US-based Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) has granted candidacy status to the American University of Ras Al Khaimah (Aurak).

Aurak is a government-owned university licensed by the UAE’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, based in the northernmost emirate of Ras Al Khaimah. It currently offers 18 undergraduate programmes and four master’s programmes in a cross-section of academic disciplines.

SACSCOC is the regional body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the 11 south-eastern states of the US.

This comes following a visit by a candidacy committee from the commission in February, in which a team of eight reviewers from the US ensured that the university was in compliance with commission’s core requirements, selected comprehensive standards, and the federal requirements, said a statement from Aurak.

Candidacy represents a notable achievement for the university, as it continues its work to demonstrate compliance with the remaining standards and requirements. Earlier this year, the university outlined its ambitious plan of achieving SACSCOC membership by 2020, while also earning ABET accreditation for all of its engineering programmes and AACSB membership for its School of Business.

Aurak's ambition has led to remarkable growth since its establishment in 2009, with a diverse faculty and student body, as well as an expanding campus to accommodate the increased demand for an Aurak education, remarked its president Prof Hassan Hamdan Al Alkim.

A new building housing the School of Engineering, a new auditorium and student centre was inaugurated last year, while work has already begun on the School of Business, he stated.

On achieving the milestone, Prof Alkim said: "We are now just one step away from fulfilling our goal of obtaining institutional accreditation from SACSCOC."

"This progress is another indicator that we are steering this university towards our vision of establishing it as a leading institution of higher education through the impact of its education and research in the region,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service