’ academic results and create a risk to the academic integrity of the College.



The Panel found no policy or procedure for administrative and senior staff evaluation. ZCWneeds to review its approach and implementation of its performance review system.

8.7 Promotion and Other IncentivesZCW states there is a systematic and clear procedure for promotion and other mechanisms forrewarding academic staff, (Portfolio p 54). The staff satisfaction survey shows discontent withthese processes, which are considered to be neither clear nor transparent. ZCW needs to initiate acollege-wide debate that involves all its staff members (both academic and administrative), inorder to comprehend and address staff discontent with the College’s promotion and incentiveprocedures. It then needs to formalize its reward procedures which should lead to animprovement in organisational climate. This area needs to be considered in the review of theCollege’s HR systems (see Recommendation 20).

8.8 SeveranceZCW has clear policies and procedures governing the termination of staff stated in the College’sBylaws (Portfolio, p.54). Whilst these are in line with the labor laws of the Sultanate of Oman,some of these Bylaws are not necessarily appropriate to the working conditions of an academicinstitution. For example, 30-day notice for severance is insufficient to allow an academic tosecure a new job, as most academic institutions recruit academic staff at the beginning of anacademic year. As most of the faculty members are non-Omanis, and on contract, ZCW needs tostudy this matter thoroughly as it may be a contributor to the feeling of instability among thefaculty members that was highlighted in the SWOT analysis. Such instability can hinder thedevelopment of long-term research commitments by an individual faculty member.

8.9 Staff Organisational Climate and RetentionZCW has a low staff retention rate which, except for the most recent year, has been worseningconsistently (Portfolio, p.55). Whilst it was indicated to the Panel, through interviews with seniorstaff members, that this is a matter of concern to the College, this concern is not reflected in thePortfolio. Only 51.77% of the staff are satisfied with the organizational climate while the resultsfor other issues such as promotion and incentives, show that a considerable proportion of thefaculty (37.10%) are not satisfied (Portfolio, p.56). While ZCW has attributed these results to alack of familiarity with College Bylaws, there is no evidence of action taken to improve stafffamiliarity with the Bylaws. In general, internal communication mechanisms are not well-established, which in turn affects dissemination of information within the College.

Recommendation 22

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al ZahraCollege for Women carry out regular staff satisfaction surveys and use theresults of these surveys to promote a positive working environment for allstaff.

8.10 OmanisationThe College addresses Omanisation in its Strategic Plan as a priority and “a basic developmentalgoal” (Portfolio, p.7) specifying that it will give preference in hiring to its own Omani graduates,and to date this has been mainly achieved through the appointment of administrative staff. Thishas resulted in 13 out of the 26 Omanis working in administrative positions being graduates ofZCW. The College may need to reconsider its approach in this area as, while recruiting its owngraduates is beneficial to the individuals concerned and promotes loyalty to the College, it may inthe longer term lead to a level of stagnation, with few fresh ideas being brought into the College’sadministration.



As with many institutions in Oman, the College needs to address the low number of Omanifaculty members on its teaching staff as this might affect the academic environment of theCollege and the long term investment in research and program development. ZCW needs toconsider different mechanisms for recruiting more Omani faculty, such as identifying potentialstaff and providing support for further studies.



9 GENERAL SUPPORT SERVICES AND FACILITIES

The College’s general support services and facilities are managed by a number of differentadministrative departments, including Marketing and Public Relations, the Computer Centre,Service and Accessories and Finance, some of them currently situated in other servicedepartments and others reporting directly to senior management (Portfolio, p.58). The majorstrategic focus at the time of the audit was the plan to move the College to a new, purpose-builtcampus. The Panel examined current facilities as well as planning for the new campus and thisChapter comments on the adequacy of both. It also examines ZCW’s current approach tomarketing and public relations and external and internal communication services more generally.

9.1 General Support Services and Facilities Planning and ManagementZCW, at the time of the audit, was housed in a suburban campus based around four detachedvillas, each housing a teaching department and faculty offices, with two other facilities outsidethe main compound, housing the Foundation Program and a student hostel. Although stillpresenting a pleasant, leafy environment, the campus infrastructure was acknowledged by theCollege to be inadequate to current and future needs. The Panel was, therefore, pleased to learnthat the College’s Strategic Plan (2008-13) identified “modernizing College infrastructure byproviding new buildings and technology” as the first of its strategic goals (Portfolio, p.3), and thatZCW was anticipating the opening of a new campus in time for the start of the 2010-2011academic year. During the Audit Visit, the Panel formed the view during its visit that, in the run-up to the move, ZCW had allowed its present campus infrastructure, and in particular theinformation systems, to run down badly.

