FAQ

Accreditation

  • Accreditation is a procedure that defines compliance of an education programme of a higher education institution with the accreditation standards; this procedure aims at establishing systemic self-evaluation for the purposes of education quality enhancement and at supporting mechanisms for development; state funding is linked to this procedure. State study grant and State Master's grant (for the higher education programmes) are issued based on the accreditation. 
     
    In the programme self-evaluation process, the institution evaluates the strengths and areas for improvement of the programme by determining its compliance with accreditation standards and outlines ways to develop / improve the programme. 
    During the programme accreditation process, recommendations / suggestions are issued by the evaluators involved in the process, the implementation of which is aimed at the development of programme content, resources, quality assurance, student services and other features / components.

  • The accreditation standard sets the requirement for a quality mark according to which the quality level of an education programme is evaluated. The compliance of the education programme of the higher education institution with the accreditation standards is evaluated according to a 4-level scale:

    •   "Complies with the requirements"
    •  "Substantially complies with the standard requirements"
    •  "Partially complies with the standard requirements"
    •   "Does not comply with standard requirements".

  • In order to gain accreditation for an education programme, an educational institution must go through the following stages:

    • Submit an accreditation application to the Center:

    • If the documents submitted by the institution are in order and the programme accreditation fee is paid, an accreditation experts panel will be created to visit the institution by Order of the Director of the Center; The expert panel shall examine the compliance of the programme with the current accreditation standards on site and draft a report; 

    • In order to fully prepare the report, an accreditation experts panel will hold meetings with the administrative staff of the educational institution, the academic staff implementing the programme, employers / potential employers, students and graduates - if the institution has the latter (Experts will be selected from the persons who have been awarded the status of Accreditation Expert as a result of the competition).

    • During the evaluation process, if the institution considers that any expert / experts has any conflict of interest with it, it can apply to the Center for recusal. If there is a real basis for recusal, the Center will replace the expert / experts;

    • The Center is obliged to present the report to the institution in a timely manner as based on the that report the Accreditation Council holds a discussion at the meeting;

    • If a member of the Accreditation Council has a conflict of interest with the institution whose programme is being reviewed, he or she may recuse themselves from participating in the discussion;

    • The issue of accreditation of the education programme is discussed and a decision is made at the meeting of the Accreditation Council. Experts, representatives of the institution and other interested persons participate in the discussion together with the members of the Council. The institution has the opportunity to present its views on the evaluation and recommendations stipulated in the report. The Council is obliged to thoroughly examine all the circumstances that are important for the decision. As a result of the discussion, the Council makes a decision regarding the accreditation of an education programme (on granting an accreditation, a conditional accreditation, - or refusing to grant an accreditation).

    The process of accreditation of an education programme is carried out in accordance with the requirements of the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG 2015) (see here).
     

  • Conflict of interest is the conflict of a person's property or other personal interests with the goals set by his/her activities. The existence of circumstances established by Article 92 of the General Administrative Code of Georgia is considered a conflict of interest. see here 

  • The educational institution shall submit the following documents to the Center:

    • Accreditation application - an official letter from the institution, in which the institution expresses its desire to receive accreditation for an educational programme (the letter is written to the Director of the Center).
    • Completed self-evaluation report questionnaire; The form of the mentioned document is posted on the website of the Center. See here 
    • The educational institution reflects the relevant information in it on the compliance of the educational programme with the accreditation standards. 
    • The educational programme submitted for accreditation, along with the data of the staff implementing the educational programme, with syllabi, and other documents in electronic form. 
    • Document confirming the payment of the accreditation application fee (GEL 200);
    • In case of educational programme in foreign language, a consent document or an international agreement issued by the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia.

  • Only one educational programme can be submitted with one accreditation application.

  • One educational programme may provide one qualification, in exceptional cases, a Master's degree programme may include 3 qualifications in the same detailed field (except for the regulated educational programme).

  • A member of the Accreditation Expert Pool may be a person with relevant qualifications, whose selection procedure and qualification requirements are described in Chapter 2 of the Order of the Director of the Center on the Rule of Authorization and Accreditation Experts' Selection, Activities and Termination the Membership from the Expert Pool. See here

     

    The expert panel may include international experts; Based on the request of including the international expert / experts, which shall be indicated in the accreditation self-evaluation report by the education institution.

    The participation of an international expert is mandatory when evaluating one-cycle educational programme of Certified Medical Doctor. In this case, a foreign expert chairs the expert panel;

  • The decision regarding the accreditation of the educational programme is made by the Accreditation Council of Educational Programmes, which consists of permanent members and invited members; the members are appointed and dismissed by the Prime Minister of Georgia upon the recommendation of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia.

    Invited Council members participate in decision-making on accreditation of a one-cycle regulated educational programme of a Certified Medical Doctor (Selection takes into account the requirements and criteria set by the World Federation for Medical Education).

    The term of office of the Accreditation Council is one year. 
     

  • The decision on accreditation is made within 180 calendar days from the payment of accreditation fee.  

