The Senior Management Quality Assurance Committee (SMQAC) is the higher authority at SQU which is chaired by the VC and its members are: the Deputy Vice Chancellors (DVCs), the Director of the QAO and two senior SQU faculty members appointed by the VC every three years.

The Director of the QAO should report to the VC twice a year about the continuous quality improvement process and activities at SQU. The SMQAC meets twice a year to discuss the annual report of the QAO and endorse the recommendations for continuous improvement. The Director of the QAO should meet at least once a month with the Deputy Directors to discuss, plan and follow up on issues related to the overall SQU Quality Assurance. It is envisaged that every single unit at SQU will have its own Quality Assurance Committee/Unit.

The Deputy Director for Academic Affairs should Chair the Academic Quality Assurance Committee which is made of members from different Colleges at SQU. These members from the SQU Colleges should be the Chairs of their respective College’s Quality Assurance Committees/Units. The Committee should meet at least once a month to exchange information (good practice) and discuss and follow up on issues related to their continuous quality improvement processes and activities. The committee should also suggest and plan training courses to the faculty and students.

The Deputy Director for Academic Affairs should also Chair the Research Quality Assurance Committee which is made of members from different Research Centers at SQU. These members should be the Chairs of their respective Center’s Quality Assurance Committees/Units. The Committee should meet at least once a month to exchange information (good practice) and discuss and follow up on issues related to their continuous quality improvement processes and activities. The committee should also suggest and plan training courses to their staff.

The Deputy Director for Non-Academic Affairs should Chair the Non-Academic Quality Assurance Committee which is made of members from different non-academic units at SQU. These members should be the Chairs of their respective unit’s Quality Assurance Committees. The Committee should meet at least once a month to exchange information (good practice) and discuss and follow up on issues related to their continuous quality improvement processes and activities. The committee should also suggest and plan training courses to the administrative and technical staff.

The Internal Academic Quality Audit Committee (IAQAC) has the mandate of conducting University-Wide self-review through Audits. It also conducts Audits of selected Units when deemed necessary by the Quality Assurance Office. Academic quality audit fulfils both accountability and enhancement functions within the University. In fulfilling the accountability function audit provides an independent mechanism for checking and verifying that the arrangements which are in place for maintaining and enhancing the quality and standards of education are appropriate and effective, and that responsibilities are being properly discharged. It fulfils an enhancement function by helping the University to understand itself better, and to identify the strengths and weaknesses in its policies, practices and procedures. Non-Academic Audits are the responsibility of the Internal Auditing Department.

Finally, since quality matters concern every single staff and student at SQU, it is important to allow them to take part in the process and participate with their feedback and views through a university wide forum on quality matters. This SQU Continuous Quality Improvement Forum (CQIF) should be web-based and should be monitored by the IT Officer in the QAO. It will serve primarily to discuss what is happening in quality at SQU as well to alert on the national regional and international matters. The forum will also spread updated information on various aspects of quality to the SQU community.