Milestone for the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus

The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC) has been recognised as part of the country’s higher education elite under a new government initiative.

In a move that underlines the quality of its teaching and learning, UNMC has been granted the power to approve and accredit its own degree programmes, rather than having to apply for approval from the country’s higher education ministry.

Self-accreditation is a new initiative by the Malaysian government, and is only awarded to mature institutions with a well-established reputation for delivering the very best degree programmes.

The move is a landmark achievement for UNMC, reflecting its status as one of the top higher education providers in Malaysia.

It comes in a special year for the institution – 2010 is the tenth anniversary of the launch of the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus. The 125-acre site, near the capital Kuala Lumpur, is now home to 3,600 students from more than 70 nations.

All UNMC students study in English, for University of Nottingham degrees that are taught and assessed in the same way as those in Nottingham UK.

Professor Ian Pashby, Vice-President and CEO of UNMC, attended a special ceremony in Kuala Lumpur where he received a formal certificate conferring the new status from Higher Education Minister Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

The honour was awarded to UNMC after an intensive institutional quality audit, which took place in December 2009.

Professor Pashby said: “This is a proud day for all of us at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus.”

“Achieving self-accreditation is a significant step forward in the development of the campus, and represents an acknowledgement from the government of Malaysia that we are delivering degrees of the highest quality.”

Self-accreditation is a new initiative in Malaysian higher education, and is awarded to mature institutions which have robust internal systems for quality assurance. They are therefore given the freedom and flexibility to approve and accredit their own degree programmes – as is the case in the UK – without having to apply on a programme by programme basis for approval from the Malaysian Qualification Agency. Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin added that “the self-accreditation status does not include professional programmes which still need accreditation and recognition from the relevant professional bodies.”

Nottingham took a pioneering role in 2000 when it became the first British university to open a campus overseas, building on a strong and longstanding relationship with Malaysia. The parkland campus in Semenyih takes its design cues from University Park, Nottingham – with a signature lakeside building which echoes the UK’s Trent Building.