Do you know that Ukraine is open for cross-border quality assurance in higher education? Cross-border quality assurance allows higher education institutions to independently select a national or international quality assurance agency (for example, from among those registered in EQAR) for external quality assurance procedures.
According to Ukrainian Regulations on Accreditation of Educational Programmes (hereinafter – the Regulations), certificates of accreditation of educational programmes issued by foreign higher education quality assurance agencies, the list of which is approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, are recognised in Ukraine. The Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of July 10, 2019 № 554-r, contains the list of foreign accreditation agencies and higher education quality assurance agencies that issue certificates of accreditation of educational programmes to be recognized in Ukraine. The act is aimed at improving accreditation procedures in Ukraine and forming the prestige of Ukrainian higher education at the international level. Thus, the list includes agencies that are registered in EQAR and located in the European region.
Upon NAQA`s request, the Ukrainian page on the EQAR website was updated and the actual information on the higher education quality assurance system in Ukraine was added. Also, Ukraine was added to the map that shows the EHEA countries where (some or all) higher education institutions can use a suitable EQAR-registered agency for their mandatory external quality assurance.
Some Ukrainian HEIs have already exercised this right and received certificates of accreditation of educational programmes from foreign accreditation agencies. At the NAQA meeting on May 26, 2020, the members of the Agency reviewed the relevant documents and verified their authenticity. Since 2016, Alfred Nobel University has had international accreditation of 25 educational programs (11 – bachelor’s and 14 – master’s) from the Central Evaluation and Accreditation Agency (ZEvA, Germany). Certificates are valid until August 31, 2021. In parallel, the same educational programmes have been accredited by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and some certificates are valid until 2027.
In June 2019, Kyiv National University of Trade and Economics successfully passed the accreditation of the educational and scientific program “Economics” at the PhD level, conducted by the High Council for Evaluation of Research and Higher Education, (HCERES), France. The certificate is valid until June 2024.
Earlier, in July 2019, NAQA reviewed the certificate of accreditation of the educational and scientific program “Economics” at the third level of higher education, conducted by HCERES, at the Kharkiv National Economic University named after Semen Kuznets. The certificate is valid until June 2024.
It is important to note that according to the Regulations, the accreditation of educational programmes by recognised foreign accreditation agencies is equated to the accreditation by NAQA. “Before entering information on accreditation of an educational programme into the Unified State Electronic Database on Education by a recognized foreign accreditation agency, a higher education institution shall send to the NAQA a certified copy of the original and a translation of the certificate and conclusion (report, other document with detailed accreditation results)”.
Allowing higher education institutions to work with a suitable quality assurance agency that best fits their needs may help strengthen the institution’s own responsibility for quality, ensure a better engagement of institutional actors and foster self-reflection, implementing best international practices in Ukraine.