HEC devises new rating for private universities

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has devised a new rating for private sector universities, under which the previous categories of X, Y and Z will cease to exist, and degrees awarded by institutions holding these former categories will not be recognised by the HEC.
The W-1 category has now become the minimum requirement for universities or degree awarding institutions (DAIs) to have in order to be allowed to admit students and award degrees. An HEC spokesman said that in an effort to provide better educational facilities to students, the HEC has devised an improved criteria which stipulates that only institutions meeting the minimum HEC requirements would be awarded the W-1 category, while institutions that have superior academic, financial and physical infrastructure would be awarded the W-4 category, making W-4 the new “highest rating”.
The revised rating of DAIs will be disseminated publicly by October 2011, he said. The spokesman also informed that as per the new HEC policy, universities and DAIs had been required to meet a certain criteria in order to be awarded the W category by June 30, 2010. “Institutions not meeting minimum requirements at the time of the HEC inspection prior to June 30, 2010 were placed in the former X, Y and Z categories” he said. The spokesman added that institutions which had failed to receive the W category have been asked not to offer admissions in Fall 2011, and the list of institutions which have been awarded the W category has been made available on the HEC website.