Emirates College for Advanced Education receives QAA accreditation

Emirates College for Advanced Education (ECAE) in Abu Dhabi has successfully completed its International Quality Accreditation (IQA) and has been awarded reaccreditation by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.

IQA provides institutions with an independent peer review which tests whether an institution meets the ten standards of the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG).

The review visit was conducted on 12-14 May 2026 by a team of three independent reviewers (including a student reviewer) appointed by QAA. The team concluded that Emirates College for Advanced Education meets the standards for International Quality Accreditation and may therefore be granted QAA accreditation. 

Established in 2007, Emirates College for Advanced Education provides cohorts of trained teachers available to be employed in schools across the UAE. Since its establishment, ECAE's mandate has evolved from offering foundation and undergraduate programmes to becoming a research-based, graduate-only institution, offering postgraduate and PhD programmes. ECAE currently offers eight research-informed programmes in total made up of four pre-service, two in-service PGDE and two master's programmes. In 2025 ECAE was mandated by its Board of Trustees to expand its portfolio to reintroduce undergraduate teacher education in response to national needs. All of its programmes are offered in both English and Arabic.

The IQA report identifies eight areas of good practice, and makes six recommendations for enhancement.

The report notes the following features of good practice:

• ECAE's comprehensive and mature framework for quality assurance, which is embedded throughout the institution and includes a comprehensive policy database with clear lines of responsibility, review dates and version control, ensuring that members of the academic community can readily access current documentation.
• ECAE's integrated design framework, in which all programmes are systematically mapped to the National Educators' Competency Framework and to four cross-programme themes, with consolidated impact reporting evaluating progress against the competencies at programme level, which provides a common pedagogical language across the portfolio, anchors international benchmarking activity in a coherent national reference point, and equips programme teams to design consistent, contemporary and nationally relevant learning experiences.
• ECAE's structured, evidence-informed development of new programmes which combines benchmarking against national, regional and international comparators with stakeholder consultation, staged Academic Programme and Curriculum Committee taskforce review aligned to external accreditor timelines and Board of Trustees approval.
• The embedded culture of proactive feedback and improvement across programmes; specifically in the context of student feedback where students feel heard as partners within their programmes and can confidently provide feedback on matters across ECAE.
• ECAE's planned, multi-instrument approach to investing in and monitoring staff wellbeing combining annual Staff and Faculty Wellbeing measurement, regular leadership check-ins, community-based extracurricular programming and triangulation of the resulting data into staffing sustainability and retention decisions.
• ECAE's protection of staff capacity for research and partnership activity in a manner appropriate to its particular profile as a research-based, graduate-only institution, including capping teaching at 50% of workload, maintaining transparent workload management, and integrating research expectations into the annual appraisal cycle.
• ECAE's collection and analysis of a substantial volume of data relating to student progression, attainment, retention, and satisfaction, which is made available to academic and professional staff through regular reporting cycles. The institution's investment in its data infrastructure, and the consistency with which reporting is produced and disseminated, means that decision-makers at programme, faculty and institutional level have access to a rich evidence base on which to draw.
• ECAE's integrated, closed-loop approach to course-level quality assurance, which brings together structured assessment verification and the systematic use of internal and external stakeholder feedback to drive course-level enhancement.

The report recommends that Emirates College for Advanced Education:

• Formalise and embed mechanisms for student participation in programme design, as distinct from feedback on existing courses, so that student voice and committee ownership are transparent across the three campuses and to external stakeholders.
• ECAE to continue to invest in appropriate interventions that support institutional priorities, staff development and the evolving needs of its stakeholders.
• Implement the planned expansion of specialist learning resources across all campuses to ensure equitable student access to the institution's signature pedagogy and associated learning opportunities.
• Consider establishing a shared institutional language for its reporting of data, with clearly defined relationships between reports and dashboards, in order to improve coherence and transparency, reduce duplication, and ensure that stakeholders at all levels are working from a common evidence base.
• Introduce a consolidated programme-level periodic review process aligned with the three-year cycle defined in the Curricula Approval and Revision Policy and that the resulting findings, actions and outcomes are communicated to students and other stakeholders at programme level.
• Share the successes, insights and good practice arising from its participation in external quality assurance and accreditation activities more systematically across the academic community, celebrating institutional achievement and supporting collective learning.

Dr May Laith Al Taee, Vice Chancellor of Emirates College for Advanced Education, said:

'The renewal of our QAA International Quality Accreditation is a proud milestone for ECAE and a powerful affirmation of our commitment to academic excellence, innovation and educational leadership. We extend our sincere appreciation to QAA and the review panel for their rigorous and collaborative assessment, which has further strengthened our culture of continuous improvement and quality enhancement.

'As a national hub for advancing education in the UAE, ECAE is committed to aligning with the highest international standards in preparing educators and leaders to drive meaningful impact across the sector. This accreditation reinforces the trust that our students, partners and the wider education community place in ECAE, while reaffirming our contribution to the UAE’s vision of building a world-class, future-ready education ecosystem.'

Jennifer Taylor, QAA's Director of Contract Services, added: 'QAA is pleased to congratulate Emirates College for Advanced Education on its successful accreditation. We have very much enjoyed working with our colleagues in Abu Dhabi, and we look forward to collaborating with them in the future.'

By securing accreditation from QAA, institutions can clearly highlight their quality and standards internationally, and more easily start dialogues with institutions beyond their own regions. You can read Emirates College for Advanced Education's full IQA report on our website, where you can also find out more about International Quality Accreditation and QAA Membership. If you are interested in your institution seeking accreditation or international membership, and wish to discuss this further, please contact the QAA Global team at accreditation@qaa.ac.uk