Regulating Private Higher Education Quality in the UAE to Become an Educational Destination: Federal, Provincial, and Institutional Interests

This policy paper examines how private higher education is regulated in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with particular attention to whether branch campuses can and should seek national or international accreditations. Drawing on interview-based fieldwork in three provinces in the UAE, it identifies contrasting visions for the role of the private sector in the country. These conflicting visions create numerous challenges for the stakeholders involved, including private universities, who must balance multiple goals of regulators, shareholders, and students. The policy paper suggests that, as the UAE increasingly positions itself as an educational destination, meeting students’ diverse goals for their education needs to be a key consideration in policy reform.