Welcome to the Accreditation Agency Curacao

To whom it may concern,

The Accreditation Agency Curacao (AAC) is an independent and professional Accrediting Agency of Higher Education located in Curacao.

The AAC is now acknowledged by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sport of Curacao as a National Accreditation Agency, which will ensure the procedures for safeguarding the academic quality of higher education study programs as well as courses offered by vocational institutions (Official letter MoE 2022 – case number 2022/012532). 

The purpose of the AAC is the promotion of quality assurance in education and professional training. The AAC has been established to accredit degree programs at universities, universities of applied sciences, colleges and professional schools (bachelor, master and doctoral study programs) and higher education institutions in Curacao as well as abroad.

The AAC conducts procedures for the accreditation of educational programs in all disciplines (program accreditation) as well as procedures for the accreditation of educational institutions.  Our processes are based on both the European and American standards.

The following pages will present the accreditation procedures and provide you with the most essential information.

Sincerely yours,

We are based in Curacao

AAC – Accreditation Agency Curacao
La Puerta Business Center
Rif St. Marie, Coral Estate
Willemstad
Curacao
Dutch Caribbean

www.aac.cw
office@aac.cw
Skype: AAC Curacao
Tel:+599 9 6828106

The goal of the AAC is to ensure that institutions of higher education in the Caribbean, Latin America and around the world meet highest international recommended levels.

We are experts in quality assurance of full time, part time and distance learning and institutional accreditation.

AAC Standards are based on the following four principles for quality assurance:

• Higher education institutions have primary responsibility for the quality of their provision and its assurance.
• Quality assurance responds to the diversity of higher education systems, institutions, programs and students.
• Quality assurance supports the development of a quality culture.
• Quality assurance takes into account the needs and expectations of students, all other stakeholders and society.

AAC Standards for Accreditation in Higher Education

The Accrediting Agency Curacao (AAC) is an independent agency which was established to promote, audit, and report on quality assurance in national and international higher education. It operates independently of governments and the higher education sector. The AAC was established in 2017, and formally recognized by the government of Curacao, with the responsibility to establish educational standards and accredit institutions and programs in higher education. The system for quality assurance and accreditation is designed to support continuing quality improvement and to publicly recognize programs and institutions that meet required quality standards. The standards and guidelines for quality assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG; 2015) are adopted by the AAC. The European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) developed these standards in co-operation with the European Students’ Union (ESU), the European Association of Institutions in Higher Education (EURASHE) and the European University Association (EUA). The focus of the ESG is on quality assurance related to learning and teaching in higher education, including the learning environment and relevant links to research and innovation. In addition, institutions have policies and processes to ensure and improve the quality of their other activities, such as research and governance.

AAC Standards are based on the following four principles for quality assurance:
• Higher education institutions have primary responsibility for the quality of their provision and its assurance
• Quality assurance responds to the diversity of higher education systems, institutions, programs and students
• Quality assurance supports the development of a quality culture
• Quality assurance considers the needs and expectations of students, all other stakeholders and society.

On these premises the AAC has developed a set of standards for quality assurance and Accreditation of higher education institutions. These standards are based on what is generally accepted as good practice in higher education:
• Mission goals and objectives
• Governance and administration
• Management of quality assurance and improvement
• Learning and teaching
• Student administration and support services
• Learning resources
• Facilities and equipment
• Financial planning and management
• Employment processes
• Research
• Institutional relationships with the community

The standards are described and detailed in several stages. First, there are general descriptions for each of the eleven major areas of activity. Second, these are broken down into sub-standards dealing with requirements within each of the major areas. Third, within each of those sub-standards there are a number of implementations that are carried out in good quality institutions. To evaluate performance in relation to these standards, an institution should investigate whether these implementations are carried out and how well the process is conducted.

AAC principals for quality are:
• The agency must have an established legal basis and should be formally recognized as quality assurance agencies by competent public authorities.

• AAC will regularly publish reports that describe and analyze the general findings of our external quality assurance activities

• AAC is independent and acts autonomously. We have full responsibility for our operations and the outcomes of those operations without third party influence.

• AAC has adequate and appropriate resources, both human and financial, to carry out our work.

• AAC has in place processes for internal quality assurance related to defining, assuring, and enhancing the quality and integrity of our activities.

• AAC will undergo an external review in order to demonstrate our compliance with international standards.

• External quality assurance should address the effectiveness of the internal quality assurance processes described in the AAC Standards.

• Full reports by the experts should be published, clear and Accessible to the academic community, external partners and other interested individuals.

• External quality assurance should be defined and designed specifically to ensure its fitness to achieve the aims and objectives set for it, while considering relevant regulations. Participants should be involved in its design and continuous improvement.

• External quality assurance processes should be reliable, useful, pre-defined, implemented consistently and published. They include – a self-assessment or equivalent; – an external assessment normally including a site visit; – a report resulting from the external assessment; – a consistent follow-up.

• External quality assurance should be carried out by groups of external experts that include (a) two academic (b) one professional (c) one student.

• Any outcomes or judgments made as the result of external quality assurance should be based on explicit and published criteria that are applied consistently, irrespective of whether the process leads to a formal decision.

• Complaints and appeals processes should be clearly defined as part of the design of external quality assurance processes and communicated to the institutions.