Higher Education “: The development of licensing and accreditation mechanisms in accordance with the framework of the quality based on outputs

The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research has announced the adoption of mechanisms for licensing higher education institutions in the country, adopting its academic programs, and adopting the framework of evaluation based on outputs, according to the provisions of Ministerial Resolution No. (27) of 2024 and Ministerial Resolution No. (62) of 2025.

The decision determines the paths and mechanisms for obtaining institutional licenses and the necessary program credits for higher education institutions and their new and existing programs, and a unified evaluation framework is based on measuring performance levels for higher education institutions according to output indicators.

Dr. Mohamed Al -Mualla, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, stressed that this initiative comes within the framework of the Ministry’s efforts to simplify and facilitate the services provided to higher education institutions in line with the targets of the government bureaucracy to be a program, where the licensing procedures between the Ministry and the relevant local educational bodies will be unified in a way that shortens time and effort and reduces the documents and procedures necessary to complete the license process.

He pointed out that the decision is consistent with the Ministry’s strategy to organize and govern the higher education sector to ensure the quality and efficiency of the outputs in order to link the outputs of the educational system with the requirements of the labor market, and supports the life learning journey among all graduates.

Al -Mualla revealed that the paths and procedures set by the ministerial decision to license higher education institutions will shorten the time of the new institution’s license from six months to one week in the event that all requirements are met, and the time to obtain accreditation for new academic programs from nine months to one week as well, and the time to renew the accreditation of existing academic programs from nine to three months with a maximum.

Al -Mualla added that, according to the new mechanisms, a system based on risk management will be adopted to renew the licenses and academic credits of the existing universities, so that they can shorten the time and simplify the procedures required for the renewal process. For institutions with low risks, they will be granted a 6 -year license and control it every 3 years only, while for institutions with high risks, they will be granted a two -year license and control annually.

Regarding the adoption of the framework of the evaluation based on the output, Dr. Al -Mualla stated that the new framework provides all the higher education institutions approved in the country a unified evaluation mechanism based on clear pillars and performance indicators through which the outputs of these institutions can be evaluated.

The new decision contributes to reducing the number of documents required from 28 to 5 for a new high education institution obtaining the license and starting its work; From 13 to 1 for a new high education institution obtaining accreditation for academic programs for the first time; From more than 11 documents to one document to renew the institutional licensing of existing higher education institutions; From 13 documents to 1 for higher education institutions based on academic accreditation for a new program.

The decision specified the paths that new higher education institutions must follow to obtain institutional licensing and start their work, and the mechanisms for these institutions to obtain accreditation for academic programs for the first time; The decision also clarified the mechanism for renewing institutional licensing or programming for higher education institutions, existing programs and the path that these institutions must follow to obtain academic accreditation for new programs. The license decision, issued to higher education institutions, determines the academic units covered by the institution, and it is necessary to obtain prior approval from the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research when adding any new academic unit or closing any existing academic unit.

According to the decision, the licensing procedures will be unified between the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the relevant local educational bodies, so that the educational institution is licensed by the ministry if it obtains the license by the local educational authority, and according to the decision the academic programs that are based on global accreditation by reliable and recognized credentials will be approved without the need for additional procedures. This will contribute to shortening time and effort and reducing the necessary documents and procedures.

The Ministry’s decision also set six basic pillars for the framework of the evaluation based on outputs and the relative weight of each pillar as follows: Employment outcomes (25%), learning outcomes (25%), cooperation with partners (20%), scientific research outcomes (15%), reputation and global attendance (10%), and community participation (5%). The decision clarified the main performance indicators that were approved to conduct an output assessment in each pillar.

This decision applies to all existing and licensed higher education institutions by the ministry, or new institutions seeking to obtain an institutional license and program appropriation by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.