A national qualifications framework (NQF) has become a necessity to support structural reform of the higher education system in Jordan at different institutional levels. The development and implementation of the Jordanian NQF focused on the needs of Jordanian higher education and its key stakeholders; will contribute to organizing the standards of Jordanian qualifications and other awards, and aid transparency of quality assurance at national and institutional levels. The framework also sought compatibility with international norms and expectations, including those of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), thus assisting mobility, employability and internationalisation in Jordan and its international partners.

Quality assurance and accreditation in higher education aims to maintain and raise the quality of education and guarantee the improvement of its standards. It enables the institution to get the necessary input, refine the processes, and raise the standards of its output, in order to meet the previously defined goals and the needs of the stakeholders. This paper discusses issues of accreditation and quality assurance (QA) in Jordan's higher education institutions (HEIs), focusing primarily on the need for professionalism in accreditation and quality assurance, the historical development of accreditation and quality assurance practices, the establishment of the Higher Education Accreditation Commission (HEAC), standards and procedures of quality assurance carried out by HEAC, principles underlying Jordan's system of accreditation and quality assurance, quality assurance and improvement plans, challenges facing the implementation of quality assurance in Jordanian HEIs. The paper concludes with some recommendations for improving quality assurance in Jordanian HEIs.

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