Abstract

This study aims to identify the degree of availability of the quality assurance criteria of academic programs at the faculty of Sharia’a and Islamic studies at Al-Qassim University from the viewpoint of the faculty members, in addition to identifying whether there are differences in the study sample responses due to academic rank and sex. The study sample consisted of faculty members and those in similar situation at the Faculty of Sharia'a and Islamic Studies in the second semester of the academic year, 1437-1438 Hegira - 2016/2017, and has a total of 377 faculty members. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, a questionnaire of 92 paragraphs was developed, distributed in eleven areas of quality criteria: (message, goals and objectives, programme management, Programme Quality Assurance Department, learning and education, management of student affairs and support services, learning resources, utilities and equipment, planning and financial management, recruitment processes, scientific research, relations with the community). The results of the study showed that the degree of application of the criteria of quality assurance of academic programmes at the faculty of Sharia'a and Islamic Studies was high on the following criteria (message, goals and objectives, programme management, Programme Quality Assurance Management, learning and education, student management and support services, learning resources, recruitment processes) and have been monitored by arithmetic mean ranging from (3, 57-3, 79), while the degree of application of the quality assurance criteria of academic programmes at the Faculty of Sharia'a and Islamic Studies was moderate to the following criteria: (facilities and equipment, planning and financial management, scientific research, relations with society) and have been monitored by arithmetic mean ranging from (2, 89-3, 30), while the degree of application of the tool as a whole is significant, with an arithmetic mean of (3, 46) and with a standard deviation (0.49). The criteria of the administration of student affairs and support services came first at an arithmetic mean reached (3, 79) with a standard deviation of (0.60), while the criterion of planning and financial management was ranked last at an arithmetic mean (2, 89) with a standard deviation (0.87). The results also showed statistically significant differences in the level of significance (  0.05) among the responses of the study sample due to the gender variable in the first criterion, while the third criterion is in favour of females, there are no differences in the rest of the criteria, while the results showed a statistically significant difference attributable to the academic grade variable for the benefit of (Associate Professor and Assistant Professor).