Workshop on understanding, preparing for accreditation held at HEC

Islamabad: The National Business Education Accreditation Council (NBEAC) on Thursday organised a two-day workshop on ‘Understanding and Preparing for Accreditation’ at Higher Education Commission (HEC) Secretariat.

HEC Executive Director Dr. Arshad Ali was chief guest on the occasion. A large number of participants from different business schools across the country attended the workshop. In his opening remarks, Dr. Arshad Ali appreciated the efforts of NBEAC in engaging business schools for enhancement of business education quality in Pakistan.

He underlined the importance of business education in the socio-economic development of the country. He assured the Council of all-out support from Higher Education Commission in its steps for further improvement in the business education system.

The workshop encompassed a variety of topics related to the accreditation of business education programmes including sessions on philosophy of accreditation, registration and accreditation process, discussion on Self-Assessment Report (SAR) forms, and admissions and examination policy at business schools.

Dr. Asfia Obaid, Head of Department, NUST Business School, Dr. Sadia Nadeem, Associate Professor, FAST School of Management and other eminent speakers shared their knowledge and experiences about the accreditation process of NBEAC.

They said NBEAC, through its accreditation process, assures external authentication and confirmation of quality in an institution’s business programmes, adding that it ensures that its academic business unit exhibits characteristics of excellence in business education. Both graduates and their employers benefit from this external quality assurance.

Emphasizing significance of research and development, the speakers said research and development efforts allow the business schools to better fulfil the public service mission and serve markets of choice.

They underscored the need for enhanced social responsibility with regard to business education in addition to adequacy of schools’ physical and financial resources. The need to establish link with external organizations like academic, corporate, and welfare entities both at national and international levels was highlighted on the occasion.

Speakers also explained the value of business schools’ academic calendar and the role of business schools heads with regard to fee structure and admission procedure. The workshop also consisted of detailed question and answer sessions, group sessions and intensive discussions.