The spring of 2018 was filled with significant events in the life of our University.
From April 11-13 KIMEP University hosted a large group of experts in academic quality assurance from the Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA), a German accreditation agency, which undertook an overview of all academic programs at the University.
Following the visit by the German experts, on April 25-27, a commission of external experts from the Independent Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (IQAA) came to the University. The commission consisted of International experts from the Accreditation Organization of the Netherlands and Flanders; the Polish Accreditation Committee and Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences (Germany); as well as national experts from Zhetysu State University named after I. Zhansugurov, the National Agrarian University and the Chamber of Entrepreneurs of Astana. They evaluated the characteristics of the University as a whole, at the institutional level.
What causes foreign and domestic experts in the field of higher education to pay such attention to the University? Why do we need accreditation? How does it further develop our University? Why has KIMEP undergone the accreditation process with these agencies in particular?
In official parlance, accreditation of an academic institution is the procedure that recognizes compliance of educational services with established standards. Its purpose is to provide objective information on the quality of said services and to confirm that efficient mechanisms of improving operations are in place.
Simply put, accreditation is evidence of the quality of our academic programs and the research produced here; of our educational infrastructure, students’ social life, and the whole university community; of our financial sustainability, and more.
Accreditation is categorized in two ways. It can be institutional – implying the accreditation of the University as a whole; and program-based – designed for accrediting each specific academic program (specialization).
To be more accurate – accreditation is the form of self-regulation of the university, periodical self-evaluation of its operations and the mechanism for improvement of work of all units.
Accreditation as a social phenomenon has got a long history. It came from the USA, where more than 130 years ago the accreditation of universities, schools and colleges has started. There is no unified system of accrediting the institutions of higher education, however there are the regional networks of accreditation agencies – European Network for Quality Assurance (ENQA), Asian-Pacific Network (APQN), Arab Network- (ANQAHE), and others.
As a rule, foreign countries attach a serious significance to having the accreditation certificate. In Europe, for instance, the University that does not have the accreditation is deprived of a right to undertake educational operations, to teach students.
So, what do we need university accreditation for? In Kazakhstan, having an accreditation certificate allows universities to issue state-recognized degrees. Society, parents, and employers especially, understand that the diploma should be state approved, since currently, this kind of diploma is valuable in the labor market. Possibly, in the near future, Kazakhstani universities will be given the right to issue diplomas of their own design in the context of a transition to greater academic freedom and the selection of development pathways of their own. But this is a completely different story…
Having an accreditation certificate is also important from the viewpoint of applicants’ choice of university, because they inevitably face the issue of what university to choose. They ask the question “Is it worth going to a university that has no accreditation or that did not undergo re-accreditation?” The answer is definitely not, if we are talking about making the choice of selecting a major and taking a good quality education seriously. It is worth highlighting that, in comparison with university rankings, which the students usually pay attention to, this is the most significant evidence of education quality for a Kazakhstani university.
If a student wishes to go abroad to continue his or her education, or plans to be employed overseas, one has to undergo the procedure of nostrification of a Kazakhstani diploma. In this case, availability of an accreditation certificate for their “home” university becomes especially meaningful.
The choice of accreditation agencies by our university was not an accident. The Independent Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (IQAA) is the first professional independent accreditation agency in Kazakhstan. This agency is an active member of a number of international education quality assurance networks.
FIBAA (Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation) from Germany is among the leading international accreditation agencies and enjoys international recognition. Both accreditation agencies – IQAA and FIBAA – are members of the European Network for Quality Assurance and are recognized by the European Quality Assurance Register (EQAR). This register was founded by the decision of European Ministers of Education and includes agencies enjoying the trust of the European academic community.
The National Register under the Ministry of Education and Science was created in Kazakhstan and is the local analogue to the EQAR. Only the accreditation bodies included in this register have the right to undertake university accreditation in Kazakhstan. Both mentioned accreditation agencies are recognized by the Kazakhstani National Register.
It should be noted that accreditation is a lengthy process. It took 7 months – since October 2017 — for our University to complete it. First, the contract with IQAA was signed, and then the Self-study Report was prepared. The report described the university’s mission, strategic development plan, management, academic programs, faculty qualifications, facilities and informational resources, partnership with employers, their feedback about our graduates, data on graduates’ employment, etc.
The Self-study report was prepared by a team of faculty and administrative staff, who performed the enormous task of collecting information for this report.
After getting familiar with the Self-study Report, IQAA sent a team of experts assigned with checking the reliability of what was written in the report, and most importantly, formulating recommendations to further improve university operations.
Experts paid great attention to studying the academic programs and companies hosting professional internships, and the facilities and the informational base of the university. IQAA experts visited classes, held meetings with the university management, and with faculty, students, employers, alumni and members of Board of Trustees. They were very positively impressed by their visits to the Legal Clinic of the School of Law, the Innovations and Entrepreneurship Center of Bang College of Business, the Media Lab, the Central Asia Studies Center of the College of Social Sciences, as well as their meetings with the employers – KPMG Audit LLC, and the representatives of the Official Mission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Almaty.
Upon completion of the visit, IQAA expert group prepared their report, on the grounds of which the Accreditation Council of IQAA, on June 11, 2018, made the decision to accredit KIMEP University for the period of five years.
The FIBAA Accreditation Committee for Programmes met on July 6, 2018 and decided to accredit all 25 KIMEP University programs for the period of five years under conditions.
Preparing for accreditation revealed the community-oriented spirit of our students, faculty, administrative units and management, and reaffirmed our institutional unity and devotion to the cause of our university.