On 14th and 15th of May of this year, the Higher Education Quality Assurance Department of the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement organized a workshop for the members of the Accreditation Council of Educational Programs. The main purpose of the meeting was to introduce the amendments in the legislation as well as the planned changes in the accreditation standards and procedures to support cluster accreditation of educational programs. 

During the workshop, future perspectives of higher education and development aspirations for 2030, as well as, quality assurance trends of the European Higher Education Area were discussed.
Besides, the amendments to the Georgian Law on Quality Enhancement, the renewed accreditation standards of educational programs and draft document of accreditation procedures, the specificity of clustering educational programs were discussed. 
The workshop analyzed the accreditation expert panel reports and self-evaluation templates as well as a draft document for evaluation of doctoral programs.

In addition, focus was made on the performance principles of the Council, local legislative norms and regulations, and general approaches and international practices were highlighted. The workshop participants also analyzed the specificity of evaluation of joint programs through international experience. 

The meeting was interactive where the participants had a chance to engage themselves in the discussion concerning future trends of quality assurance of program accreditation, stakeholder interests in higher education and how to accommodate everyone’s needs, and how to further refine cooperation between the Center and the Council and other timely issues.