On Friday, January 24, 2014, CAEP President, Jim Cibulka, and Secretary-General for the National Commission for Academic Accreditation & Assessment (NCAAA) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah Almusallam, joined together to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU between CAEP and NCAAA has been several years in the making and represents the two organizations’ agreement to collaborate on matters related to professional teacher education standards, educational accessibility, teacher preparation, and capacity building of quality assurance operation, processes, and supporting infrastructures. This relationship represents the future of educator preparation internationally and sets the stage for future collaborations with other countries.

“This project is very important to us,” said Dr. Almusallam, noting that the Minister of Higher Education has tasked the NCAAA with exploring ways to improve teacher preparation in Saudi Arabia following a restructure in the education system. “We are doing a project to inform and improve the quality of the college of education in Saudi Arabia. Signing this MOU is the start of cooperation between CAEP and our Commission and hopefully we will see more of each other after signing this.”

“We have much to learn from other countries,” said Dr. Cibulka. “I believe our accreditation process and how we prepare schools and school professionals will be strengthened by the knowledge we gain collaborating with the Kingdom and its various institutions, and we hope we have something to contribute as well to the quality of education in the Kingdom.”