Students' Level of Awareness of Accreditation Process: A Case of University College of Bahrain

Abstract

Accreditation has become an essential element in educational sector especially when it comes to higher education level. One of the key success measures of the accreditation process is the involvement of all stakeholders in the process. To be involved in the process, the stakeholders must be aware of the importance of accreditation. One of the key stakeholders in the university is the student. The purpose of this study is to measure the level of University College of Bahrain (UCB) students’ awareness of the importance of accreditation process taken place at the University. A survey questionnaire was used as the research instrument of this study. The questionnaire was distributed to 150 UCB students using convenience sampling technique. All of them filled up the questionnaire giving 100 percent response rate. The survey results reveal that UCB students are generally aware of the importance of accreditation as shown by their agreement to all statements in the questionnaire. Among the importance of accreditation process that obtained an elevated level of awareness are “Accredited Universities give their graduates a better opportunity to get a job after graduation,” “Accredited universities give their graduates a better opportunity to succeed in their workplace” and “Accreditation strengthens the university’s image.” The study is expected to benefit UCB management as an input to make strategic decisions for a success accreditation process. This is because students perceive accreditation process as very important. In addition, this study can also be used by Higher Education Council (HEC) of Ministry of Education in Bahrain as an input for them in making policies with regards to the awareness campaign of its accreditation process. Since the study is the first study conducted in Bahrain in this aspect to the best knowledge of the researchers, the results of this study can be used as a reference for further studies in the Kingdom and other studies worldwide.