The President's Assistant for Planning, Development and Quality Department presented a detailed presentation of the results of the self-evaluation program of Al-Istiqlal University, in the presence of Prof. Dr. Saleh Abu Osbaa and his deputies for Academic, Administrative and Military affairs, his Aides, Deans of the Faculties, Departments’ managers and a number of Academic, Administrative and Military cadres, on Tuesday 2nd of April 2019.
Prof Dr. Abu Osbaa opened the session by praising the efforts of the self-evaluation team and the objective results which showed 66%, stressing that the presidency of the University will address and present the results of the assessment to the Board of Trustees of the University, in addition to the Accreditation and Quality Department which is affiliated with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, mentioning that this process will be repeated every year, hoping positive progress on the overall outcome next year.
Furthermore, the president of Al-Istiqlal University stressed the need to pay attention to the strengths and weaknesses which were presented by the evaluation on the international basis and standards which are used in the Arabic and international universities, pointing out that the evaluation axes started with the vision and mission of the University and ended with the ethics of the work in the universities and thus it will affect the indicators of the scientific and moral work.
For his part, Dr. Mohammed Halasa, the assistant of the President of the University for Planning, Development and Quality, thanked the presidency of the University for its guidance and the permanent instructions to complete the self-evaluation, explaining to the attendees the mechanism of work that lasted for one year in collecting the information and the questions that reached the eleven main axes by the team efforts, and with the participation of more than (70) employees from the administrative, academic and military sectors. Also, the process was based on the quantitative and qualitative criteria through a special electronic program which was designed specifically by the Department of Information Technology under the supervision of its director Mr. Munjid Abu Bakr.
Moreover, Dr. Halasa said that the self-evaluation program was based on a transparent and objective work policy through its committees, rapporteurs, main axes, and the questions and statements which were supported by documents, besides that the program was conducted confidentially through a special account on the electronic program, thanking the departments of the University for their cooperation in providing the necessary information to reach this evaluation and its results.
In a related context, the Director General of the Information Technology Department gave a detailed presentation of the idea and the work of the electronic program and its specific allocations, in which Al-Istiqlal University has its own security background. He explained to the attendees the mechanism of the program with its doors, axes and sections, the questions included and the answer options which are supported by the documentary evidence, noting that the program is characterized by the transparency, the objectivity and strict confidentiality in its results.
Finally, the atmosphere of the meeting was positive and the participants discussed the need to grasp the strengths and weaknesses points of the evaluation, to benefit from the experience in the coming years which will pace Al-Istiqlal University always at the forefront of the Palestinian and the regional universities.