Accreditation

Chapter 1: Internal Quality Assurance and Management

• Standard 1: Academic Unit Management
• Standard 2: Governance System
• Standard 3: Self-Check/Self-Evaluation
• Standard 4: Staff-Development

• The program has a well-defined and effective management system. Sufficient consultations with faculty members on academic matters were observed during interviews with faculty members.
• More external evaluation of the educational and research activities may need to be done.
• The program has a system for practicing its self-check and self-evaluation periodically. The next review will be done within this academic year. It is also observed that the COVID-19 pandemic has been a factor affecting some of the planned self-evaluation activities. The situation is understandable, and sufficient appropriate actions have been taken to get it back on track.
• The program has two sets of staff: one group from the faculty/school and one group from UMS Flec. The faculty staff members primarily provide support to the faculty members, and UMS Flec staff members primarily work on the recruitment of students and general classroom management. Students communicate mainly with UMS Flec staff, but some of the administrative tasks are handled by faculty staff on the back end. The program should consider developing a better system to have more control over the administration and financial management of the program.

• Does your school face any difficulties?
• The school has adequate measures to ensure internal quality assurance as well as the external measures. The management system is in place with the dean lead the management. The management of postgraduate programs, however, is different from the undergraduate and need special attention for specific units for clear governance and decision-making process. The MBA program is under commercialized program (income generation), thus managed by the other unit called UMS Flexible Learning Education Centre (UMCFLEC). The involvement of UMSFLEC to administer the program is concerning as the school does not have direct control over the program administration including the financial matters. Meanwhile, the school are responsible for any academic matters. In terms of tuition fee, all payments go to UMSFLEC while the school will be given a certain percentage of the income. This model results in unclear financial reporting for the program sustainability. It is crucial for the school to prepare the refined financial reporting rather than reporting the amount allocated by the university as both operational costs and total income. This is also necessary to identify school initiatives for curriculum development, promote research, students support and infostructure and infrastructure.
  From the other perspectives, the staff can manage the workload in managing the program despite of minimal number of staff employed. This is because the school were assisted by UMSFLEC when it comes to administrative matters. Furthermore, any needs for academic advice will be channeled to the program coordinator.
  The school encourages cross-departmental projects that involve multiple schools and discipline, especially for community projects. It is good to know, leveraging available expertise in the university, the school utilized faculties from various schools such as medical, education to collaborate with business school conducting local community projects as well as in getting external funding.

Issues to be improved:

• The program should make more efforts to materialize the town hall meetings to engage their stakeholders further.
• While there is no sign of a severe issue with the financial position of the program, the program should consider gaining more control of the income earned by the program.
• As the school is anticipating those newly recruited students in their China (undergraduate) program will be their potential MBA students in the future, appropriate plans and systems should be developed as soon as possible to prepare both staff and faculty to handle more overseas students joining the program in the near future (say, in the next two to three years)

The School’s Feedback:

• The financial sources for MBA are actually under UMSFLEC who managed in terms of costing and revenue that generated from MBA Program. The school only received a percentage of share given by UMSFLEC and the sharing is channeled in the Trust Fund for income generation, which Faculty has full autonomy to use the trust fund for the development of the program, including for the research workshop and seminar for students, new program development (e.g. ODL program like CMBA), and for education infrastructure.
• The school plans to hold a town hall meeting after completing the curriculum review. Currently, the curriculum review process is on hold, awaiting reports from the external reviewer and academic advisor. Once these reports are received and the curriculum review is completed, the school will organize a town hall meeting to share the review outcomes and gather feedback from faculty and staff. Moving forward, the school aims to establish a regular schedule for town hall meetings to ensure consistent communication and engagement with all stakeholders.

PRT Response:

Thank you for your updates. The additional information provided addressed our concerns.