  • The term of accreditation of the programme is 4 years, the term of re-accreditation as well as the term of the first accreditation of the educational programme, which was continuously implemented in an authorized mode by the institution for at least 2 years, is 7 years. Also, in some cases, the Council may make a decision on conditional accreditation, the term of which is not more than 2 years (the decision on conditional accreditation shall not be made twice in a row). 

  • To be accredited, an educational programme must meet the following accreditation standards:
     
    1. Educational programme objectives, the learning outcomes and their compliance with the programme;

    2. Teaching methodology and organization, adequate evaluation of programme mastering;

    3.  Pupil / Student achievements, individual work with them;

    4.  Providing teaching resources;

    5.  Teaching quality enhancement opportunities.

     

    Due to the peculiarities of the educational programmes of general and higher education institutions, the content of their accreditation standards is different.

    Accreditation standards for educational programmes of general education institutions - see: here Accreditation standards of educational programmes of higher educational institutions can be checked on the link. ( https://eqe.ge/en/page/static/549/akreditatsiis-protsesi )

  • Basis for drawing up the accreditation standards is Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESF -2015) see the link here -  ( https://www.enqa.eu/publications/esg-2015-2018-enqa-agency-reports-thematic-analysis/ )

  • An authorized educational institution can implement an educational programme / programmes, regardless of whether the educational programme / programmes are accredited or not.  The State does not fund studying on an unaccredited programme.


    The State recognizes diplomas issued by all authorized institutions, regardless of whether the programme has accreditation or not.

    Furthermore, the legislation defines those programmes that cannot be implemented without getting an accreditation.  


    Accreditation is mandatory for regulated (law, medicine, pedagogy, marine sciences and veterinary) and doctoral education programmes, as well as for teacher training, veterinary education and Georgian language preparation programmes.

  • National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement has developed a quality assurance guideline for the higher education programmes. The guideline can be checked on the following link here - https://eqe.ge/en/page/static/659/gzamkvlevi-da-sakhelmdzghvanelo

  • Institutions can jointly plan and implement joint educational programmes. A student will have the opportunity to go through the various components of the programme (study, research) in the partner institutions implementing the joint programme. To use the resources of different institutions, library, laboratories and various services during the study period. Upon completion of the programme, the student is awarded a joint academic degree.
     

  • Minutes and decisions of the meeting of the Accreditation Council are published on the website of the Center ( https://eqe.ge/ka/decisions ) within 10 working days after the end of the oral hearing. A report by experts is also published together with these documents on the Center’s website. 

  • Goderdzi Buchashvili - Vice-Rector for Administrative Affairs of the Georgian National University SEU - Chairman of the Council;
    Natia Zedgenidze-Jishkariani - Head of School of Management at LEPL Kutaisi International University – Deputy Chair of the Council; 
    Erekle Astakhishvili – a Professor of LLC "Tbilisi Free University" , Deputy General Director of LEPL Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation, 
    Anzor Beridze - Deputy Rector in the field of science at LEPL Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University;
    Irina Gvelesiani - Associate Professor at LEPL Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University;
    Tamar Zarandia - Dean of Faculty of Law at LEPL Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University;
    Khatuna Todadze - Vice-Rector of LEPL Tbilisi State Medical University;
    Maka Katcharava - Head of Quality Assurance Department at the Faculty of Humanities of LEPL Sokhumi State University, Associate Professor;
    Irina Lobzhanidze - Professor at LEPL Ilia State University;
    Levan Mosakhlishvili - Deputy Director of Legal Affairs of JSC "Georgian Energy Development Fund”;
    Tea Mchedluri – Professor of LEPL Iakob Gogebashvili Telavi State University;
    Ekaterine Natsvlishvili - Associate Professor at Ltd European University;
    Tamar Siradze -  Deputy Rector in the field of education at LEPL Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University; 
    Davit Tefnadze - Head of the Quality Assurance Department of NNLE - Georgian Student’s Organizations Association, PhD Student at LLC Georgian Aviation University (Secretary of the Council);  
    Ekaterine Shakiashvili – Head of the Quality Assurance Department at the Faculty of Engineering Economy, Media-Technology and Social Sciences at LEPL-Georgian Technical University, Professor; 
    Davit Chochishvili – Associate Professor at LEPL Gori State Teaching University;
    Nino Tchalaganidze – Head of the Multimedia Center at Caucasus International University Ltd., Associate Professor at LEPL Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University;
    Guranda Tchelidze - Professor at LLC "Caucasus University.
     

  • Meeting of an Accreditation Council is public and anyone can attend it.  In exceptional cases, it may be closed and, consequently, attendance may be restricted (as decided by the Accreditation Council).
     

  • The decision on accreditation can be of four types:

    A) On accreditation;
    b) On conditional accreditation;
    c) On refusal of accreditation;
    d) On cancellation of accreditation.

    One of these decisions, "Accreditation", "Conditional Accreditation" and "Refusal of Accreditation", is made by the Council as a result of the programme accreditation proceedings.  As for the decision on "cancellation of accreditation", it is made by the Accreditation Council as a result of monitoring of the accredited programme.

