The American University of Bahrain (AUBH) became the first University in the Kingdom to achieve eligibility to proceed with an Application for Accreditation with the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC). This is one of the highest levels of quality assurance, and once awarded, AUBH would become the first and only higher education institution to be accredited by WSCUC in Kingdom. The University would also be among two other universities (both based in the UAE) to be accredited in the MENA and GCC regions, and the sole ten Universities accredited by WSCUC worldwide. U.S.-based universities accredited by the accreditor include Stanford University, University of California Berkeley, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and California State University, Northridge (CSUN).

AUBH has applied for Eligibility from the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC). WSCUC has reviewed the application and determined that the institution is eligible to proceed with an Application for Accreditation. A determination of Eligibility is not a formal status with the WASC Senior College and University Commission, nor does it ensure eventual accreditation. It is a preliminary finding that the institution is potentially accreditable and can proceed within five years of its Eligibility determination to be reviewed for Candidacy or Initial Accreditation status with the Commission.

U.S. Regional accreditation recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), hold the highest level of quality assurance at the institutional level. The accreditation process usually takes five years and is guided by 16 rigorous Eligibility criteria. Those include a “First Seeking Accreditation Visit” (SAV), during which the WSCUC Commission will fly to Bahrain, and visit the American-style University to inspect the state-of-the-art campus, which was built with U.S. Regional Accreditation in mind, by U.S. Architect, Ayers Saint Gross (ASG). ASG have developed projects for numerous universities in the U.S., including Harvard University, Duke University, Carnegie Mellon University, and John Hopkins University.

Dr. Jeff Zabudsky, AUBH Provost, who recently appointed Dr. Wafa Almansoori, AUBH Director of Institutional Research and Assessment, as AUBH’s Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO), will be working on the accreditation process with Dr. Almansoori. He commented: “Positioning Bahrain as a regional hub for quality higher education being a part of our goals, we couldn’t be prouder to see that this accreditation process is placing Bahrain’s Higher Education landscape on the map with U.S. Regional accreditors. We are honored to have been commended by the panel on our approach to student support and success, and to the COVID-19 pandemic, through our “Culture of Care” philosophy, and finally for our well developed learning outcomes, and strategic planning with the student as the center of those efforts."

AUBH currently holds the highest levels of accreditation possible at this stage, by being licensed by the Higher Education Council of the Ministry of Education in Bahrain and being a CIQG Member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation in the U.S.