Photo has been used for illustrative purposes.

Imran Mojib, Special Correspondent

Seventy per cent of branch campuses of international universities located in Dubai’s free zones and permitted by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), Dubai, have achieved four or five stars in the annual Higher Education Classification, which rates services and quality of education provided by higher education institutions in Dubai.

The KHDA’s Higher Education Classification ratings tool helps students and their parents make the right university choices for them by enabling them to compare university ratings on core categories such as teaching, research, employability and internationalisation. Other categories that influence the rating of a university include its facilities, the strength of its programmes and its efforts towards improving wellbeing, inclusion, innovation and the arts.

This year’s classification showed that six branch campuses achieved a 5-star rating, five achieved a 4-star rating, four received a 3-star rating, while two received a 2-star rating.

The Dubai campuses of Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani (BITS Pilani), City University of London, Heriot-Watt University, London Business School, Manipal University, and Middlesex University received a 5-star rating.

The Dubai campuses of Amity University, Hult International Business School, SP Jain School of Global Management, SAE Institute and the University of Manchester Worldwide were granted a 4-star rating.

Dr Wafi Dawood, CEO of Strategy & Planning Sector at KHDA said, “The Higher Education Classification is another step forward in the maturity of Dubai’s private higher education sector. Students in Dubai and all over the world can refer to the Higher Education Classification to identify what they value in higher education, and then to make more confident decisions about their future in Dubai. The Higher Education Classification also gives branch campuses an opportunity to show their strengths. We’re grateful to our university partners for their cooperation in putting the HEC together.”

Ammar Kaka, Provost and Vice Principal of Heriot-Watt University Dubai, said, “We truly believe this rating is proof of the confidence our students, their families and staff have in us, even during these challenging times.

The ratings have been jointly developed in partnership with QS Quacquarelli Symonds and adapted to meet the needs of branch campuses in Dubai. Seventeen branch campuses across Dubai took part in the classification and more than 30,000 students were surveyed.