University Governance and Quality Assurance Program - Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

The University Governance and Quality Assurance Program stems from a partnership between the CMI and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Human Development Department of the World Bank. Its purpose is to address insufficient access to higher education, inconsistent quality of higher education institutions across the region, and discrepancies between graduates’ skills and the skills demanded by the labor market.
Meeting Higher Education Challenges in MENA
In recent years, enrollment in higher education in MENA has increased significantly. Average enrollment across the region increased 20 to 30 percent between 2000 and 2008. However, although student enrollment numbers are increasing, there is still a gap compared to other, developed countries. In OECD countries, the proportion of the adult population with at least an associate’s degree is 14.5 percent, with countries like Ireland as high as 20 percent.
Higher education has been proven to facilitate economic growth and to encourage innovation, social mobility, and democracy. Having higher education credentials alone, however, is not enough: the labor market must have the flexibility to expand and adapt to accommodate the strengths of the work force. In MENA, however, despite the availability of more skilled workers, the job market has remained limited, and graduates from higher education institutions constitute a larger proportion of the unemployed population than those of faster-growing economies. Youth unemployment rates in MENA are higher than any other region in the world – 21 percent in the Middle East and 25 percent in North Africa – and university graduates with at least an associate’s degree make up nearly 30 percent of the unemployed.
The MENA regional program on higher education recognizes these disparities and seeks to improve post-basic education and related institutions in the region. The mission of the program is to
    * Improve employability of tertiary education graduates
    * Facilitate mobility of students, teachers and graduates across the region
    * Develop analytical tools to improve the management and quality of tertiary education
    * Promote knowledge sharing on quality, governance, and financing issues
Featured content
University Governance Screening Card
The University Governance Screening Card is the product of the higher education program’s (link back to program page) pillar on university governance.
Resources
Includes all the program's publications, tools, blogs, press releases, and events information.
Our team and partners
The Program team is composed of international researchers and world-class experts on the governance, internationalization, and financing of higher education institutions.