Abu Dhabi Men’s College demonstrates commitment to academic excellence with international certification

Abu Dhabi Men’s College is part of the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) which is the largest higher educational institution in the UAE and which has a well-respected reputation for innovative learning.

The certificate was awarded by the British Standards Institution (BSI) following a series of assessment audits. The ISO 9001 standard is accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) which is the sole domestic accreditation body recognized by the UK government to access and certify organizations against internationally agreed standards.

“This internationally recognized student-centered Quality Management certification by BSI is a great achievement. We plan to capitalize on this success and provide continually improving customer centered services to our students. In Abu Dhabi Men’s College we are ready to offer and deliver new applied business majors to our students and stakeholders meeting the highest possible international standards,” commented Dr Richard Gibb, Director of Abu Dhabi Men’s College.

This certification recognizes ADMC’s commitment towards its students and the high level of process efficiency achieved, based on international quality standards.

Dr Howard Kerr, Chief Executive at BSI, congratulated the faculty and staff at Abu Dhabi Men’s College, and wished the Business Department at ADMC continuous success, and mentioned that students should benchmark on this certification and be proud that their institution is awarded such a prestigious international award.

Dr Imre Reczey, Abu Dhabi Men’s College Business Department Chair said: “The Business Department is running a Quality Management major in the Bachelor of Business Administration Program. We wanted to show to our students, our customers, that we are able to achieve what we teach. Student centered teaching and learning has always been the prime focus of the educational philosophy of HCT, and the ISO 9001 framework is a customer centered quality management system, so we have found a perfect match.”

“It took us almost two years to get the certification, as we wanted to make sure that we do everything well. The department had been discussing the core processes we finally agreed to for over a year, so at the moment of the official implantation of the project we already had ‘Version 3’ of the Quality Manual in force. At the department we have about thirty professors coming from more than fifteen different countries, and they all have contributed to our system. Combining all HCT and ADMC rules with the ISO 9001:2008 requirements and all their best practices is a collective wisdom that we are all proud of. Our Quality Manual provides guidelines for all teachers and helps the orientation of new faculty effectively, too,” Dr. Imre added.

Jean-Marie Hillebrand, who has been teaching for the Business Department for 16 years, mentioned that it was an important milestone. “We are all proud to embark in this journey. We, however, spent a lot of time discussing all the processes that we follow, and we had to realize that standardizing the basic teaching processes is not a bad idea after all. It is better if all teachers agree to some common practices and we follow the same standards; the students will get better learning experience and they will know what to expect from us.”

Dr Hamad Odhabi, Associate Director of Abu Dhabi Men’s College said: “Last year the Business Department went through a QAA External Review, and this year they have successfully obtained the ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management certifications. I think such exercise should be tried on smaller scales first, and based on the results other departments may also consider similar steps in the future. To maintain its certified status, the university will need to continuously monitor and evaluate progress.”

Theuns Kotze, Regional Managing Director for Middle East and Africa, BSI, said, “This great achievement is a strong stepping stone for the Abu Dhabi Men’s College towards excellence.  This successful ISO 9001 certification is evidence of ADMC’s on-going commitment to quality management and continual improvement. It also demonstrates Abu Dhabi Men’s College promise to consistently providing quality education and services to its students and customers. I would like to congratulate the entire project team, senior management and all staff members who were involved in this project.”