Internal Moderation at FCS
    The FCS ensures that assessment material prepared by the General Course Coordinators (GCCs) is of the highest order by performing both Internal and External Moderation of the assessments. The external Moderation is performed by a team of External Examiners. The Internal Moderation is performed at the Deanship by the team of General Program Coordinators (GPCs) at the Deanship. The module assessments are checked to ensure coverage of the Learning Outcomes and to ensure the overall quality of the assessments.    

External Examiner Team
    The FCS has a team of External Examiners to ensure external examination of the assessment material and to ensure the overall quality of the academic delivery at FCS. The External Examiners are members of the Course Assessment Committee (CAC) and Faculty Examination Committee (FEC) and participate in their exam boards.
The External Examiners Visit the FCS at AOU at the end of the semester in order to evaluate the quality of marking, grading, and overall delivery of the academic services and procedures at FCS. During the visits, the External Examiners evaluate the quality of marking through the provisioning of samples of students' work. The External Examiners participate in the exam boards to ensure fairness of marking and grading procedures. At the end of their visits, the External Examiners submit their External Examiner reports with valuable feedback on the academic delivery. The FCS prepares responses to External Examiner reports, and these are included in AMR.    

Exam Boards
    The FCS follows the Exam Board structure as implemented by the AOU. The AOU follows a tiered approach to exam boards consisting of the following:

• Branch Examination Committee (BEC)
• Course Assessment Committee (CAC)
• Faculty Examination Committee (FEC)
• Central Examination Committee (CEC)

The students' marks and grades are considered by the above exam boards. The External Examiners are members of the CAC and FEC. The Chief External Examiner is also a member of the CEC. The grades are finally approved by the CEC at AOU before their announcement to students.    

Annual Monitoring Report
    At the end of the Academic Year, the FCS prepares and submits an Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) to the OU, UK. The AMR is a very detailed document that captures and presents all major aspects of program delivery, at FCS. Some of the salient aspects include providing detailed statistical data about students' registration and progression, providing data about students' and tutors' views and their analysis, and providing all External Examiner reports and the Action Plans based on these reports.    



Accreditation

Local Accreditation
  The National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment is an organization in Saudi Arabia responsible for overseeing and ensuring the quality of higher education institutions and their academic programs. The NCAAA sets standards and guidelines for universities and colleges to follow, with a focus on accreditation processes, program quality, academic performance, and continuous improvement. Their work often includes evaluating curriculum, faculty qualifications, facilities, and student outcomes to align Saudi educational institutions with international quality standards.
The Arab Open University in Saudi Arabia (AOU-KSA) has received local accreditation from the NCAAA. This accreditation confirms that AOU-KSA meets national quality standard.    

International Accreditation
    The Arab Open University in Saudi Arabia (AOU-KSA) is internationally validated by the Open University in the UK (OU-UK), underscoring its dedication to maintaining quality standards aligned with OU-UK.