Chapter 2: Mission Statement

• Standard 5: Mission Statement
• Standard 6: Financial Strategies

• The program has a clear vision, mission, and values that are developed in line with the university’s key result area (KRA) and university mission statement. The mission statement is known and understood by stakeholders.
• The university and the program have a mission to serve the local community and improve its economic well-being.
• The financial statements provided by the program are not clearly presented, and the PRT has provided some suggestions on the spot and is looking forward to receiving more information.
• The program is running with the help of UMS Flec. The PRT understands that the arrangement adopted by the university administration is to put these commercialized programs under the operation of UMS Flec. Operationally, this arrangement is acceptable. However, as the income generated from the program will be put under UMS Flec but not directly under the program, the presentation of financial statements is unclear, and there is also a minor concern about whether the program can have full autonomy in using the income generated from the program.

• Acceptable.
• The school mission is clear and aligned with the University to contribute to the local community by fostering academic excellence. The school ensures all stakeholders are aware of the school mission by using various channels to disseminate the information. The school needs to ensure all activities, educational and research are always aligned with the school mission. Strategic budget allocation is also an important element to achieve the stated mission.
  The school receives an annual financial allocation from university for operational expenses. It is not clear if the program can be sustained in the future as the Trust fund does not reflect the operational cost to run the program. Complete financial reporting that integrates the Trust fund and university allocation is necessary to give clear indication of the program sustainability. This illustrates long-term financial strategies by the school instead of relying on annual budget allocation.
  Other than rental income, conference income and others, the school generates income mainly from commercialized programs, the MBA program that is via the tuition fee. This implies the importance of promoting the program to increase the number of enrolments.

Issues to be improved:

The financial position of the program should be more clearly presented.

• Nothing to improve.

The School’s Feedback:

The existing financial arrangement, where all tuition fees are channeled to UMSFLEC and the school receives a predetermined portion, indeed presents challenges in achieving clear and comprehensive financial reporting. For the long-term sustainability of the program, it is essential that the school develops a refined financial reporting framework. This approach would not only detail operational costs and total income but also enhance transparency.

Implementing such reporting would enable the school to effectively highlight its contributions to curriculum development, research initiatives, and support systems for students. Additionally, this would facilitate the prioritization of both ‘infostructure’ (digital and technological resources) and physical infrastructure, ensuring that strategic improvements are made where needed.

By defining the resources needed, the school will be able to link the budgetary needs to relevant departments. For instance, curriculum development should be linked to UMSFLEC’s budget, while facilities funding should be allocated from the university’s budget. This targeted approach will ensure that financial resources are aligned with specific operational areas.

To secure program sustainability, the school will form a committee and meeting with UMSFlec on financial sustainability of its commercial programs and also to develop a tailored-made business model, providing greater oversight and control over its financial flows. This committee will meet up every quarterly to discuss matters related to this program. This shift will support accurate forecasting of funds required for maintaining local and international accreditations, a vital aspect of upholding educational quality and institutional reputation. Through strategic financial management and robust reporting practices, the school will be better positioned to meet these accreditation standards without compromising on operational efficiency.

PRT Response:

Thank you for your updates. The additional information provided addressed our concerns.

Chapter 3: Curriculum

• Standard 7: Learning Goals
• Standard 8: Curriculum Policy and Management of Curriculum
• Standard 9: Quality Improvement of Curriculum
• Standard 10: Online Education
• Standard 11: Diploma Policy and Learning Outcomes
• Standard 12: Globalization of Curriculum

The PRT noted that the program is developing new online programs in the next few years, and appropriate plans have been developed to ensure the quality of the program.

