Qatar National School Accreditation Policy

Introduction
As the expert authority for the development of education policy in the State of Qatar, the Supreme Education Council (SEC) seeks to implement the directives of His Highness the Emir of Qatar, His Highness the Heir Apparent- the SEC President - and Her Highness Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser Al-Mesnad - SEC Vice President, to achieve comprehensive development and improve the quality of education in all sectors of public and private educational institutions in Qatar, through independent, fair and transparent systems and procedures.

In order to achieve the vision and strategic goals of Qatar National Vision 2030, the SEC has come a long way towards building effective systems and policies for the development and the achievement of overall quality of education. This isin line with international standards, and based on the vision formulated by the initiative "Education for a New Era."

The Evaluation Institute has been mandated by the Emiri Decree No. (14) for the year 2009, to develop and implement a system of institutional assessments for schools. The Evaluation Institute has established a solid foundation to start implementing the National Development Strategy 2011 to 2016, with the establishment of the Qatar National Accreditation Unit for Private Schools (QNSA), which is a local accreditation system equivalent to global accreditation systems in performance and quality. The aims are to achieve the principles of the education system in the State of Qatar, which seeks to follow up the status of education in private schools consistently, and ensuring the quality of their performance. In addition QNSA works continuously to raise the level of education from kindergarten to 12th grade, and to provide consumer protection for families looking for private schools by make certain that students and parents have access to necesary information dealing how students are assessed, and how students attain certificates according to high quality academic standards.

As the National School Accreditation has become mandatory for all private schools in the State of Qatar, we offer through this booklet a clear informative vision of the concept, perspectives, objectives, and procedures of the National School Accreditation (QNSA) and its role in improving the educational process.

Vision
The vision of QNSA is to build a national accreditation system matching global accreditation systems in performance and quality. QNSA aims to achieve the principles of the education system in the State of Qatar, ensuring that schools are continuously and consistently improving standards through self-evaluation and action planning.

Concept of School Accreditation
School accreditation helps facilitate a school into assessing the quality of their own school through a critical self-study; and through the development and monitoring of a school improvement plan.

The Difference between the Accreditation and Licensing Process
Licensing
The process by which the official body gives the institution the authorization consistent with specific standards and requirements (operational permission for a school).

Accreditation
The recognition of an educational institution or a specialized course in light of certain officially recognized standards and educational qualifications.

Objectives of School Accreditation
The main objective of QNSA accreditation is to improve the quality of schools using established standards to ensure that each child in Qatar is receiving an optimal learning experience based on their individual educational needs. This is done through the establishment of learning results/outcomes, and the support that school programs provide to ensure that each child is receiving the necessary support to meet standards for high achievement.

The overall objectives of school accreditation can be summarized as follows:

• Ascertain the level of school performance and educational processes and management through self-study and school visits; to encourage self-evaluation and planning for the future; as well as improving all elements of the educational process on a continuous and consistent basis.
• Ensure schools are meeting requirements and specifications of the school under evaluation and accreditation.
• Guide schools in developing learning results that ensures that each student is learning (i.e. what each student should know at each level of program)
• Ensure a solid level of academic performance, and to evaluate educational programs offered by the school under assessment and accreditation.
• Ensure access for students and parents to the information that shows how students are assessed and attain grades/their degrees, based on academic standards of high quality.
• Increase awareness to all stakeholders about the schools in terms of accountability and the cycle of improvement through research-based modes.
• Increase community service, through raising the efficiency of schools and improving their performance as a result of the educational accreditation process in the long run.
• Help validate school strengths and guide schools in the development and implementation of a school improvement plan through a specific action plan. This will identify areas of improvement and target times for completion.

Role of QNSA Office in National School Accreditation
The QNSA is a specialized office within the Evaluation Institute of the Supreme Education Council of Qatar. Its main role is to review a school’s self-study, validating areas of strength and reinforcing the areas a school needs for improvement. This is done according to specific standards set forth for accreditation as elaborated in the QNSA handbook. After completing school visits by the QNSA visiting team, QNSA will then recommend an accreditation term of 0, 3, or 5 years to the SEC.

Factors that Determine a School Obtaining Accreditation

• Work to achieve the vision, mission and objectives of the school.
• Implement or exceed the quality standards.
• Prepare a self-study.
• Receive accreditation team during its visit.
• Implement quality improvement processes via action planning.

The school uses data to identify the strengths and weaknesses, and to demonstrate that it has a plan for development, and is able to document the progress of students.

QNSA Standards for Accreditation
The assessment of quality in general education is being carried out through reference to educational standards of good practice. The standards were set to be comprehensive, objective, flexible, and achievable through the principles of participation. It also must be sustained, amendable, and measurable. These standards or practices are considered to be the basis for accreditation in schools, and is a reference to a school in the internal quality assurance processes, as they are used by external reviewers as criterion in their assessment.

They include 16 aspects under five key areas integrated with each other as illustrated in the following figure:

Overall Procedures for the QNSA national school accreditation process

• Apply for school candidacy by completing candidacy forms and school description report.
• Initial visit to the school through school candidacy process
• Acquire candidacy certification with QNSA
• Begin self-study/self-evaluation
• Accreditation visit team to review or carry external evaluation.
• Decision on accreditation of school by the SEC.
• Re-evaluation and follow-up reports and the consequent dependence on them.
• Applying for school re-accreditation.

