By Ann M. Koenig, AACRAO International Education Services - koeniga@aacrao.org
The Kenya Commission for University Education (CUE) (http://www.cue.or.ke/) has granted a Letter of Interim Authority (LIA)┬" to a new Muslim university. The former Thika College for Sharia and Islamic Studies, which had offered degrees in collaboration with the University of Africa in Khartoum, Sudan, was granted university status under the name Umma University┬" on July 23, 2013.
Umma University (http://www.umma.ac.ke/) is owned and operated by the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims. It will occupy new facilities in Kajiado, south of Nairobi, while the former Thika College facilities in Thika, east of Nairobi, will become a branch campus of the university. Initially Umma University will offer a Bachelor of Business Management with specialization in accounting, marketing, finance or management, a BA in Islamic Studies, and a BA in Sharia. It plans to develop programs in computer science, education and engineering in the future.
Interim authority┬" sets a private institution on the pathway to accreditation (award of charter┬") by the CUE. Information about the accreditation process can be found on the CUE Web site, along with a current list of higher education institutions authorized to operate in Kenya and their status vis-à-vis CUE regulations: http://www.cue.or.ke/services/accreditation/status-of-universities.