Accreditation is a Mark of Quality. It is sought after by institutions and demanded by students and other stakeholders to such an extent, that it has spawned a multimillion dollar industry in which “accreditation mills” provide the assurance of quality for a fee. These mills are owned and operated by unscrupulous persons and the accreditation they offer is in fact meaningless. Many people the world over are led to believe that as long as  it is accredited  it is good, but efforts are being made to educate the public on the need of ensuring that accreditation is awarded by a competent body that is duly recognised by the State, professional associations and regulatory bodies in the jurisdiction within which it operates.

Here in Trinidad and Tobago, the Accreditation Council of Trinidad and Tobago (ACTT) has such recognition and similarly, so do specialised bodies such as the Energy Institute (EI), the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) and the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) of the United Kingdom, all of which have accredited UTT’s programmes.

Quality, though, is not just about seeking accreditation. While quality standards must be met for accreditation to be obtained and maintained, the Mark of Quality is just an external symbol and must not be viewed as an end in itself. It serves as a symbol of the rigorous internal processes that guarantee that an institution is fulfilling its mission and achieving its goals. Accreditation is therefore a public demonstration of what quality actually means in the context of the institution.

Institutional quality is manifest in the values which we uphold as excellence and in the ways through which we demonstrate these values in our work- in our interactions with others and in the life of the organisation. UTT’s Quality Policy communicates how UTT defines excellence and identifies how it will be achieved and measured. In this policy, UTT makes a promise to students as well as internal and external stakeholders to be mission-driven and results oriented. Major goals identified are: (1) to facilitate the development of high-quality, industry-aligned higher education programmes, applied research initiatives and profitable commercial enterprises in priority areas for national development that are reflected in UTT’s mission and (2) to maintain a systematic approach to assessing organisational effectiveness that includes institutional research which produces actionable information and strategies for improvement.

The policy also states that quality would best be achieved by (a) investing in faculty and staff and building partnerships that empower stakeholders to influence the strategic direction of the University and (b) demonstrating continuous commitment to quality by maintaining a robust internal Quality Management System (QMS) that is aligned to internationally accepted standards of excellence.

The key to unleashing the full potential of UTT lies in making the Quality Policy a living document and delivering on the promise that it makes to students, faculty, staff and all other stakeholders.  When this is achieved we will be able to claim with a sense of ownership and pride that we have moved beyond accreditation.