Applying for QNSA Candidacy is First Step
Schools must first apply for school candidacy with QNSA by completing appropriate school description forms and report. This is then followed by a school visit by QNSA to validate school description report. QNSA will then recommend QNSA candidacy stature to those schools meeting requirements to begin full accreditation process, and fulfill requirements for school re licensing.

The school applies for accreditation within 18 months of receiving QNSA candidacy certification. The school does so by a letter of request filed by the school to the QNSA. At which, schools may begin the full accreditation process with the QNSA.

The Accreditation Unit of QNSA sets a schedule with the school for self-study process. This includes school training and guidance of how to complete self-study, developing proper learning results and action planning for the school site.

Self-study or Self-evaluation Process
During the nomination/candidacy period, the school should develop a school accreditation team, including designating a school accreditation team leader, and forms work teams for quality and seek help of experts to hold workshops on the accreditation process, and implement the requirements of quality assurance, carry out a self-directed study with the participation of beneficiaries in preparation for the external review for quality assurance.

The goals of the self-study report/school review requires the following from the school:

1. Develop a plan of improvement for the school (Action plans).
2. Provide supportive evidence of achievement of accreditation standards through data, reports, and evidence collection.
3. Identify and clarify the process of continuous improvement.
4. Identify process of development of school wide learning results, including use and impact of these learning results on all students.
5. Describe the methods used for quality assurance within the school.
6. Schools must show collaboration on development of self-study with representatives from all stakeholder groups. This includes governing body, administration, teachers, other staff, parents, and students.
7. The school applies for accreditation on the assumption that the accreditation requirements have been met and are supported.
8. The QNSA will provide schools with the materials, self-study preparation guidelines. The QNSA will select a visiting team and will submit names in advance to school requesting accreditation, ensuring that there is no conflict of interest. Schools with justifiable reasons may request the change of one or more of visiting team members.
9. The school provides a written report on self-study and any other supportive materials to the members of the visiting team of QNSA.
10. Preparing to host the review team of external quality assurance.
    The school should do the following:
    • Preparation of school to receive the review team and prove that the school is ready for accreditation.
    • To notify the school community as a whole about the objectives of the visit and quality review.
    • Have sample members of school stakeholders involved in the self-study process, available during visiting team visit available for meeting with visiting team.

The QNSA Visiting Review Team or External Evaluation
The visiting review team will carry out review of quality assurance. The visiting team will spend a number of days (3-4 days, depending on size and other aspects of the school) to study the programs and services available in order to deepen their understanding of the self-study report submitted. This will include meetings with various stakeholder groups and review of evidence at school site.

The responsibilities of the QNSA school visiting team are:

• Ensure the school completion and taking into account the views of beneficiaries regarding the strengths and areas of growth, and the willingness of the school to achieve its vision and objectives.
• Report on the school’s commitment to the standards.
• Review the school's commitment to the process of continuous improvement.
• Assessment strategies for school quality assurance.
• Assessment of meeting learning needs of ALL students (i.e. programs, resources and support available, and methods of teaching applied in school).
• Review learning results and their application school wide.

Reaching Decision on School Accreditation
Chairman of the visiting team submits a comprehensive report to the Accreditation Committee, which in turn, studies in-depth, the recommendations made. The QNSA then submits its recommendation for accreditation term and supportive reports to the Supreme Education Council who then makes a final decision on the granting of accreditation.

Each school has the right to challenge the decision within two months of its issuance and may form a committee to look into it with both the SEC and QNSA findings.

Accreditation Terms Factors with QNSA
The QNSA recommendation for accreditation for a school is determined based on the findings of the QNSA visiting team to a school. They reflect a visiting team’s analysis on a school’s development and support on the various indicators of the QNSA standards as found in this handbook.

A school’s accreditation term recommendation will be as factored as follows:

1. 5 YEAR QNSA Accreditation: for schools achieving an average within the range of 2.5-3 on all standards and their indicators of self-study as detailed in QNSA handbook.
2. 3 YEAR QNSA Accreditation: for schools achieving an average within the range of 2.0-2.49 on all standards and their indicators of self-study as detailed in QNSA handbook.
3. Denial of Accreditation: schools achieving less than an average of less than 2.0 on all standards and their indicators of self-study as detailed in QNSA handbook.

Re-evaluation/Re-accreditation
After obtaining a term accreditation, the school commits to targeting goals of action plan, with further improvements directed towards improving and committing to high quality of education standards for students, so that they are prepared for new accreditation and self-study process.

Schools must yearly commit to:

• Carrying out continuous improvement of operations as required.
• Conduct internal quality assurance processes to make sure that school goals, optimal school programs, and support services targeting all students are being met.

Successful School Accreditation Depends on Ensuring:

• Encourages continuous improvement: COMMITMENT
• Examines all facets of a school: MISSION/PROGRAM ALIGNED
• Inclusion of all stakeholders, self-examination: VIABILITY
• School examines itself to identify who they are, strengths, areas of improvement, action plan: SELF-ANALYSIS
• Focus on impact of school programs on student learning: LEARNING RESULTS
• Validates school in quality & planning of programs, support, towards SCHOOL EXCELLENCE
• QNSA: analyzes degree schools are meeting standards set, validates to community that educational programs are solid: HIGH STANDARDS