American University remains accredited

The American University of Sharjah's international accreditation has been reaffirmed, five years after it was granted. The US-based Middle States Commission on Higher Education reaccredited the school after a visit to the university in March by an eight-member team. Dr Peter Heath, the American University of Sharjah's chancellor, said he was "very pleased" at the news, announced this week.

The university was founded in 1997 by Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed, Ruler of Sharjah, and has about 5,000 students, one-fifth of whom are Emiratis. Other countries heavily represented in the student body include Jordan, the Palestinian Territories, Syria, Iran, Egypt and India. The university has a college of arts and sciences, college of engineering, school of architecture and design and school of business management.

The university is also accredited by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research's Commission on Academic Accreditation. Last year Zayed University became the first federal university to secure overseas accreditation when it became accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. dbardsley@thenational.ae