College Quality and Accreditation Office (CQAO):
The College Quality and Accreditation Office (CQAO) is the responsible entity in the college that oversees the quality activities in the departments, and reviews and evaluates the Annual Program Reports (APRs). The CQAO is established as per the guidelines of the Academic Assurance Quality Framework (AQAF) document which entails the hierarchal arrangement of quality and accreditation bodies at KFUPM. The institution-level organizational structure is shown in the figure below:
In AQAF frame work, the Academic Assessment and Accreditation Committee (AAAC) headed by the Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA) supervises all the quality related processes at KFUPM and CQAO reports to it through relevant entities in the organizational structure. In addition, the CQAO is responsible for preparing the Annual College Report (ACR).
The role of CQAO:
The CQAO performs the following tasks in coordination with Academic Assessment Center (AAC) at the Deanship of Academic Development (DAD) and concerned program quality coordinators.
1- Advise the college Dean on all matters related to AQAF;
2- Review and evaluate the Program Files and related documents of all the college's programs;
3- Advise the Department Quality Assurance Committee (DQAC) for necessary actions or corrections;
4- Prepare the College Annual File and send it to College Council;
5- Develop and monitor an accreditation & assessment plan for academic programs at the college;
6- Plan and implement training and awareness programs in relation to the standards and requirement of the accrediting agency;
7- Coordinate and facilitate the activities for academic programs self-assessment and National / International Accreditation;
8- Ensure compliance of submitted documents to accrediting body standards and requirements;
9- Archiving all documents relating to quality, assessment and accreditation of all programs in the college;
10- Provide Academic Assessment Center with all required data related to quality, assessment and accreditation, including ACF;
11- Present and discuss ACF in the college council;
12- Review and monitor the implementation plan for academic programs within the college based on the self-assessment and accreditation findings;
13- Provide recommendations for program/college improvements.