To this end the office has organized several workshops and trainings to create awareness about quality assurance accreditation. Today’s training is organized in collaboration with Educational Training Authority (ETA). Mrs. Fiqraddis Jima, Director of the Educational Quality Enhancement Directorate of ASTU, welcomed the guests and highlighted the contents subsumed in the training. She noted that program accreditation is the priority for ASTU and hence the training is significant to further familiarize ASTU management and staff with accreditation.

The training was officially opened by Dr. Teshome Abdo, Vice president for Academic Affairs, who made the opening speech. Dr. Teshome indicated program accreditation is one of the reforms being undertaken by ASTU. Dr. Teshome underscored that ASTU prioritizes accreditation of its programs as a strategy for its pursuit of autonomy. Dr. Teshome noted that ASTU has six (6) programs that are undergoing the initial international accreditation process with ABET.

Mr Teferi Belay, chief executive officer for accreditation at Educational Training Authority (ETA), made it evident that as a science and technology university, ASTU is bestowed with broad mission pertaining to science and technology. Mr. Teferi noted that it is incumbent on ASTU to undertake accreditation of its programs vehemently. According to Mr. Teferi, accreditation requires utmost commitment. He expressed his appreciation of ASTU’s readiness to achieve accreditation of its programs. He stated that ETA accepted ASTU’s accreditation process based on the university’s active engagement and its preparedness.

Mr. Tamiru Mesfin, the accreditation desk head at ETA, highlighted the criteria and processes for accreditation. According to Mr. Tamiru, the major tasks of their organization include training experts, reviewing best experiences, mapping international and national standards, and giving approval to the ETA management board.