4. Quality Education
Academic excellence scholarships
The university offers scholarships for students on the honor list in recognition of their outstanding academic performance for three consecutive semesters, and to students on the college honor list if the student meets the conditions of excellence for one semester. These scholarships are meant to enhance the quality of education by encouraging students to excel in their academic performance.
Need-based financial aid
The university provides grants to students whose financial conditions may prevent them from completing their university education. These grants reflect the university’s mission to provide education for all, which serves the broader strategic plan in the UAE in achieving the SDGs for a more sustainable future.
On November 07, 2022, Al Ain University organized the “Say it in 5 Minutes” competition in Yas Hall, Al Ain campus. In an effort towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the competition addressed SDG 4 Quality Education and SDG 5 Gender Equality. The purpose of the competition was to enhance students’ communication skills and knowledge in several areas including Artificial Intelligence, deafness disabilities, etc, and to encourage female students to take the lead as public speakers. The participants had to make their best 5-minute presentation on an important topic, and their presentations were subject to three rounds of evaluation. Seven finalists presented on stage in front of the audience and the jury. Three winners were selected; the jury selected the first and second-place winners, and the audience voted for the audience-choice winner. The prizes were: a laptop for first place, an iPad for second place, and a smartphone for the audience-choice place. The other four finalists were given a monetary award that totaled AED 1000.
This competition is part of the university’s efforts to contribute to promoting and achieving the SDGs by 2030, which lies at the core of the national strategic plans in the UAE to make a better and more sustainable future.
Al Ain University recognizes the importance of local and international accreditations of academic programs and their positive impact on the quality of education. The university has all its programs locally accredited by the Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA), UAE. The university strives to meet the highest standards of quality education, and has therefore successfully achieved international accreditation from prestigious organizations as follows:
The College of Engineering has international accreditation from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), USA. This accreditation is well recognized globally as evidence that a certain program meets the standards set by its technical profession. Its review process determines quality assurance for programs in several areas including engineering, technology and computing.
The College of Pharmacy has obtained international certification from the American-based Accreditation Council of Pharmacy Education (ACPE). It was the first and only university in the UAE to get this kind of accreditation. ACPE accreditation is public recognition that a professional degree program a Pharmacy degree is judged to meet established qualifications and education standards through initial and subsequent periodic evaluations. It provides a professional judgment of the quality of a college or school of pharmacy’s program and encourages continued improvement thereof. Accreditation concerns itself with both quality assurance and quality enhancement. Those programs accredited by ACPE are published and maintained on ACPE’s website under Accredited Programs.
The College of Law received full accreditation from the Supreme Council for Evaluation, Research and Higher Education in France (HCERES) which is an internationally reputable body recognized as a member of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) and it is listed in the European Quality Assurance Register (EQAR). The HCERES evaluation process is performed by evaluating areas of internal quality management in education as endorsed in the "Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Education in the European Higher Education Area. It also evaluates the teaching content and goals of the program besides the program’s position in a national, regional and international context.
The College of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences got accreditation from the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) which requires meeting evidence-based high standards of preparing future teachers for several cycles. By obtaining this accreditation for the Special Education Program and Postgraduate Professional Diploma Program, Al Ain University (AAU) joins distinguished education providers accredited in promoting excellence in educator preparation. AAU has become one of the institutions that meet the CAEP Accreditation Standards – which are rigorous, nationally recognized standards that were developed to ensure excellence in educator preparation programs.
The College of Business has obtained the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation which is known worldwide, as the longest-standing, most recognized form of specialized accreditation that an institution and its business programs can earn. Its review process is a rigorous external review of a school's mission, faculty qualifications, curricula, and ability to provide the highest-quality programs.
The College of Communication and Media has accreditation from the Agency for Quality Assurance through Accreditation of Study Programs (AQAS) which provides a review process for study programs from all academic disciplines internationally. Moreover, it carries out accreditation procedures for quality assurance systems of higher education institutions.