PROGRAM ADVISORY COMMITTEE POLICY
1.0 Definitions
1.1 The following words and expressions shall have the meaning hereby assigned to them:
1.1.1 Academic Unit: An entity within the University that delivers Courses for Programs or for entry into Programs.
1.2.1 Conflict of Interest: A situation where a person has an actual, perceived, or potential personal, professional, or financial interest or commitment, that may affect the conduct of his/her duties and responsibilities, or unduly influence or compromise his/her professional judgment in exercising their duties.
1.3.1 Curriculum: The subjects comprising a Course of study in a Program.
1.4.1 Program: A prescribed set of Courses leading to a qualification, including a Certificate, Diploma (2 years), Advanced Diploma (3 years), Bachelor, Post Graduate Diploma, Master, or Doctorate, according to the Qatar National Qualifications Framework.
1.5.1 Program Advisory Committee (PAC): An advisory body that provides advice to colleges on curriculum relevance, industry alignment, graduate competencies, and trends in the field, to contribute to Program initiation and continuous improvement.
1.6.1 University: University of Doha for Science and Technology established by Emiri Resolution No. 13 of 2022.
1.2 Where a word or phrase is given a particular meaning, other parts of speech and grammatical forms of that word or phrase have corresponding meanings.
1.3 Where the context requires, words importing the singular shall include the plural and vice-versa.
2.0 Policy Purpose
2.1 The purpose of this policy is to define the role of Program Advisory Committees at the University.
3.0 Policy Scope
3.1 This Policy applies to:
3.1.1 The establishment, operation, and governance of Program Advisory Committees at the University.
3.1.2 Programs offered by the University’s colleges and the non-credit programs offered by the Foundation Program Unit.
4.0 Policy Statements
4.1 Program Advisory Committees for the colleges are established by Deans for each Program or cluster of closely related Programs offered by their respective colleges, to support in ensuring the relevance, quality, and continuous improvement of Programs.
4.2 A Program Advisory Committee is established by the Academic Manager, Foundation Program Unit to support in ensuring the relevance, quality, and continuous improvement of the Foundation Program Unit’s academic offerings.
4.3 The membership, composition, selection criteria and process, responsibilities, and modus operandi of Program Advisory Committees, including the roles of the Academic Units, are defined in the relevant procedure.
4.4 The budget for the operation of the Program Advisory Committees is allocated within the Academic Unit’s budget.
4.5 Program Advisory Committees serve in an advisory capacity to the Dean/Academic Manager only and do not hold decision-making authority over academic governance, Program/curriculum approval, Teaching methods, Students and Academic Members evaluation, financial decisions, or resource allocation.
4.6 All members of the Program Advisory Committees must:
4.6.1 Declare any actual, potential, or perceived Conflicts of Interest;
4.6.2 Act in accordance with the University’s applicable Conflict of Interest policies and procedures;
4.6.3 Refrain from participating in discussions where a Conflict of Interest exists.
5.0 Procedures
5.1 The Vice-President, Academics will ensure that related procedures are developed for the execution of this policy and are implemented accordingly.
6.0 Related Documents
6.1 PR-AC-27: Program Advisory Committee Procedure.