Commissioners

ATHEA is the membership-based association, the Association for Transnational Higher Education Accreditation. Within ATHEA, the ATHEA Board of Commissioners conducts the accreditation-related activities for the association.

The Board of Commissioners is the independent accreditation decision-making body of ATHEA and is elected by the organisation’s membership in accordance with the ATHEA Charter. The Commissioners review and evaluate requests for accreditation, and determine the accreditation status of all institution members. The commissioners are responsible for maintaining and updating the Accreditation Process Manual and associated documents.

The Board of Commissioners was formed in October, 2015. The Board of Commissioners is the independent accreditation decision-making body of ATHEA and is elected by the organization’s membership in accordance with the ATHEA bylaws. The Commissioners review and evaluate requests for accreditation, and determine the accreditation status of all ATHEA institution members. The commissioners are responsible for maintaining and updating the THEA Accreditation Process Manual and associated documents.

The processes, procedures, and specifics of ATHEA Accreditation fall within the purview of the ATHEA Board of Commissioners, which organisationally is part of ATHEA with independence relative to matters of accreditation. The Board of Commissioners is organisationally subordinate to the ATHEA Board of Directors, but there is a degree of separation relative to Commission actions relative to accreditation. Such separation ensures unbiased accreditation actions. The shortened versions would be the ATHEA Board of Commissioners when referring to the organisational entity, and ATHEA Commissioners when referring to the persons on the Commission.

An Institutional Member is granted ATHEA Candidacy by the ATHEA Board of Commissioners and subsequently obtains ATHEA-Candidate. Thus, the ATHEA Institutional Member has obtained ATHEA-Candidate status. An ATHEA-Candidate is awarded ATHEA by the ATHEA Board of Commissioners and subsequently becomes ATHEA-Accredited. Thus, the ATHEA Institutional Member has obtained ATHEA-Accredited Status. The terms grants/granted and awards/awarded are specific relative to candidacy and accredited.

ATHEA’s Charter regulates the governance, structure, and operations of the organisation.

The governance of ATHEA is described in its bylaws. The ATHEA Board of Directors focuses on the association’s membership. The ATHEA Board of Commissioners is the independent accreditation decision-making body of ATHEA and is elected by the organisation’s membership in accordance with the ATHEA bylaws.

The ATHEA Board of Commissioners was initially appointed at ATHEA’s Membership Meeting in October 2015. The Board of Commissioners reviews and evaluates requests for accreditation, and determines the accreditation status of all ATHEA institution members. The ATHEA Board of Commissioners is responsible for maintaining and updating the ATHEA Accreditation Process Manual and associated documents.

Chair

Camila Cepeda Morgade
Quality Assurance Officer (United Institute)

Camila Cepeda Morgade is a passionate and results-oriented management professional with international experience across diverse multicultural organizations in business and education.
She joined United International Business Schools (UIBS) in 2016, holding the position of Academic and Campus Coordinator. Since 2021 she serves as Lead of the Academic Team, her position entails engaging with Academic Coordinators across the organization and managing interpersonal relationships across diverse cultural backgrounds to create a high-quality experience for students and meet critical performance objectives. In 2022, Camila took the responsibility of becoming Quality Assurance Officer, managing the quality assurance activities of United, working closely with Metropolitan Business School for accreditation reviews.
Camila joined ATHEA in 2022 as member of the Board of Commissioners.

Member

Donna Roberts
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Europe

Dr. Donna Roberts is an American writer and university professor residing in Europe. She has been involved in education overseas since 1990, working for various universities. Donna has worked for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University since 2002 as a faculty member, a Center Faculty Chair, Regional Associate Dean and Dean of Academic Affairs for the International Region of Embry-Riddle’s Worldwide campus. Currently, she is an Associate Professor and the Department Chair for Social Sciences & Economics in the College of Arts & Sciences as well as the Chair for Undergraduate Research. Donna holds a PhD in Psychology, a Master of Business Administration, a Master of Human Relations, and Master of Education in Counseling.

External Member

Nitesh Sughnani
Knowledge & Human Development Authority (Dubai)

Nitesh Sughnani is the Senior Quality Assurance Manager for the University Quality Assurance International Board at the Higher Education Department for the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) in Dubai, UAE. Nitesh Sughnani is currently pursuing a DBA – Higher Education Management – at the University of Bath, UK, and has completed his MBA with Murdoch University. Nitesh, has been with the KHDA for over 7 years and is responsible for managing the quality assurance activities of UQAIB and works closely with the International Branch Campuses in Dubai for the purpose of their UQAIB reviews. The University Quality Assurance International Board (UQAIB) is a board of leading international higher education quality assurance experts established by the authority of KHDA. It has responsibility for reviewing HEP Branches using an Equivalency Validation Model and making recommendations to KHDA accordingly. UQAIB also validates the academic programmes of HEP Branches for the purpose of Program Registration. UQAIB is a member of INQAAHE and has several international partnerships with quality assurance agencies.

External Member

Cormac O’Keeffe
Ironhack

Cormac O’Keeffe is a specialist in Learning & Development with 15 years’ experience in the education and technology sectors from K-12 to HE and professional development. He loves being able to design, create and produce engaging solutions for learners. To do this, he combines technology with the most relevant insights and practices from education and research. He has worked with top business schools, universities and corporations to evaluate and design and deploy learning, assessment, and certification and strategies. He has a Masters in Teaching and a PhD in learning technologies and regularly publishes on learning and assessment technologies.