According to the National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment, accreditation is defined as “official certificates awarded by a recognized body, ensuring that the educational program or the educational institution meets the standards required. The National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment’s definition shows that the academic accreditation is awarded by body recognized by the Saudi Ministry of Education and academic society institutions in the Kingdom. There are two types of accreditation one targeting the programs and the other targeting the institutions. Also, the definition shows that the Kingdom’s accreditation methodology is embodied in the eleven accreditation standards of the   National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment. 

Accreditation is an acknowledgment that an institution adheres to the standards required for the graduates to get them admitted to reputable institutions related to the higher education or to approve their accreditation papers in the professional practice. Accreditation aims at ensuring that the education presented by the higher education institutions meeting acceptable quality levels. As indicated by the definition, the concept of accreditation has broadened to the effect that it provides the graduate with the qualifications required for joining top levels of the higher education or documents qualifying them for practicing specific professions, such as the medical professions and others.  

1 the National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment, manual of the quality and accreditation assurance in the Kingdom: first part “System of the Quality and Accreditation Assurance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” March, 20008, page 32.

Within the manual, the National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment is to be reduced to the “National Commission”.

[3] U.S. Department of Education, The Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs, [online], Available at URL: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/Glossary.aspx,Accessed on March 2,2015.