A delegation from the National Universities Commission (NUC) visited the American University of Nigeria(AUN) on the 30th of March, 2021. NUC delegations visit AUN periodically to review accreditations of academic programs. This time, it was for the assessment of Telecoms & Wireless Technology, Information Systems, Petroleum Chemistry, and the Natural & Environmental Sciences programs.
The NUC is the statutory parastatal of Nigeria’s Federal Government tasked with granting approvals for all academic programs in universities and ensuring that they abide by the highest quality standards.
AUN Interim President, Professor Attahir B. Yusuf received the delegation at the library auditorium.
"The reason my colleagues and I are happy at your being here today is that we believe that by the end of the day, you're going to give us your observations, advice, counsel; and that is going to make us greater than we are today. So we are pleased at the exercise you are here for. Our objective mainly is to graduate students with entrepreneurial mindsets who are able to identify opportunities and transform them into value creations" said professor Yusuf.
A NUC Senior Accreditation Officer, Arumeh Joseph Wada, explained that the 16 member delegation is divided into smaller working groups.
“My panel is made up of four people with a NUC representative. Seated beside me is professor Nuruddeen Magaji of Bayero University, Kano. The chairman of my panel is Professor God’s Power Ekobase of the University of Benin and another member is Professor Abdulkareem Oloyede from the University of Ilorin and we are here to access the Telecoms & Wireless Technology program for the 2021 comprehensive exercise'' said Mr. Wada.
AUN’s Dr. ASH and Professor Olumide Longe led the NUC delegation on a tour of the university. They began with the library where they were informed about the state of the art digital repository. AUN is in collaboration with many universities in America. If a student needs a book which is not available at the library, partner universities are able to supply the required books within a short period of time.
NUC delegation at the AUN Library
The delegation also toured study rooms, the ICT department, the School of Law, the Zoological Garden, the Botanical Garden, and the Biology, Physics and Chemistry Laboratories. In the laboratory, Technologist Mr.Bulus Bitrus Apagu explained how technicians guide students in identifying computer components and using practical manuals.They also inspected facilities at the video and radio studios of the Communications & Multimedia Design program, the lecture rooms, and many more.
The NUC officials then visited the School of Information Technology & Computing. After the tour, they were given lists of AUN students, staff lists, admission files, external examiner's reports, examination results, and other vital documents.
NUC delegation at NES lab
Impressed by the conduct of the process thus far, Mr. Wada said:
" in reality, AUN has always been a stable private university for almost 20 years. They've been stable and it is commendable. So many private universities receive provisional licenses and they don't last more than 10years but for you to have remained steady for the last 15 years is highly commendable." Said Mr. Wada.
Professor Magaji Nurudeen of Bayero University Kano also applauded AUN for the university’s high standards.
"I want to commend the university management for a job well done because I was here in 2018. I have really seen a great improvement from what I saw in 2018 when I came for the accreditation of Software Engineering. I really appreciate the way the university is progressing. Said Professor Nurudeen.
Another NUC delegation is expected on the 6th of April 2021 to review the quality standards of more AUN courses including Marketing, Economics, and Computer Science.
Reported by Rebecca Ikponwonba & Esther Onyinye Ofeli