Oman College of Management and Technology, Institutional Standards Assessment, Apr 2018
 
Prof. Ian Scott
 
Ian Scott is a professor emeritus in the Centre for Higher Education Development at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, having recently retired as director of Academic Development. He has served on task teams and undertaken commissioned research for a range of policy bodies, including the South African Ministry of Higher Education and Training, the Council on Higher Education (CHE) and its Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC - the statutory body responsible for higher education quality assurance in South Africa), the National Commission on Higher Education, the Centre for Higher Education Policy Studies in the Netherlands, and the World Bank. He is an accredited institutional auditor and has had extensive experience in quality assurance in higher education, including: leading aspects of the development of the HEQC’s initial training of institutional quality auditors; participating in the advisory group for the development of the HEQC’s Quality Enhancement Framework; and serving on programme review panels at a range of universities in South Africa. He has specialised in studying the interface between secondary and higher education, and in 2012-2013 led the research and report-writing for the CHE investigation into the effects of undergraduate curriculum structures on inclusiveness and success in higher education. His main research interests are in higher education policy related to teaching and learning, comparative models for widening successful participation in higher education, curriculum development, and professional development.
 
Dr Mohammed Hamood Al Amri
 
Mr. Mohammed Al-Amri a professor of Art & Education, and Head of Curriculum & Instruction Department at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), Oman. He was a visiting scholar at Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard University (September 2018- August 2019). Al-Amri worked as Director of the Filed Experiences and Student Teaching (FEST) Unit, SQU (2015-2018). He was an elected member for the InSEA World Council from 2014-2019 as well as Regional Representative of Africa and Middle East. He was a member of the International Advisory Committee for Arts Education (UNESCO), as well as a working group member of the Road Map for Arts Education for UNESCO. Al-Amri was invited as a main speaker for the first UNESCO celebration of International Arts Education Week in Paris. He also played a significant role as invited panel speaker in the UNESCO Second World Conference on Arts Education and revised the Arabic version of the Seoul Agenda. At College of Education at SQU, Mr. Al-Amri played a significant role in the academic accreditation process by National Council of Accreditation for Teacher Education (NCATE) with references to Filed Experiences and Student Teaching. Currently, he is a member of Accreditation Steering Committee at the college of education, SQU which dealing with accreditation standards of Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). In addition to his experiences in National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) and National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD). Mr. Al-Amri has an M.A. in Art and Design Education from the University of Warwick and a Ph.D. from the University of Manchester, UK. His research interests are in the Art Curriculum, Program Evaluation, Art Criticism, Creative Thinking, Quality Standards and National Curriculum, Field Experiences, New trends in curriculum development, and Academic Accreditation. He participated in national, regional and international conferences, symposiums and seminars and he has published articles in both Arabic and English languages.
 
Prof. Muhammad Faour
 
Muhammad Faour is an independent education consultant based in Canada. From November 2015 to July 2016, he was founding dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and acting dean of the College of Public Health at Phoenicia University in Lebanon. Prior to that, Faour was a Lead Consultant on global citizenship education to the UNESCO regional bureau in Beirut. Between 2011 and 2014, he was senior associate at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, Lebanon, leading a project on citizenship education in the Arab countries. From 2007 to 2010, he was president/vice chancellor of Dhofar University in Salalah, Oman. Faour also served as deputy vice president for Regional External Programs at the American University of Beirut from 2000 to 2007. In that capacity, he oversaw the establishment of new universities, colleges, and schools in several Arab countries. Before that, Faour was professor of sociology and department chair. A recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, Faour has also been a visiting researcher at universities in the USA and Canada and a consultant to UN agencies and NGOs. Faour is the author of several books and monographs, including The Silent Revolution in Lebanon: Changing Values of the Youth, and The Arab World after Desert Storm, and of four Carnegie papers on citizenship education. Faour has a PhD degree in sociology from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and a BSc degree in biology-chemistry from the American University of Beirut. 
 
Ms Nabila Mohammed Al Macki
 
Nabila Al Macki, Deputy Dean (Academic Affairs) at Majan University College, Muscat, earned her MBA (Financial Management) from the University of Hull, UK. In 2018 she became a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). She has a rich teaching experience, particularly in the areas of Finance, Accounting, Human Resource Management, and Leadership, at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Her research interests include curriculum development, teaching, learning and assessment strategies, leadership and staff development. In addition to teaching, she has also supervised undergraduate projects at Majan University College. Ms Nabila has the experience of preparing documentation for programme validation, institutional reviews and annual evaluation of academic programmes and quality audits. She has also chaired Examination Boards.  Through her work at Majan University College, frequent cooperation with senior managers at the University of Bedfordshire, and awareness of practices at other HEIs, Ms. Nabila has acquired extensive knowledge of UK quality assurance procedures and of higher education systems and standards in Oman. Ms Nabila is a member of the Ministry of Higher Education register of subject specialists for academic programme licensing in Oman. She is also an external reviewer with the Oman Authority Academic Accreditation and Quality Assurance of Education.
 
Dr Steve Burns
 
Dr Steve Burns is Acting Assistant Dean and Director of Quality Assurance and Enhancement at Oman Tourism College. Before coming to live and work in Oman, Steve worked internationally in the cruise ship and hotel industry followed by working in Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), for 16 years. He has over 20 years experience of teaching and the management of teaching staff in Higher Education in the UK and Oman. His areas of expertise include tourism, events, business, management, and marketing, and obtained the Award of PhD for his research investigating the impact of ‘Managerialism’ in tourism services in the United Kingdom (UK). He was awarded Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK) in 2014. As Acting Assistant Dean, Steve is responsible for all aspects of teaching and academic support services provision. He has significant experience in HEI quality assurance procedures, and QA compliance procedures for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. Steve is an experienced ‘internal’ and ‘external’ examiner for validation and review of undergraduate and Master’s programmes. A confident and supportive team player, he has significant experience of working in a constructive, helpful manner with national/international partners, colleagues and students in multi-national/multi-cultural settings.
 
Dr. Wafa Abdulrahman Al Mansoori
 
Dr Wafa Abdulrahman Al Mansoori currently occupies the post of Director of Institutional Research and Assessment at the American University of Bahrain, where she is responsible for developing and leading the implementation of institutional research and assessment program to support the university’s mission and strategic initiatives. She received her BSc degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Bahrain, her MSc degree in Microelectronic Systems and Communications from the University of Liverpool, UK, and her PhD degree in Electrical Engineering from Tufts University, USA. In 2007, Dr Almansoori joined Bahrain’s Education Reform Project where she has assisted in the development of the Higher Education Quality Review System and participated in the pilot implementation of the System.  From 2008 to 2020 she occupied different positions at Bahrain’s Education & Training Quality Authority. These included the Director of the Directorate of Higher Education Reviews, Director of the Directorate of Vocational Reviews, Chair of the Academic Committee. Prior to that, she was a faculty member of the Electrical & Electronics Engineering Department at the University of Bahrain. Dr. Almansoori was appointed as a member of the Council for Regulating the Practice of Engineering Professions from 2013 to 2016 and as the Vice Chairman of the Council from 2016-2019. She is a member of the Bahrain Society of Engineers. Dr Al Mansoori is the recipient of the “Anita Borg Change Agent Award” in 2007.