A site for the new, much larger facility had been identified at Al-Seeb Heights and constructionwas well underway at the time of the review visit, with the expectation that the move would takeplace on schedule. The new facility is expected to accommodate all activities on the presentcampus excluding student hostels. The Panel heard that significant efforts have been made togenerate the resources needed to build the new campus and that it is intended that the newcampus provide room for significant expansion of the College’s activities. The Panel found thatboth staff and students were informed about the move. The Panel was privileged to tour the newsite and found the overall design and progress on the construction of the new buildings to be veryimpressive.

Affirmation 7

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority agrees with Al Zahra Collegefor Women that the College infrastructure needs to be upgraded and fullysupports its endeavours to build a new campus.

While the College’s Portfolio repeatedly referred to the expected benefits to be derived from thenew facility, it did not make clear how, or by whom, the actual move which was anticipated tooccur during the forthcoming summer break, was being planned, driven and coordinated,although the Panel heard that an expert committee chaired by the Chairman of the Board ofDirectors had overall responsibility. Although there is a ‘Master Plan’ containing milestones andspecific dates and assignments starting from March 2010, no clear plan or strategy emerged as tohow a smooth transition to the new campus would be achieved by the start of classes inSeptember. This is an area the College needs to address.

The Panel found that IT systems on the current campus were particularly problematic, in terms ofavailability, functionality, security and even safety. While there has clearly been considerableattention given to ensuring substantially improved IT systems on the new campus, the Collegeneeds to ensure these will be sufficient to meet its future needs.



9.2 Public Relations and MarketingZCW has an agenda for significant growth and diversification in its enrolments with expansion ofthe range of its program offerings. Among its strategic goals are “achieving College vertical andhorizontal expansions [sic] to meet the needs of the labour market” and “motivating more femalestudents from different nationalities, who are resident in Oman and Gulf Cooperation Council(GCC) citizens to join the different specializations of the College” (Portfolio, p.6).

In spite of this, the Panel found the current approach to marketing to be unfocussed. The Panelsaw several versions of a marketing plan, presented in the form of a SWOT analysis, but notedthat the College vision and mission statements contained therein differed in substance from theversions given in the Portfolio and was not able to clarify to its satisfaction why this was so (seeSection 1.1). Public Relations (PR) and Marketing are conducted on an ad hoc basis with nosupport from a formal marketing department.

Marketing materials considered by the Panel were produced with the help of Graphic Designstudents and many included out of date information. The Panel was left with the impression thatZCW had not yet been able to formulate and present a coherent, consistent image of itself and asa result, the Panel was not clear how its ambitious growth plans will be achieved if the areas ofmarketing and PR are not professionalized and given resources and an agreed plan aligned to theCollege’s strategic directions.

Recommendation 23

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al ZahraCollege for Women agree upon and adopt a marketing strategy and provideadequate human and capital resources to enable the College to achieve itsgrowth agenda

9.3 Communication Services

Despite the small size and compact nature of the present campus, and given the current lack ofadequate infrastructure to support email and other electronic communication technologies,internal communication is presently reliant on written memos, phone contact and meetings (forstaff) and bulletin boards and contact with individual lecturers (for students). Formalcommunication is routed through the Dean, rather than directly between, for example, Heads ofDepartments (HoDs). Staff reported that informal systems serve them reasonably well but thatthey are pleased that ZCW intends to introduce electronic communication facilities on its newcampus which should enable faster, more efficient communication. Responsibility forcommunication services is spread across several operational areas with no evident coordination orstrategy.

The Panel found that ZCW has no coordinated approach to communication with externalstakeholders, although the Strategic Plan includes a goal of “strengthening ties with local societyand civil society organizations” (Portfolio, p.11). The College needs to develop and implement aCollege-wide strategy to support its external and internal communication strategies.

Recommendation 24

The Oman Academic Accreditation Authority recommends that Al ZahraCollege for Women develop and implement external and internalcommunication policies in order to support its activities.

9.4 Facilities ManagementFacilities management is the responsibility of the Department of Services and Accessories, whichhandles such matters as cleaning, switchboard, transport and car parking. ZCW maintains a



rudimentary assets register, which the Panel considered, but the Panel did not see anymaintenance or replacement schedules for equipment. The Panel was told that the provision ofgeneral support services did not form part of the agreement with Ahliyya Amman University(AAU), but that on occasion, the AAU had provided expert advice on specific matters, forexample, engineering expertise.

Apart from the tangible evidence provided by the new campus construction, the Panel did not seeany plans related to the future provision of facilities management services by the Department ofServices and Accessories for the new campus, nor did it hear about how services such as cleaningand preventative maintenance would be assured at the present site until the old campus has beendecommissioned.

In these as in other areas of the College’s activities, quality assurance is primarily based on theuse of surveys to provide student (but not staff) feedback. Poor levels of student satisfaction onearlier surveys have reportedly led to steps to improve areas of concern, and the Panel heardexamples of these during staff and student interviews. However, the Panel was unable to gaugestaff satisfaction with general services provided by the College, apart from anecdotal comments,and urges ZCW to expand its feedback mechanisms to include academic and general staff.



