Licensing of Doha Institute for Graduate Studies
DI is an officially recognized academic institution. It is an independent institution of higher education founded in the State of Qatar and licensed by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, as per the Ministerial Decree No. (45) of 2016, which authorizes DI to grant academic degrees. DI is one of the first independent national institutions of higher education in Qatar to obtain the license after meeting the Licensing and Accreditation Standards for Higher Education Institutions in Qatar, in which DI’s institutional effectiveness and quality assurance system was a major component for achieving a successful license. On May 4, 2021, DI has successfully been re-licensed by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in Qatar for a period of five years after meeting all the relevant criteria and requirements.
Institutional Effectiveness and Quality Assurance (IEQA) System
Since its inception, DI has been implementing a system for IEQA that is based on best practices by international and regional universities in this field and high standards of academic quality assurance and accreditation. DI’s commitment to the principles below sets the scope of work for institutional effectiveness and quality assurance and gives direction and guidance to its activities and functions:
• Pursuing academic excellence, through continuous improvement, as a means to realizing the institution’s
mission;
• Developing and maintaining a governance structure that promotes quality and ensures proper responsibility and accountability;
• Promoting participative decision-making in partnership with stakeholders including students, faculty, staff,
employers, and others;
• Promoting a culture of quality through continuous engagement with quality assurance principles and capacity
building across all stakeholder groups;
• Engaging external stakeholders and benchmarking with peer institutions and international standards;
• Focusing on all stages of the student academic life-cycle to guarantee a meaningful educational experience;
• Ensuring the relevant interaction between teaching, learning, research and community interactions;
• Fostering a reflective environment where feedback, self-study, and external engagement can lead to
improvement across all areas of activity, and;
• Continuous review and development of the institutional effectiveness and quality assurance system and
operations.
The aim of the IEQA system is to supervise the activities of continuous development and quality assurance at DI; including accreditation processes academic and administrative assessment; strengthening planning processes and decision-making through collecting and analyzing information and data. DI implements coherent and integrated quality standards and of international credibility in order to achieve its objectives, ensuring the high quality of its programs.
External Accreditation of DI Programs
All programs at DI are required to obtain an external program level accreditation from an independent agency. Most of the programs at DI seek the "Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA)" accreditation , whereas other programs seek specialized accreditation that is more suitable for the nature of their discipline such as the School of Economics, Administration and Public Policy are working with the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) accreditation agency. To date the following programs have been successful with obtaining program accreditation:
• Master Program of Media Studies (FIBAA)
• Master Program of Sociology and Anthropology (FIBAA)
• Master Program of Politics and International Relations (FIBAA)
• Master Program of Conflict Management and Humanitarian Action (FIBAA)
• Master of Comparative Literature (FIBAA)
• Master Program of Public Policy (NASPAA)
• Master Program of Public Administration (NASPAA)
Quality Assurance Committees
The committees of "Institutional Effectiveness and Quality Assurance" and "Teaching, Learning and Assessment" are the key committees ensuring quality at DI and program levels. The Institutional Effectiveness and Quality Assurance committee provides the necessary advice and support to the OIEQA in the field of continuous improvement, quality assurance framework, institutional accreditations and others. Similarly, the Teaching, Learning and Assessment Committee assesses the effectiveness of the activities and practices of teaching, learning, assessment and their development, including the assessment of learning outcomes and competencies at the level of programs, and supporting the OIEQA in accreditation efforts.
Quality Assurance Data Collecting Tools
The IEQA system relies on several information channels and feedback mechanisms to make improvements, development and quality assurance decisions, such as the student course survey and the student satisfaction survey which are used to evaluate courses and programs and their improvement, while staff and departmental satisfaction surveys are used to assess employees’ satisfaction and the quality of administrative services. This is in addition to other studies and institutional research conducted investigating specific areas within DI with the goal to monitor and enhance quality.
DI Memberships and Recognitions
DI seeks to establish partnerships and affiliate with and/or be member in different associations to strengthen its position among other universities and prestigious institutions regionally and globally. Furthermore, to measure and improve its academic quality, DI is currently a member of the following associations:
• Mediterranean Universities Union (MUU)
• Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA)
• Association of Institutional Research (AIR)
It is worth mentioning that DI has received recognitions from the Ministry of Higher Education in Jordan as well as the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Palestine, and it is in the process of receiving other recognitions.
