Biography
Prof. Emad Abuelrub is a Commissioner at the Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA), Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, UAE. He holds BSc degrees in Computer Engineering and Computing & Information Systems from Oklahoma State University, a Master in Computer Science from Alabama A&M University, and a PhD in Computer Science from Louisiana State University, USA. Before joining the CAA, Prof. Abuelrub served in different academic administrative positions in various Arab universities. He is a former board member of the Quality Assurance and Accreditation Council / Association of Arab Universities, the Arab Organization for Quality Assurance in Education, and the Jordanian Accreditation Council. He is a founding member of the Colleges of Computing and Information Society (CCIS) and the International Arab Conference on Information Technology (ACIT), and the former Secretary General. Prof. Abuelrub is a certified reviewer by the British Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM), and served as a consultant and reviewer to many Arab organizations and universities in information technology and quality assurance in higher education. He has been involved in the establishing of many international journals and conferences in information technology and quality assurance. He has published in several areas including quality assurance, e-technology, and parallel and distributed systems with over 100 publications.
Keynote Speech Title: Quality Assurance of Teaching and Learning of Information Technology Programs
Abstract
The higher education sector is considered as one of the most important sectors that lead toward the growth of economy as it affects other sectors tremendously. The new globalization and open world market phenomena caused many countries to value the importance of quality assurance in their products and services in all sectors, especially in the academic sector, to enhance the quality by applying the total quality management and Excellency concepts within the institution. The real asset in this new age of information and knowledge society is the human mind, that is why higher education institutions are competing worldwide to produce graduates with the necessary knowledge and skills needed for the new dynamic needs of the globalization age.
This talk aims to highlight the teaching and learning process in higher education institutes and its effect on the quality of Information Technology programs. The quality of the teaching and learning process is considered as part of the quality of the academic program, which is part of the quality of the academic institute as a whole. This affects positively the quality of the program learning outcomes which affects directly the quality of the institution performance in general. The talk focuses on the best practices and continuous enhancement of Information Technology programs in the Arab world. Some of the best practices in quality of teaching and learning will also be introduced throughout the talk to aid departments and colleges of computing and information technology to evaluate their academic programs in order to enhance the quality of their learning outcomes. The talk specifically presents best practices related to the development and assessment of the program aims and learning outcomes, design and assessment of the curricula and course syllabi, development and assessment of the course portfolio, design and assessment of the various assessment tools, and design and assessment of the academic services.