Other Links
UK QAA (Quality Assurance Agency)
E4 Network (Enhancing Engineering Education in Europe)
www.ing.unifi.it/tne4
OPET (Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology)
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List of organisations involved in accreditation
AAC:
Akkreditierungsrat (Germany)
Contact: Angelika Schade
The
agency has been established by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of
Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany
(KMK) and the Association of German Universities and other Higher Education
Institutions (HRK). The AAC is an organisation on its own, including 14 members,
which are representatives of the Länder, higher education institutions,
students and professional practice (on behalf of both employer and employee
organisations. The Akkreditierungsrat is responsible for accrediting
accreditation agencies and in special cases – when formally requested by one
of the German Länder – accrediting degree programmes leading to
Bakkalaureus/Bachelor’s and Magister/Master’s degrees.
AAC: Österreicher
Akkreditierungsrat (Austria)
Contact: Elisabeth Fioroli
Created in March 2000, AAC is an independent institution that includes 8
members, all European university experts. Its two main responsabilities are
accreditation implementation and overseeing private accredited universities.
ABRASCO: Associaçao Brasileria
de Pos Graduaçao em Saude Coletiva (Brazil)
Contact : Celia Leitao Ramos, Virginia Hortale
Scientific non-governmental association of public interest founded in
1979 in Brazil. It represents institutions promoting graduate training in public
health and is composed of professionals of this field. In collaboration with
ENSP Fiocruz in Rio de Janeiro and the ENSP of Rennes technical support, it is
developing a Brazilian accreditation system.
ABET:
Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (United States)
Contact : Robert G. Peterson, Eleanor Baum
The
Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) is a federation of 31
professional engineering and technical companies. Since 1932, ABET has provided
quality assurance of education through accreditation. ABET accredits more than
2500 engineering, engineering technology, computing and applied science programs
at over 550 colleges and universities nationally. ABET is recognized by the
Council on Higher Education Accreditation.
ACEAB:
Association of Commonwealth Examination and Accreditation Bodies (Commonwealth)
Contact: Elizabeth Norris
The
Association of Commonwealth Examinations and Accreditation Bodies (ACEAB) was
established in 1998 to promote the quality and comparability of assessment,
accreditation, certification and administration procedures in Commonwealth
countries.
ACEHSA: Accrediting
Commission on Education for Health Services Administration (United States)
Contact : Lydia Reed
In
1968, the Accrediting Commission was incorporated in the State of Illinois as
the accrediting agency in the field of graduate education in hospital
administration and was originally called the Accrediting Commission on Graduate
Education for Hospital Administration. The name of the agency was changed in
1976 to the Accrediting Commission on Education for Health Services
Administration (ACEHSA). The accreditation program of ACEHSA is designed to
foster high quality professional education for health services administration.
Accreditation Board of Oman (Sultanate of Oman)
Contact: Dr. Adnan Al Haj
The
agency has been established on the initiative of the Government. The
Accreditation Board was established by Royal Decree No.74/2001 on 27th
June, 2001. Although a government agency, it acts as an independent body. The
activities of the agency are aimed sometimes at the institutional level, and
other times at the programme/subject/discipline level, as appropriate. The
Accreditation Board accredits and reviews both institutions and programmes, and
reports to the Council Of Higher Education on quality for the overall system of
Higher Education. The agency is just commencing and there is no previous data.
It is anticipated that there will be an average of 8 institutional assessments
and 10 programme assessments each year when the agency is fully operational.
ASPA: Association of Specialized and Professional
Accreditors (United States)
Contact: Cynthia A. Davenport
ASPA
is the only organization whose members are specialized and professional
accreditors. ASPA-member accreditors set national educational standards for
entry into about 40 specialized disciplines or defined professions. ASPA works
with higher education and government officials to enhance education and
accreditation and functions as the only national voice for this important
constituency.
ASPHER: Association of Schools of Public Health in the
European Region (Europe)
Contact : Stojgniew J. Sitko, Jacques Bury
ASPHER
is the key independent organisation in Europe dedicated to strengthening the
role of public health through the training of public health professionals for
both practice and research. Founded 36 years ago, ASPHER has more than 60
institutional members. These are located throughout the Member States of the
European Union (EU), the Council of Europe (CE) and the European Region of the
World Health Organisation (WHO). It has developed in collaboration with
fondation Mérieux an accreditation frame of references for higher vocational
training in public health; its special task is elaborating the accreditation of
public health programs.
BAC: British Accreditation Council (United Kingdom)
Contact : Robin Laidlaw
BAC is a non-government
organisation, established in 1984 after the British government's Department of
Education and Science withdrew from offering an accreditation service to the
independant FE and HE sectors. At present it accredits 105 colleges in the UK.
