Business News of Saturday, 2 July 2016
Source: Graphic.com.gh
Prof. Salifu (standing third left), & Prof. Alabi (standing middle) in with some staff & members
The National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) has lauded management of the University of Professional Studies Accra (UPSA) for transforming the school into a fully fledged university and subsequently gaining international recognition.
The Executive Secretary of the NCTE, Professor Mohammed Salifu, in an interview after UPSA was recognised by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programmes (ACBSP), said the transformation of the university was very commendable.
“The transformation is very commendable. It is one of the reasons why I took part in the accreditation ceremony to give the management of UPSA a certain affirmation of the support from NCTE for all the efforts that they have put in place in bringing it from where it was, where people perceived it to be a glorified commercial school, to a university of a status that is befitting of award of accreditation by ACBSP,” he said after the event in Atlanta, United States.
UPSA became the first university in sub-Saharan Africa to receive accreditation from the prestigious Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programmes (ACBSP) giving it a world-class recognition.
ACBSP, which is based in the United States, is the biggest and the fastest-growing accreditation body for business schools in the world. It currently has 1,215 member campuses, 235 of which are located outside of the US.
He said the accreditation subsequently signified that UPSA had come of age and, therefore, programs that were being delivered would match global standards.
“This is an international accreditation, you want whatever programs you are delivering at the tertiary level to be benchmarked globally and this is the indication that UPSA has come of age. Definitely, the accreditation represents for me a significant milestone, not only for UPSA but for the management of tertiary education in general, and the delivery of education at the tertiary level,” he added.
He said the processes prior to gaining accreditation would help tertiary institutions to put in place quality systems that would ensure that quality education was delivered at the tertiary level.
He added: “Before you get to this point where you get the accreditation, there are certain processes and at the end of the day, what happens is that you are being helped to put in place a quality assurance system, a system that will guarantee credibility of processes and outcomes, in terms of what you undertake to provide as tertiary education.”
The Chief Accreditation Officer, ACBSP, Dr. Steve Parscale, said: “The UPSA has shown its commitment to teaching excellence and to the process of quality improvement by participating in the accreditation process.”
“This accreditation is evidence that UPSA is committed to providing the highest quality business education for its students.”
Prof. Salifu was part of a nine-member delegation that attended the accreditation ceremony which included the Vice Chancellor of UPSA, Professor Joshua Alabi, and the Executive Secretary of the National Accreditation Board, Mr. Kwame Dartey.
The Chairman of the Governing Council, Mr. Justice Aryeetey, Prof. Goski Alabi, and a member of the council, Mr. Emmanuel Acquaye, the Director of Finance, Rev. Joseph Antwi, and Mr. Abdulai Munkaila, Coordinator for International Education and Collaboration, were also part of the delegation.