• Frequency of program curriculum review
• The school comply to the Malaysian Qualification Agency of minimum 40 credit units for MBA program. The school adheres to the national accreditation in developing the program PEOs and PLOs. All skills deemed to be important to MBA graduates were imparted into the program. The school communicates PEOs and PLOs largely to the students via internal university systems such as iTEL. The school also posts the learning goals on the school websites to ensure it is disclosed to other shareholders such as employers and alumni.
  The school uses case study and experiential learning via community engagement with the local community. This initiative gives impactful learning experience to the students and should be done on a continuous basis.
  The continuous marks are disclosed to the students at the end of the semester prior to the final assessment is 60%. While the passing marks are 50%, the school may want to reconsider the maximum percentage of continuous to be disclosed to students. There could be both positive and negative effects of disclosing this amount of percentage. The new curriculum is to also consider the separation of accounting and finance as it may reflect the students’ learning time (SLT) for the course.
  The school is using Webex Platform for online learning activities supported by the LMS called iTEL. The school adheres to the national guidelines provided by the national accreditation. Kukuro system (AI IT Technician) is used to assist faculty, staff, students and other stakeholders for virtual assistance 24 hours a day. The system is embedded into all systems, apps and applications related to the school and university.
  In preparing faculty members for online education, relevant internal and external seminars/courses were conducted involving university and external speakers. This includes pedagogy and andragogy courses via online learning. It is worth noting that relevant seminars/courses/training must also be conducted for the professional and support staff to ensure online education can be conducted smoothly and in professional manners.
  The school has good initiative to globalize the curriculum by leveraging the numerous MoU/MoA/LoI with international partners. Faculties and students’ mobility were conducted in both physical and online mode. However, currently the school focuses on the short-term mobility program (10 – 14 days).
  UMSFLEC will be responsible for providing adequate support to foreign students in terms of administrative matters. However, it is good if the school can provide extra guidance such as providing a dedicated academic advisor (on top of the program coordinator) to these foreign students.

Issues to be improved:

During the debriefing, the PRT suggested that the school management develop a student handbook to outline various procedures and regulations about the program, particularly those related to the initial registration, as some students indicated that the initial registration procedures were unclear.

• Program curriculum should be reviewed once in every 2-3 years and the review committee should include stakeholders such as student, alumni, industry practitioners, lecturers, course facilitators, etc.

The School’s Feedback:

• Thank you for your valuable suggestion regarding the percentage of assessment grades disclosed to students. We appreciate your input on potentially reducing this percentage and will include it as a topic of discussion in our 2025 curriculum review workshop.
• Additionally, we note your recommendation on the separation of Accounting and Finance within the curriculum to better reflect students’ learning time (SLT). We will consider this suggestion during the review process to enhance our curriculum alignment with learning outcomes.
• Since the majority of MBA students are working adults, the school has not implemented a dedicated career advisor specifically for the MBA programme. However, at the undergraduate level, each programme of study has an assigned career advisor. Subsequently, the MBA programme has its own coordinator, who also serves as a career advisor when needed.
• In response to the feedback received during the Programme Accreditation Application (PAA) stage, the school conducted a postgraduate pre-curriculum review workshop. This workshop included a review of the curriculum with the intention of incorporating a Business Analytics Body of Knowledge to strengthen the programme’s relevance and comprehensiveness. The preliminary output from this workshop has been submitted to an external evaluator for review and further feedback. We are currently awaiting their response.
• The school has not yet implemented a credit transfer mechanism, as we encountered challenges in aligning courses with potential partner institutions. However, we recognize that this initiative could be an effective strategy to attract more students to the MBA programme. We will give this matter due consideration and plan to discuss it in the curriculum review scheduled for 2025.
• To ensure that students receive a consistent learning experience, we would like to inform you that the same lecturer teaches the subject at both the main campus and the branch campuses. Additionally, we acknowledge the concern regarding the smaller student groups at some branch campuses, and we will convey this to UMSFLEC so that they may develop a specific strategy to address this matter.
• Thank you for the recommendation regarding English language proficiency and communication training for our administrative staff. We acknowledge the importance of these skills in fostering effective support for curriculum delivery and in ensuring a positive experience for students. We will explore options for sending the staff for suitable English courses or sessions to address any gaps and to further enhance our team’s capacity to deliver excellent administrative support.
• Thank you for the suggestion to expand student mobility options through exchanges, joint degrees, and internships abroad. While we agree that these could enhance the student experience, the MBA programme does not currently require an overseas internship, as it focuses on practical learning within a local context through projects and industry partnerships. Expanding these options would require additional resources and funding, along with careful consideration of accreditation standards, especially with international partners. We would also need to establish formal partnerships with reputable institutions and provide strong student support to help them navigate the logistics and challenges of international placements. Ensuring student safety would be a priority, requiring thorough risk assessments for any overseas opportunities.