It developed an accreditation system for colleges overseas offering programmes
leading the British higher education qualifications (12 colleges in Greece, 1 in
the Czech Republic, 1 in Switzerland).
CEEC:
Commission d'Evaluation de
l'Enseignement Collégial (Canada)
Contact : Jacques L’Ecuyer
The
Commission d'évaluation de l'enseignement collégial du Québec (CEEC) is an
independent government organization whose evaluation mandate covers most aspects
of college education, with special emphasis on student achievement and programs
of studies. Legislation attributes the power to evaluate and make
recommendations, as well as declaratory power, to the Commission.
CEPH: Council on Education for Public Health (United
States)
Contact : Patricia Evans, Phoebe L. Barton
The
Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) is an independent agency
recognized by the US Department of Education to accredit schools of public
health and certain public health programs offered in settings other than schools
of public health. These schools and programs prepare students for entry into
careers in public health. The primary professional degree is the Master of
Public Health (MPH) but other masters and doctoral degrees are offered as well.
CHEA: Council
of Higher Education Accreditation (United States)
Contact : Eleanor Baum
Largest
institutional higher education membership organization in the United States with
3,000 colleges and universities. It is composed of 60 participating national,
regional, and specialized accrediting organizations. CHEA is governed by a
17-person board of college and university presidents, institutional
representatives, and public members. It is the primary national voice for
voluntary accreditation and quality assurance to U.S. Congress and U.S.
Department of Education, for voluntary accreditation to the general public,
opinion leaders, students, and families. CHEA is also a representative of U.S.
accreditation community to international audiences.
CNAP:
Comision Nacional de Acreditacion de Pregrado (Chili)
Contact : Maria-José
Lemaître
Commission
created in the Programme for the Improvement of Quality and Equity in Higher
Education, which is carried out by the Ministry of Education in Chile with the
support of the World Bank. The CNA is working towards the establishment of an
accreditation scheme for technical, professional and academic degree programmes
offered by Chilean autonomous Higher Education institutions, both private and
public.
CNE:
Comité National d'Evaluation (France)
Contact : Bruno Curvale
Created
by the 26 January 1984 Higher Education Law, the Comité national d’évaluation
des établissements publics à caractère scientifique, culturel et
professionnel was made by the 10 July 1989 Law an autonomous administrative
entity which reports directly to the President of the Republic and thus is not
under the authority of the Higher Education Minister. The CNE is financed by the
state and has got its own budget. The CNE aims at evaluating research, cultural
and vocational public institutions, i-e universities, schools and " grands
établissements " reporting to the higher education minister. The CNE may
also evaluate higher education institutions reporting to other ministries.
CTI:
Commission des Titres d'Ingénieur (France)
Contact: François Tailly
Created by the 10 July 1934 Law related to conditions of issue and use of
the title of graduated engineer, the Commission des Titres d'Ingénieur was
confirmed in its missions by the 26 January 1984 Law. Its missions are: study
any question related to the training of engineers independently of the field,
examine the demands of accreditation to issue titles of graduated engineer,
intervene if necessary to safeguard the quality of engineers' training and
conduct surveys in higher education institutions and on professions. Each year,
more than a hundred of missions are organised in situ as well as more general
studies and surveys.
EAPAA: European Association for Public Administration
Accreditation (Europe)
Contact: Theo van der Krogt
EAPAA
was founded in 1999 and the first General Meeting was held in May 2000. During
this meeting the Criteria and Procedures for accreditation were decided upon.
The first accreditation process is planned for 2001. The purpose of EAPAA
is to implement a European system for the Accreditation of Academic Public
Administration Programs. Accreditation is organised by the Accreditation
Committee, a body of recognised Public Administration professors
ENQA: European Network for Quality Assurance in Higher
Education (Europe)
Contact: Kimmo Hämäläinen
ENQA
is a European Network whose mission is to disseminate information, experiences,
good practices and new developments in the field of quality assessment and
quality assurance in higher education between interested parties: public
authorities, higher education institutions and quality assurance agencies.
ENSP:
Ecole Nationale de la Santé Publique (France)
Contact: Christian Chauvigné, Karl Garber
ENSP is responsible for
promoting and developing quality (through accreditation systems) within
organisations that offer higher vocational training programmes in public health.
ENSP is in charge of labelling programmes, certificating training systems and it
gives support to make the decision of recognising training organisations. It
also develops references criteria in the field of quality. It works in France
but also participates in the development of accreditation systems abroad.
EQUIS: European Quality Improvement System (EFMD)
(Europe)
Contact: Gordon Shenton
EQUIS
was launched in 1997 by the EFMD – the European Foundation for Management
Development - which has championed the issue of quality in management
development for many years and has brought together the key operators in Europe
in a common initiative. EQUIS is an international system of strategic audit and
accreditation designed by Europeans for the assessment of institutions in widely
different national contexts. Inspired by the particular needs of a European
situation characterised by extreme cultural diversity within a large
civilizational area, the scope of EQUIS is not limited to Europe.
