KUCHING – A Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus delegation presented Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud, Chief Minister of Sarawak, with a copy of the university’s certificate of self-accreditation status at Wisma Pelita here, recently.
Taib is also the Pro Chancellor of Swinburne’s Sarawak Campus.
The delegation was led by Tan Sri Datuk Amar Haji Adenan Bin Haji Satem, chairman of the University’s council. The delegation comprised members of the university’s council members, board of directors and senior management.
Swinburne Sarawak was awarded self-accreditation status by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) in May following an audit on the campus. The audit was carried out in October last year based on the Code of Practice for Institutional Audit which comprises requirements and guidelines with regard to quality at the University.
The MQA is a statutory body responsible for monitoring and overseeing quality assurance practices and accreditation of national higher education.
The audit looked into nine areas, namely – vision, mission, educational goals and learning outcomes; curriculum design and delivery; assessment of students; student selection and support services; academic staff; program monitoring and review; leadership, governance and administration; and continual quality improvement.
The self-accrediting status award signifies that Swinburne Sarawak has in place a quality assurance system that meets the criteria and requirements needed to ensure the accreditation process is carried out effectively and gives Swinburne Sarawak the autonomy to accredit its courses internally without going through the MQA.
Pro Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Swinburne Sarawak Professor Helmut Lueckenhausen said the self-accrediting status is proof that the high quality of education the university offers is internationally recognised.
“Countries sending their students to Swinburne Sarawak can now be assured that all government instrumentalities in Malaysia recognise the high quality of Swinburne programs,” he said.