PRT Response:

Thank you for your updates. The additional information provided addressed our concerns.

Chapter 4: Students

• Standard 13: Admission Policy and Student Selection
• Standard 14: Student Encouragement and Support
• Standard 15: Student Body Diversity

The PRT noted that student enrollment declined during the COVID-19 period. In addition, the student recruitment activities are somehow outsourced to UMS Flex. The program has been suggested to make a better effort in student recruitment and work closely with UMS Flec.

• In general, students and alumni have a very favorable impression of the program. They welcome the support provided by the program.
• The program has taken steps to attract a diverse student body by promoting the program in foreign countries via online programs and offshore (in particular, China) campuses.

• The school has had a system to send its students to foreign universities, and an administrative system to provide necessary information and counseling for students who wish to participate in student exchange program. In this regard, the school should encourage at least 20% of its student wo wish to go abroad.
• The school states clear admission policy that adheres to the national accreditation program standard. The entry requirement is also publicized on the school website for disclosure. However, the school needs to clarify the minimum CGPA if it is less than 2.50 and perhaps to review, to what extent the 5-year working experience is considered sufficient and does it represent the thorough admission assessment for these groups of candidates.
  The school recognizes outstanding MBA students by awarding certificates of appreciation during the annual postgraduate ceremony to acknowledge students’ dedication and excellence. The school leverage on university counselling units to provide support to students in needs of academic, personal and emotional well-being. Despites of majority Muslim students, the school considers students diversity by allocating resources to prepare multi-faith space for students. The school uses mentor-mentee program for international students to assist and let the students familiarize with the country and university system.

Issues to be improved:

• The school should provide some financial support to students (particularly B40 students) who wish to go for student exchange program.

The School’s Feedback:

• The school appreciates the PRT’s valuable suggestion to introduce an interview or written assessment for applicants with a CGPA of 2.50 and below, as a means to ensure candidates are prepared for the demands of the MBA program. This recommendation aligns with our commitment to maintaining high academic standards and supporting student success. The school will include this suggestion as an agenda item for further discussion at the upcoming curriculum review workshop scheduled for 2025. This will allow the school to evaluate the feasibility and impact of implementing such an assessment criterion comprehensively.
• The postgraduate section and MBA coordinator have taken the suggestion on board and are working on a comprehensive handbook for all registered students. This handbook will include not only course-specific information but also important university requirements, such as car registration and other non-academic policies. Thank you for the recommendation to expand the scope of the handbook beyond academic content.

PRT Response:

Thank you for your updates. The additional information provided addressed our concerns.

Chapter 5: Faculty

• Standard 16: Faculty Structure
• Standard 17: Faculty Qualifications
• Standard 18: Maintenance of Education and Research Environment
• Standard 19: Faculty Development
• Standard 20: Faculty Diversity

• The program has a smaller proportion of full professors. During the visit, the PRT understood that it was related to the P&T policy of the university, which made it difficult for the program faculty members to get promotions (as they are required to supervise a sufficient number of Ph.D. students as a requirement for promotion to be a full professor). The program would undertake to discuss further with the administration on reviewing such guidelines for the faculty due to its specific situation (i.e., with a small Ph.D. program).
• The faculty members have impressive academic and research accomplishments. There are no observable issues in this regard.
• The PRT noted that the school and university, on the one hand, want to focus on high-quality research and, at the same time, they want to conduct impactful applied research to help the local community. In reality, these two goals may not be able to align easily. The PRT suggests that the program provide the necessary input to define the research goals more precisely.
• The PRT also suggests that the school should seek more research funding from the university management.
• The faculty is actively involved in international collaborations and has international exchanges from online and face-to-face activities.

