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29 March 2024

Dubai's Executive Council introduces rating system for branch campuses of international universities

Published
By Wam

H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, said that the ambitious vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has helped the emirate take advantage of its strategic location and its status as a bridge between the East and the West to become a magnet for talent and a global higher education destination.

The leadership’s vision, which focuses on developing a knowledge-based economy, has enabled Dubai to provide a congenial environment for achieving academic excellence.

"The Dubai Government has placed the highest priority on developing higher education and increasing the competitiveness of our local universities, which forms part of our efforts to build a knowledge based economy. As part of achieving this strategic objective, we have approved a Rating System for International Branch Campuses in Dubai. We continue to develop plans and strategies for improving Dubai’s high-quality educational offerings and facilitating the establishment of more campuses of prestigious international universities. We are striving to further boost Dubai’s global competitiveness in this domain by ensuring the highest quality standards," H.H. said.

The decision of The Executive Council of Dubai to introduce a rating system will help students make well-informed higher education choices.

The Campus Rating System, which was developed by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, KHDA, is based on the highest benchmarks adopted by countries seeking to attract international students. The scientific rating system allows students to make educational choices based on clear objective data.

The system also helps educational institutions identify strengths and opportunities for improvement as well as attract investors. The initiative also helps the government and decision-makers develop a clear vision for higher education.

Furthermore, the system supports Dubai’s efforts to develop its R&D sector by providing a star-rating framework based on a quality system (QS) adopted by 1000 institutions in 80 countries. Moreover, the system will help enrich the quality of life of students by promoting high quality amenities and applying the concept of happiness and quality of life in line with the vision of Dubai Government to create an inclusive and tolerant society.

The system reflects these aspects in its three main criteria: - Key standards; which include quality of teaching, recruitment, research and development, best practices and global experience.

- Secondary standards, including the quality of educational programmes and the learning environment.

- Optional standards, such as culture, arts, quality of life, creativity and social responsibility.

The performance of international campuses will be assessed based on a six-level star rating system: - One Star: awarded to an institution that provides a good education for students, and possesses the capabilities to achieve progress and development.

- Two-Stars: awarded to an institution that provides a good education for students, and shows progress with regard to key standards.

- Three Stars: awarded to an institution that offers a high quality education and has demonstrated strong key standards.

- Four Stars: awarded to an institution that offers an excellent quality of education, shows strong results across all system standards, and whose graduates attract employers.

- Five Stars: awarded to an institution that offers world-class education and has demonstrated strong standards in all system categories, and whose graduates are highly sought after by employers.

Institutions that receive a rating of more than five stars meet all the standards of a five-star rated institution in addition to being recognised as one of the world's leading higher learning institutions. Graduates of such institutions also have very high rates of employability in both the public and private sectors.

Dubai’s International Campus Rating System also offers an interactive smart application that displays the results of the evaluation of campuses.

The rating system has drawn from the classification systems of global educational institutions used in United States, United Kingdom, Germany, China, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia.