Abu Dhabi, UAE - 14 December 2025: Rabdan Academy has officially achieved accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), the leading and most influential institutional accrediting body in the US, recognised globally for ensuring quality in higher education institutions.
As a result, Rabdan Academy has become the first government higher education institution in the UAE to obtain this accreditation, and the first specialised institution worldwide in the fields of defence, security and crisis management to receive this distinguished international recognition.
This milestone follows the academy’s announcement in December 2024 of its candidacy for this global accreditation, after a visit by a committee of nine international experts who conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the academy’s governance standards, the effectiveness of its academic programmes, the quality of student services and the efficiency of its institutional systems, paving the way for the official granting of full accreditation.
His Excellency James Morse, President of Rabdan Academy, affirmed that this accreditation represents a defining turning point in the academy’s journey, noting that Rabdan Academy’s accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACSCOC) reflects its international credibility, strengthens its competitive position globally, and paves the way for strategic partnerships with leading universities through student exchange programmes, research collaborations and dual academic programmes.
Morse added that this accreditation provides tangible added value for the academy’s students, including facilitated transfer of credit hours and academic recognition at accredited higher education institutions around the world, in addition to the high level of trust that Rabdan Academy’s degrees enjoy among employers locally and internationally, and the academic excellence demonstrated by its faculty members, many of whom are graduates of the world’s top 200 universities.
This global accreditation reflects the academy’s adherence to the highest international standards in programme design, teaching quality, learning outcomes assessment, student support services and continuous institutional improvement, thereby consolidating its position as an international destination for education in the fields of safety, security, defence, emergency preparedness and crisis management.
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) is a leading institutional accrediting body worldwide for quality assurance in higher education. It is responsible for accrediting institutions that award bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees, including programmes delivered via distance education and direct assessment. Its mission is to ensure educational quality and enhance the effectiveness of higher education institutions. Accreditation by SACSCOC indicates that an institution has a mission appropriate to higher education, possesses sufficient resources, programs and services to achieve and sustain that mission, and maintains clearly defined educational objectives whose achievement can be effectively measured.
By obtaining this accreditation, Rabdan Academy further strengthens its advanced standing on the international academic stage as a globally recognized reference in education, research and training in the fields of safety, security, defence and crisis management.
