Academic Accreditation Process of English Language Institute: Challenges and Rewards

Accreditation plays a vital role in promoting self-assessment and excellence in English language teaching and administration. It ensures high quality teaching, and provides proper tools and various types of educational support for productive learning to take place. In this connection, the present research is a case study to assess the academic and administrative practices based on the accreditation and reaccreditation experiences of the English Language Institute (ELI), female section, at King Abdul-Aziz University in Saudi Arabia. It aims to document both initial accreditation and reaccreditation and the changes that are fostered. It also aims to report accreditation challenges along with its impact on administrative and academic levels. Semi-structured interview was used to collect data for the study. The study participants were ELI faculty and administrators who were involved in the accreditation process. The findings revealed a positive impact of accreditation on the ELI administrative and academic practices in terms of organizational structure, work atmosphere, and cultural influence.