Fountain University, Osogbo (FUO) has announced that four academic programmes in its College of Basic Medical and Health Sciences (COBMEHS) have received full accreditation from the National Universities Commission (NUC).
This article explains which programmes were accredited, how the process worked, and what full accreditation means for current and future students.
Contents
What Happened
After a special visit in June 2023, the National Universities Commission granted full accreditation to all four programmes in Fountain University’s College of Basic Medical and Health Sciences.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Olayinka Ramota Karim shared this news during a press briefing before the university’s 13th convocation ceremony at the College of Arts Complex.
The four accredited programmes are:
- Nursing Science
- Medical Laboratory Science
- Environmental (Health) Science
- Public Health
This accreditation came with more good news for the university.
In November 2023, the College of Arts also received resource approval from the NUC.
This allowed the university to offer new programmes like B.A. English, History and International Relations, Linguistics, French, Arabic, and Islamic Studies, showing the university’s ongoing growth to meet community needs.
Why Full Accreditation Matters
For prospective students and their families, NUC accreditation is more than just a formality.
It has real and practical effects:
- Recognition of your degree. If you graduate from a fully accredited programme, your degree is officially accepted for jobs, further study, and professional certification in Nigeria and often abroad.
- Eligibility for professional registration. Courses like Nursing Science and Medical Laboratory Science need accreditation from both the NUC and their own professional bodies before graduates can get a license to practice.
- JAMB/UTME and admission eligibility. The NUC only allows universities to admit students into programmes with valid accreditation. This means accreditation directly affects whether a programme can legally accept new students each session.
- Institutional credibility. Full accreditation shows that the NUC’s experts found the university’s staff and resources for that programme fully satisfactory. This is a stronger sign of quality than a conditional or interim accreditation.
How the NUC Accreditation Process Works
The NUC regularly reviews university programmes across Nigeria by sending expert panels to check each course’s resources in person.
This is called a “resource verification visit.”
During these visits, NUC panels usually look at:
- Availability and qualifications of academic staff for the specific programme.
- Physical infrastructure, including lecture halls, laboratories, and clinical training facilities where relevant.
- Library resources and access to current academic materials.
- Curriculum alignment with the NUC’s Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS).
- Overall institutional capacity to deliver the programme to a satisfactory academic standard.
Programmes may receive full accreditation, interim accreditation (which means some improvements are needed before full status), or, in rare cases, be denied accreditation if the university’s resources are not enough.
Fountain University’s Broader Accreditation Journey
The full accreditation of the four COBMEHS programmes in 2023 is part of Fountain University’s ongoing progress.
Earlier, in 2021, the university also received full accreditation for eight undergraduate programmes, such as B.Sc. Accounting, B.Sc. Banking & Finance, B.Sc. Business Administration, B.Sc. Economics, B.Sc. Political Science & Public Administration, B.Sc. Sociology, B.Sc. Microbiology, and B.Sc. Computer Science.
More recently, Fountain University achieved a major milestone: full accreditation for all its academic programmes, covering over 39 courses across five colleges.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Karim highlighted this achievement and stressed the university’s commitment to academic excellence and strong moral and spiritual values.
She said the institution aims to “nurture minds, build character, and shape future leaders” while providing education that meets global and industry standards.
About Fountain University
Fountain University is a private university in Oke-Osun, Osogbo, Osun State. Founded on 17th May 2007 by the Nasrul-Lahi-l-Fatih Society (NASFAT), it is based on Islamic values but welcomes students from all backgrounds.
The university has five colleges: Basic Medical and Health Sciences, Natural and Applied Sciences, Management and Social Sciences, Law, and Arts.
The university also plans to add Colleges of Engineering and Education.
In addition to undergraduate courses, Fountain University offers postgraduate programmes, including Postgraduate Diplomas, Master’s, and Ph.D. degrees.
What This Means for Prospective Students
If you are interested in Nursing Science, Medical Laboratory Science, Environmental Health Science, or Public Health at Fountain University, the full NUC accreditation of these programmes means you can enroll knowing that:
- Nigerian regulatory and employment standards will formally recognize your eventual degree.
- The university has shown, through the NUC’s resource verification process, that it has enough staff, facilities, and curriculum standards for these courses.
- You are also eligible to apply for professional licenses through the relevant regulatory bodies for your field, such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria for Nursing Science or the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria for Medical Laboratory Science. Full NUC accreditation is usually required for this process.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. Which four programmes at Fountain University received full NUC accreditation?
The four programmes are Nursing Science, Medical Laboratory Science, Environmental (Health) Science, and Public Health, all under the College of Basic Medical and Health Sciences (COBMEHS).
2. When did this accreditation happen?
The accreditation followed a special NUC visitation in June 2023, and Vice-Chancellor Professor Olayinka Ramota Karim announced it publicly during a press briefing ahead of the university’s 13th convocation ceremony.
3. What does “full accreditation” mean, as opposed to other accreditation statuses?
Full accreditation means the NUC’s panel of experts found the university’s human and material resources for that specific programme fully satisfactory, without requiring further conditional improvements.
This is a stronger status than interim accreditation, which requires specific corrections before the NUC can confirm full status.
4. Does full NUC accreditation guarantee professional licensing after graduation?
Not automatically, but it’s typically a necessary foundation.
Programmes like Nursing Science and Medical Laboratory Science also require separate accreditation or registration recognition from their specific professional regulatory bodies (such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria or the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria) before graduates can be formally licensed to practice.
5. Is this the same as Fountain University’s more recent “full accreditation for all programmes” announcement?
Not exactly; they’re related but distinct milestones.
The four COBMEHS programmes achieved full accreditation in 2023, while Fountain University later reached a broader institutional milestone covering all of its academic programmes (39-plus courses across its five colleges), representing continued progress since the 2023 announcement.
6. What other programmes has Fountain University had accredited in the past?
In an earlier cycle around 2021, the university secured full accreditation for eight undergraduate programmes, including B.Sc. Accounting, B.Sc. Banking & Finance, B.Sc. Business Administration, B.Sc. Economics, B.Sc. Political Science & Public Administration, B.Sc. Sociology, B.Sc. Microbiology, and B.Sc. Computer Science.
7. How does the NUC decide whether to grant full accreditation?
The NUC sends panels of experts to conduct a resource verification visit, assessing staffing, infrastructure, library resources, curriculum alignment with the Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS), and the institution’s overall capacity to deliver the programme to a satisfactory standard.
8. Who is the current Vice-Chancellor of Fountain University?
Professor Olayinka Ramota Karim currently serves as Vice-Chancellor of Fountain University, Osogbo.
9. What other colleges has Fountain University expanded in recent years?
In November 2023, the College of Arts secured resource approval from the NUC, enabling programmes such as B.A. English, History and International Relations, Linguistics, French, Arabic, and Islamic Studies, as well as a National Board of Arabic, Islamic and International Studies (NBAIS)- endorsed Diploma in Arabic, Islamic, and International Studies.
10. Where can I get official updates on Fountain University’s current accreditation status?
The most reliable sources are Fountain University’s official website (fuo.edu.ng) and the National Universities Commission’s official channels (nuc.edu.ng), since accreditation statuses are periodically reviewed and updated as new resource verification exercises take place.
Final Thoughts
Fountain University’s full NUC accreditation for its four College of Basic Medical and Health Sciences programmes- Nursing Science, Medical Laboratory Science, Environmental Health Science, and Public Health- is an important step in the university’s academic progress.
Since then, the university has achieved even more accreditation successes across all its programmes.
For students interested in these health science courses, this means Fountain University meets the NUC’s high standards for staff, facilities, and curriculum quality.
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