  • The decision of the Accreditation Council on the accreditation of the programme can be appealed to the Appeals Council if the educational institution does not agree with it. The decision can also be appealed in court. The appeal shall be made to the Administrative Cases Panel of the Tbilisi City Court at the following address: D. Aghmashenebeli Alley, 12th km, №6.

    The deadline for appeal is defined and it is 1 month for the interested person, after the formal notification of the decision of the Council.

  • The decision of the Appeals Council can be of two types:

    A) on sharing the decision of the Accreditation Council (the higher education institution is authorized to appeal the decision in court);
    B) on returning the case to the Accreditation Council for reconsideration (the issue of accreditation of the educational programme is re-examined by the Accreditation Council).
     

  • The institution may be accredited by a foreign organization, and then, following certain procedures, the Center may recognize the accreditation received. (This process is defined by the Accreditation Statute Article 28, see here - ( https://eqe.ge/en/page/static/123/kanonkvemdebare-aktebi )

  • In cases defined by the legislation, examination of the fulfillment of the accreditation conditions is carried out at the initiative of the Center or at the request of the Council through scheduled and/or unscheduled monitoring. Monitoring of the educational programme determines the compliance with the programme accreditation standards. Expert panel is engaged in the evaluation process. The report of the expert panel is reviewed at the Accreditation Council that makes the following decision:

    The decision on cancellation of accreditation is made if as a result of the monitoring, the Council evaluates the programme as “does not comply with the standard requirements” in one of the standards.   
    In case of identification of a violation, the Accreditation Council is authorized to set the term of no more than 60 days for the institution to resolve the shortcoming, except for the cases when it is obvious that this will not have any outcome.  If the institution does not resolve the shortcoming, the Council is authorized to make a decision on cancellation of accreditation/conditional accreditation.

    Furthermore, in order to check the conditions of accreditation, the education institution that implements the accredited programme/programmes, is obliged to submit a self-evaluation report to the Center at least once in every three years.  The terms for the submission of the self-evaluation report are determined by the individual administrative-legal act of the Director of the Center. 
     

  • An accredited education programme can be amended.  In many cases, the institution shall notify the Center about the changes (Article 30 of the Accreditation Statute) see here - ( https://eqe.ge/en/page/static/123/kanonkvemdebare-aktebi )

  • The student can appeal his/her grade, also the problematic issues existing in the educational process. First of all, he/she needs to address the institution for this purpose. 

  • If the accreditation was canceled for such a programme that can be implemented without an accreditation, the students on that programme will no longer be funded by the State. The students of this programme have an opportunity/choice to transfer to another educational institution on the respective/or other programme or continue their studies on the same programme without the State funding.  However, if the accreditation is canceled for such an education programme that cannot be implemented without an accreditation, the programme shall be canceled, the students have their student status suspended and the students of this programme must transfer to the respective/or other programmes of the same institution or of another educational institution. 
     

  • To obtain a programme accreditation certificate, please contact us with an application stating the certificate of accreditation of which programme of which institution you need. (A copy of your ID must be attached to the application). You can also send an application to the official e-mail of the Center: info@eqe.ge. The certificate will be issued within 15 business days. It is free of charge.

  • If accreditation of any educational programme of the institution is canceled, the institution can still continue its educational activities on the basis of authorization. If the authorization of the institution is canceled, then the accreditation of the programme is canceled automatically. 

  • Cost of reviewing an accreditation application is 200 GEL.

  • Fee for the accreditation of an educational programme is defined by the Accreditation Statute as follows: 

    The amount of the accreditation fee for the educational programme (except for the regulated, teacher training, Georgian language preparation and doctoral education programmes), without the need for business trips is 8,356 GEL, and in case of the need for business trips – 11,433 GEL.
     
    The amount of accreditation fee for the regulated educational programme (except for the regulated medical academic higher education programme), as well as the doctoral education programme, without the need for business trips is 12,138 GEL, and in case of the need for business trips - 15,215 GEL. 

    The amount of accreditation fee for the regulated medical academic higher education programme, without the need for business trips is 15,813 GEL, and in case of the need for business trips - 18.569 GEL. 

    The amount of accreditation fee for the Georgian language preparation programme without the need for business trips is 5,650 GEL, and in case of the need for business trips – 8,112 GEL. 

    The amount of the accreditation fee for the teacher training educational programme, without the need for business trips, is 6,830 GEL, and in case of the need for business trips – 9,292 GEL.

  • You must pay the programme accreditation fee by cashless payment.
    You must pay the fee by cashless payment.
    Requisites required for transferring funds to the Treasury: 
    Receiving Bank - State Treasury;
    Name of Recipient -State Treasury Single Account;
    Bank Code -   TRESGE22;
    Recipient account/treasury code - 707637113 (Fee for services provided by LEPL National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement).
    During the payment it should be indicated for which programme is the accreditation fee dedicated for.

  • The amount paid for the programme accreditation will be returned to the institution only if the institution applies to the Center with a request to terminate the accreditation proceedings before the establishment of the accreditation experts panel. In other cases, regardless of whether the programme will be accredited or not, the institution will not be reimbursed.