Post-accreditation monitoring in compliance with Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG 2015) is an integral part of the external quality assurance procedure in higher education.
According to the Standard ESG 2.3, the procedure of the external quality assurance of the study programmes includes:
- Study programme self-assessment report development;
- Assessment by the expert panel of the materials of the accreditation case;
- The site visit to the higher education institution (HEI);
- Consideration of the accreditation case at the sectoral expert council (SEC) meeting;
- Decision-making by NAQA Board;
- Post-accreditation monitoring of the study programmes.
Until 2023, Ukrainian legislation provided follow-up for study programmes, that received conditional one-year accreditation or during the following accreditations. Conditional accreditation is granted for one year to study programmes that, based on the external evaluation results, have been determined to comply only partially. The HEI could eliminate the identified drawbacks within one year. The follow-up external evaluation considered the actions completed by the HEI to correct the drawbacks of the study programme and achieve full compliance with the identified criteria.
This approach was highlighted in Sub-Criterion 8.6, according to which the results of previous accreditation and the HEI’s activities are considered during the study programme review.
Considering Standard ESG 2.3, one of the crucial NAQA priorities has become creating a systematic approach to ensure consistent follow-up procedures that is reflected in the National Action Plan on Ukrainian External Higher Education Quality Assurance for 2022–2023.
As a result, in 2023, in cooperation with all stakeholders as well as the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and the Committee on Education, Science and Innovation of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine, the changes in Ukrainian legislation were implemented, and post-accreditation monitoring was included in the list of powers of NAQA.
This is stipulated in the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding Quality Assurance in Higher Education” dated May 2, 2023, No. 3062-IX, which introduced relevant amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Higher Education”. In particular, Article 25 of the Law stipulates that the National Agency carry out post-accreditation monitoring of accredited study programmes on a free basis in accordance with the Regulations on the Accreditation of Study Programmes.
In 2024, the new Regulations on Accreditation of Study Programmes, approved by the Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine No. 686 from 15 May 2024, introduces the current procedure for post-accreditation monitoring. A separate section IV “Post-accreditation monitoring” defines it as the NAQA assessment of the implementation of recommendations provided based on the results of accreditation, and/or compliance with the Criteria.
Monitoring is carried out in the third year after accreditation for all study programmes, accredited after the entry into force of the Regulations on Accreditation. Thus, from September 2024 post-accreditation monitoring becomes mandatory for study programmes accredited by NAQA and will be carried out from September 2026.
The Regulations also envisage the possibility of unscheduled monitoring at the request of external entities (including HEIs) — earlier than three years after accreditation.
Post-accreditation monitoring involves the following stages:
- Study programme self-assessment report development by HEI, containing information about changes in the study programme and educational activities after accreditation;
- verification of data by NAQA Secretariat;
- consideration of the accreditation case at the relevant SEC meeting;
- decision-making by NAQA Board.
For post-accreditation monitoring, NAQA approved the following documents in 2025:
- application form of a higher education institution for post-accreditation monitoring;
- the self-assessment form for this procedure (NAQA decision dated June 10, 2025);
- formof the expert opinion of the SEC (decision dated June 24, 2025).
To undergo post-accreditation monitoring, the HEI submits to NAQA the information about changes since the previous accreditation, responses to recommendations, as well as supporting documents or links to online resources.
Post-accreditation monitoring implementation defined as one of the key priorities of the National Action Plan on Ukrainian External Higher Education Quality Assurance 2024–2026.
In February 2024 a number of Ukrainian HEIs voluntarily participated in piloting the post-accreditation monitoring procedure, guided by the Procedure for conducting an experiment on post-accreditation monitoring of study programmes by the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance. The second stage of piloting was conducted in autumn 2024.
Currently, higher education institutions are approaching NAQA with initiatives to conduct unscheduledpost-accreditation monitoring.
Therefore, in accordance with current legislation, the post-accreditation monitoring procedure for study programmes is mandatory for all study programmes, that have undergone external assessment, starting from September 2024, and will be conducted on the third year after accreditation.
A module for post-accreditation monitoring of study programmes is currently under development in the NAQA information and communication system. Currently, information about the post-accreditation monitoring procedures carried out is stored in this section of the website.
Post-Accreditation Monitoring 2025
II Stage of Post-Accreditation Monitoring Experiment
I Stage of Post-Accreditation Monitoring Experiment