Designing and Implementing Quality Assurance Schemes: A Necessity in Engineering Sciences Educational Programs

Higher education plays a pivotal role in the fulfillment and success of developmental plans and policies of a country. In this respect, and in order to accomplish their missions and fulfill their tasks especially with regard to industrialization goals, universities and higher education institutions, in general, and engineering sciences educational programs, in particular, are faced with major challenges in improving and enhancing their quality. Recent research and studies strongly suggest an urgent need for change and reform in engineering and vocational education. Also, higher education stands notably high and bears a significant level of importance in public opinion owing to its prominent role in national development and the allocation of a noticeable amount of financial resources to meet its objectives; therefore, it is expected to prove its efficiency and effectiveness. Quality then as a combination of efficiency, effectiveness, accountability, transparency and liability in a dynamic and evolving environment needs to be carefully planned for since it does not come about spontaneously. Developed countries and most of the developing ones have not only planned and put in place the required systems for quality assurance but also placed atop the list of their priorities the need for establishing a quality control and evaluation-oriented culture. This article is an attempt to address quality and its importance in engineering education. First, it will show the trend of quantitative growth of higher education in engineering sciences in Iran. Then it will look into the accreditation models and their implementation, relevant national and international experiences, and the role of academies and scientific organizations in quality assurance of engineering education. Finally, it will propose its own scheme to achieve this goal. Therefore, the principal aim of the article is to offer a model for the mechanics of accountability and empowering relevant academies and scientific organizations in Iran in order to establish and preserve quality assurance in engineering education.