• The school must have a number of full-time professors and associate professors that is adequate for its educational program.
• The school faculty profiles show diverse areas/disciplines to support the MBA program. The faculties include Professors, Associate Professors, Senior Lecturers, Young Lecturers and Practical Lecturers. The school has more full-time faculties (44) to be assigned to teach MBA program given smaller numbers (25–30) are required per semester offering. The alternate assignment among this pool of faculties may provide variation in delivering the courses. However, the subject-matter expert will be the person who is accountable to ensure all courses meet the standard and requirement for both class activities and assessments. It would be better if the variation of faculties involved with the MBA program were smaller for a more sustained curriculum delivery. The school involved faculty from practical qualification to ensure there is a good blend of theory and practical application in the curriculum.
  The school conducts annual reviews for each faculty focusing on both education, research and social contributions. All faculties (except faculties with management post) have 12 hours teaching per week and the research requirements (grant and publication) vary depending on the position of the faculties. In terms of postgraduate supervision, each faculty was assigned approximately 3 students per semester.
  The appointment of professors is controlled by the University’s Evaluation Committee to ensure standardized and impartial process for faculty promotions. The school award outstanding faculties based on the yearly quota to be given Excellence Service Award known as APC.
  The university provides IT support for educational activities, managed by the designated university digital department. Due to limited research funding internally, the school secured external research funding from industry and local agencies to support research activities. The school embarks into cross-departmental educational and research activities to achieve the school and university mission. Furthermore, collaborative grants/matching grants with other local and international universities are also one of the initiatives to support research activities.
  The school offers training programs and financial support for tuition, allowances and study leave to faculties pursuing PhD for professional development. The university imposed certain minimum hours of annual training need to be fulfilled by the faculty to enhance teaching abilities and competencies.

Issues to be improved:

• The school and university, on the one hand, want to focus on high-quality research and, at the same time, they want to conduct impactful applied research to help the local community. In reality, these two goals may not be able to align easily. The PRT suggests that the program provide the necessary input to define the research goals more precisely.
• The PRT also suggests that the school should seek more research funding from the university management.

• Perhaps the schools need to recruit another 3-5 professors in the next 3 years.
• The issue identifies for faculty promotion requirements is that lack of opportunity to supervise PhD students. This is due to the limited number of PhD supervision available in the school while most of the supervision is for MBA program, that is by coursework and not counted in the promotion assessment. It is suggested for the school and university review the promotion assessment to evaluate the equivalent numbers of MBA supervision to 1 PhD supervision to be considered for promotional assessment.

The School’s Feedback:

• The school to suggest to the appraisal/promotion committee to consider the dissertation supervision for coursework program as equivalent to master/PhD supervision (e.g. 3 MBA supervision = 1 PhD supervision). Ongoing Review on faculty assessment at university level to look into these matters.
• Each research grant has its own research goals and output that is clearly stated in the proposal. The faculty member has actively engaged in research and the school adhere to the university’s aim to undertake high impact research that not only for knowledge transfer (journal/ book publication) but also contribute to the local community’s economy and well-being, e.g. build community awareness about taking care of the environment, motivate the young to further study to university once finished school, encourage the local community to develop new tourism product in their village and share with the local community about entrepreneurship skills.
• To ensure all faculty member to lead a research grant (as this is requirement for annual performance appraisal for academics) the school will suggest to the top management (the Research Management Centre, UMS) to re-offer the internal research fund to all academics like before. This fund would benefit the academics, especially the young lecturer who have little experiences to apply for external research grant.
• The faculty acknowledges the PRTs’ comments regarding the assignment of teaching responsibilities within the MBA program. We understand the importance of maintaining consistency in curriculum delivery while ensuring that subject-matter experts oversee course standards and requirements. To address this, the faculty will add this matter to the agenda for the next curriculum review workshop in 2025, where we will discuss the possibility of reducing the variation in faculty assignments to promote sustained and cohesive course delivery.

PRT Response:

Thank you for your updates. The additional information provided addressed our concerns.