On Thursday morning, in King Abdul-Aziz Hall at Al-Abdiyyah Campus, Umm Al-Qura University celebrated the achievement of institutional accreditation from the National Center for Academic Accreditation and Assessment, under the Education and Training Evaluation Commission. It is noteworthy that 37 academic programs were also internationally accredited. The ceremony was attended by the ceremony patron and President of Umm Al-Qura University, Prof. Abdullah bin Omar Bafail, as well as the Vice President, Prof. Farid Al-Ghamdi, and a number of the deans of the supporting deanships, faculty members, and university staff.

The ceremony opened with a Qur'anic recitation, after which the Dean of Academic Development and Quality, Dr. Muhammad Thabit, talked about the requirements for institutional accreditation. These include preparing accurate and comprehensive self-study reports covering all scientific, administrative, and service aspects and other activities, with the aim of determining their quality levels, based on the accreditation standards prepared by the center, and undergoing external auditing to validate the results of the self-study.

The UQU Vice President for Development and Entrepreneurship, Dr. Hani Ghazi, gave a speech on the importance of having a vision for the development mechanism in the educational environment, the importance of teamwork to achieve results, and the continuity of the development process in terms of integration and joining forces, efforts and cadres of the university. He explained the magnitude of the challenges and difficulties faced by the task forces in their endeavor to achieve institutional accreditation. He added that this occasion is the actual beginning of quality at Umm Al-Qura University, and mentioned that His Excellency the UQU President has signed six contracts with the Education and Training Evaluation Commission to develop six colleges in order to obtain program accreditation. He stressed that the process of quality and development will continue until all the university programs obtain international accreditation. He appreciated the persistent support and patronage of His Excellency the UQU President for the Quality and development projects, and his constant endeavor to make the university a higher education pioneer.

In his speech, His Excellency the UQU President thanked in his speech those who have contributed to this achievement, including the UQU Vice Presidents, college deans, heads of departments, directors of administrations, and male and female faculty members, for their praiseworthy efforts and hard work to raise the quality standards of the university, and their contribution to pioneering and advancing the developmental and educational process. He also expressed his gratitude to the generous and lavish support given to the university by the wise leadership, which pays attention to everything that will serve our country and its citizens.