FHR: Fachhochschulsrat (Austria)
Contact: Kurt Sohm
The
agency has been established on initiative of the Government. The Ministry of
Education, Science and Culture appoints the Members of the FHR.
The
FHR is the agency responsible for ascertaining and ensuring the quality of the
Fachhochschul degree-programmes. The agency's role is to carry out both ex-ante
(accreditation) and ex-post (evaluation) quality assurance. The FH Council has
16 members, one half of whom come from the university field and must be
academically qualified by habilitation; the other half of members come from
business / industry. They carry out their duties part-time. Accreditation is
granted for a maximum period of five years. Each demand for re-accreditation
requests the submission of an assessment report. Since 1997, FHR accredited
about 40 programmes.
FINHEEC: Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council
(Finland)
The
Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council is an independent expert body
assisting universities, polytechnics and the Ministry
of Education in matters relating to evaluation. The scope of the Council's
actitivies covers twenty university level institutions and a total of thirty
polytechnics. The Council organises evaluations of quality work and
institutional, programme and thematic evaluations. Furthermore, it provides
advisory and consultancy services in the implementation of the evaluations,
develops evaluation methodology and disseminates good Finnish and international
practices to higher education institutions and the Ministry of Education.
HBO-Raad: Association of Universities of Professional
Education (The Netherlands)
Contact: Mark Frederiks
The
Association of Universities of Professional Education [HBO-raad] was founded in
1975. It brings together all government-funded universities of professional
education (UPEs) in the Netherlands. The aim of the Association is to develop
higher professional education in relation to social developments and to promote
the collective interests of all its affiliated members. As an employers'
organisation, the Association of UPEs is responsible for concluding collective
labour agreements (CAOs) with the educational trade unions in higher
professional education (HPE).
HEQAC: Higher Education Quality Assessment Council (Estonia)
Contact: Tiit Laasberg
The
agency has been established on initiative of the Government on 1997. It is owned
by a foundation (Archimedes foundation); private person under private law. HEQAC
is an organisation included in a broader organisation in the field of Higher
Education: the Foundation Archimedes. The foundation is responsible for
arrangement of various EU programs related to education, research and
development. The activities of the agency are overseen by the Estonian Higher
Education Quality Assessment Council. The agency is responsible for the
evaluation of the higher education institutions as well studies programs.
Additionally the agency is responsible for the evaluation of research.
HEQC: Higher Education Quality Committee
Contact: Tshepo Magabane
The Council on Higher Education is an independent statutory body
established in May 1998 whose mission is to contribute to the development of a
higher education system characterised by quality, responsiveness, equity,
effective and efficient provision and management. The CHE seeks to make this
contribution by providing informed, considered, independent, strategic advice on
higher education issues to the Minister of Education through the quality
assurance activities of its Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) and
through the publication and dissemination of information on developments in
higher education, including an annual report to parliament on the state of
higher education.
HEQEC: Higher Education Quality Evaluation Centre
(Latvia)
Contact: Juris Dzelme
The
agency has been established on initiative of the Government in 1996. It assesses
specific higher education institutions and study programmes in accordance with
recommendations of the Rectors' Council, the European Union's requirements and
related institutions by involving Latvian and foreign experts. The shareholders
of HEQEC are Ministry of Education and Science and (according to a decision made
by the Council of Rectors) five higher education establishments: University of
Latvia, Riga Technical University, Latvian Academy of Medicine, Daugavpils
Pedagogical University and Business Institute "Turiba" . The
activities of the HEQEC are supervised by the five persons strong Board.
HKCAA: Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation (China)
Contact: Wai Sum Wong
The
agency has been established on initiative of the Government in 1990. It
accredits in average 15 programs each year and also To provide independent
authoritative advice to the government on academic standards of local
qualifications and those obtained outside Hong Kong.
HSV: National Agency for Higher Education (Sweden)
Contact: Staffan Wahlen
The
National Agency for Higher Education is a central agency founded in 1993 and
responsible for matters relating to institutions of higher education in Sweden.
Its tasks include quality assessments, supervision, reviews, development of
higher education, research and analysis, evaluations of foreign education and
provision of study information. The Agency provides material that can be used to
modify, improve and renew activities carried out within the higher education
sector.
INQAAHE: International Network for Quality Assurance
Agencies in Higher Education (World)
Contact: Marie José Lemaître
The
International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education
(INQAAHE) was established in 1991. The main purpose of the Network is to collect
and disseminate information on current and developing theory and practice in the
assessment, improvement and maintenance of quality in higher education.