APPENDIX A. AUDIT PANEL

Dr Anne Martin (Panel Chairperson)Higher Education ConsultantMelbourneAustralia

Dr Maha KobeilAssociate Dean for Quality Assurance and RegistryMajan College (University College)Oman

Dr Sebti KerbalAssistant Professor,Department of Mathematics and Statistics,Sultan Qaboos UniversityOman

Dr Wafa Al MansooriDirectorQuality Assurance Authority for Education and TrainingHigher Education Review Unit (HERU)Bahrain

Prof. Martin HensonDean of International DevelopmentUniversity of EssexUK

Tess Goodliffe (Executive Officer)Oman Academic Accreditation Authority



APPENDIX B. ABBREVIATIONS, ACRONYMS AND TERMS

The following abbreviations, acronyms and terms are used in this Report. As necessary, they areexplained in context. In some cases, URLs are provided to facilitate further enquiries about theseacronyms and terms.

AAU............................................... Ahliyya Amman UniversityADRI.............................................. A four step, cyclical model for analysing a topic, comprising:

Approach → Deployment → Results → Improvement.Approach........................................ The first dimension of the ADRI cycle, which focuses on evaluating

what a HEI aims to achieve for a given topic and how it proposes toachieve it.

BoD................................................ Board of DirectorsBoS ................................................ Board of StakeholdersBoT ................................................ Board of TrusteesCall Back Interview ....................... An interview conducted by the Audit Panel towards the end of the

Audit Visit for which it has invited specific people, usually at shortnotice, to respond to particular issues on which the Panel will requireassistance.

CAS................................................ College of Applied ScienceCGD............................................... Career Guidance DepartmentDAR............................................... Department of Admission and RegistrationDeployment.................................... The second dimension of the ADRI cycle, which focuses on whether a

HEI’s plans for a given topic are being followed in practice, and if not,why not.

DSA ............................................... Department of Student AffairsExecutive Officer ........................... An OAAA staff member assigned to an Audit Panel to provide

professional guidance and support.External Reviewer.......................... A Member of the OAAA Register of External Reviewers; a person

approved by the OAAA Board to participate as a member of theOAAA’s various external review Panels.

HEI................................................. Higher Education Institution (also known as HEP – Higher EducationProvider)

HoD................................................ Head of DepartmentHR.................................................. Human ResourcesImprovement.................................. The fourth dimension of the ADRI cycle, which focuses on how

effectively an organisation is improving its approach and deploymentfor any given topic in order to achieve better results.

IT.................................................... Information TechnologyLAN ............................................... Local Area NetworkMoHE ............................................ Ministry of Higher Education (www.mohe.gov.om)MoU............................................... Memorandum of UnderstandingOAAA Board ................................. The governing body of the Oman Academic Accreditation AuthorityOAAA............................................ Oman Academic Accreditation Authority (www.oac.gov.om)OFI................................................. Opportunity for improvement.OQF ............................................... Oman Qualifications Framework.

www.mohe.gov.om

www.oac.gov.om



Panel Chairperson.......................... The Chairperson of the Audit Panel.Panel Member................................ An OAAA External Reviewer who is a member of an Audit Panel.Portfolio ......................................... see Quality Audit Portfolio.PR .................................................. Public RelationsQA ................................................. Quality AssuranceQAD............................................... Quality Assurance DepartmentQuality Assurance.......................... The combination of policies and processes for ensuring that stated

intentions are met.Quality Audit ................................. An independent evaluation of the effectiveness of the system and

processes by which a HEI sets, pursues and achieves its mission andvision.

Quality Audit Portfolio .................. The report produced as the result of a self study. Also forms the mainsubmission made to the OAAA by the HEI being audited.

Quality Audit Report...................... A public report published by the OAAA which presents the findingsand conclusions of the Audit Panel’s External Review of a HEI.

Quality Enhancement..................... The combination of policies and processes for improving uponexisting approach, deployment and results.

PR .................................................. Public RelationsRandom Interview ......................... An interview conducted in situ by individual Panel Members during

the Audit but separately from the main interview sessions.Results............................................ The third dimension of the ADRI cycle, which focuses on the

evidence of the outputs and outcomes of a topic’s approach anddeployment.

SAD ............................................... Student Affairs DepartmentSWOT............................................ An analysis of an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities

and ThreatsSystem............................................ In this Report, system refers to plans, policies, processes and results

that are integrated towards the fulfilment of a common purpose.The College.................................... Al Zahra College for WomenZCW .............................................. Al Zahra College for Women



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Documents

Oman Academic Accreditation Authority Report of an Audit ...oaaa.gov.om/Review/zcw_report_final.pdfAl Zahra College for Women (ZCW) was established in 1999, with the express aim of