MNCHEA: Mongolian National Council for Higher Education
Accreditation (Mongolia)
Contact: Chuluuntsetseg
Dagvadorj
The
National Council for Higher Education Accreditation was established in 1998 by
the Government initiative as an independent body with state and public
representatives and is responsible for accrediting higher education institutions
of Mongolia. Since it establishment the Council has granted accreditation to 36
universities and colleges of Mongolia. In the near future the Council is going
to expand its activities and planning to conduct specialised (or program)
accreditation of higher education institutions in Mongolia.
NEAA: National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency at
the Council of Ministers (Bulgaria)
Contact: Nikolay Martinov
Founded in 1996, NEAA reviews all higher education institutions in
Bulgaria (universities, higher schools, and colleges) - institutional
accreditation and program accreditation (for Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctor's
degree). The agency also evaluates projects for opening and transforming of
higher education institutes, faculties, branches, and specialties/programs. The
NEAA evaluates 49 institutions and 934 programs including Doctor's degree
programs.
OAQ:
Organe d'Accréditation et d'Assurance Qualité de la Formation Supérieure
Suisse (Switzerland)
The OAQ is on service since 1 October 2001. Its role is to guaranty and
promote the quality of education and research in Swiss University colleges. The
OAQ defines requirements regarding quality assurance and regularly verifies the
compliance with these requirements, it develops propositions to implement a
national procedure either for institutions themselves, or for some of their
study programs, it carries out an accreditation process for institutions asking
for it, and it gives recommendations for evaluations that universities conduct
under their own responsibility. Through the annual program and with the
agreement of the Conférence des recteurs des universités suisses (CRUS), it
can carry out evaluations specific to fields of study.
OCGS: Ontario Council on Graduate Studies (Canada)
Contact: Carolyn Filteau
The
Ontario Council on Graduate Studies (OCGS) is an affiliate of the Council of
Ontario Universities (COU), originally known as the Committee of Presidents of
the Universities of Ontario (CPUO) and formed in 1962 in response to a need for
institutional participation in educational reform and expansion. OCGS strives to
ensure quality graduate education and research across Ontario. To achieve this,
OCGS conducts quality reviews of graduate (master's and PhD) programs that have
been proposed for implementation in Ontario's universities. It also performs
quality reviews of existing programs on a seven-year cycle.
PAAB: Public Accountant's and Auditor's Board (South
Africa)
Since 1991, the PAAB's responsibility
is to design standards and criteria to measure business programmes in accounting
and auditing. Persons who complete
accredited programs are able to register and practice as auditors in South
Africa. Further, it is also responsible for monitoring accredited programmes on
a continuous basis in order to ensure that standards are maintained.
QAARDAN: Quality Assurance and Research Development
Agency, Nigeria (Nigeria)
Contact: Theresa Okafor
Founded in March 2000, QAARDAN uses
accreditation as main method and has been able to draw up performance
indicators and applied them in a test run on two Universities in Nigeria:
University of Lagos and Ibadan. Its findings have been quite significant for
educational development in the country. QAARDAN also determines benchmarks of
success and ways to audit and assure quality in vocational,
occupational and University institutions
SAC: Accreditation Commission of Slovakia (Slovak
Republic)
Contact: Pavol Navrat
Accreditation Commission of Slovakia has more a decade of experience in
accrediting and evaluating in higher education. Since April
2002, Slovakia has a completely new higher education law, which introduces
major changes, most notably implementing crucial aspects of the Bologna
process. Currently, it is working on new rules and procedures as envisaged
by the new law.
SAQA: South African Qualifications Authority (South
Africa)
Contact: Joe Samuels
The
South African Qualifications Authority is a body of 29 members appointed by the
Ministers of Education and Labour since 1995 to oversee the development of the
NQF by formulating and publishing policies and criteria for the registration of
bodies responsible for establishing education and training standards or
qualifications, and for the accreditation of bodies responsible for monitoring
and auditing achievements in terms of such standards and qualifications. It also
oversees the implementation of the NQF by ensuring the registration,
accreditation and assignment of functions to the bodies referred to above, as
well as the registration of national standards and qualifications on the
framework. In short, the NQF is the set of principles and guidelines by which
records of learner achievement are registered to enable national recognition of
acquired skills and knowledge, thereby ensuring an integrated system that
encourages life-long learning.
VSNU: Association of
Universities in the Netherlands (The Netherlands)
Contact: Ton Vroeijenstijn
The
quality assessment department is established on initiative of the universities.
In the framework of the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU)
the Dutch universities have established a department for external quality
assessment. The initiative has been supported by the ministry of Education,
Culture and Science and in 1986 an agreement has been made between then ministry
and the universities about the division of responsibilities in the field of
quality assessment. VSNU assesses both institutions and programs. Between 1998
and 2000, more than 50 educational programmes and more than 50 research
programmes were assessed/audited.