Higher Education Quality Assurance Reform
Significant changes have been carried out within the framework of the Higher Education Quality Assurance Reform. The aim of the reform is to improve the quality of education in higher educational institutions and to provide student-oriented educational environment.
The Higher Education Quality Assessment System has been changed as a result of the above reform. The authorization standards and procedures have come into conformity with the quality standards and guidelines of the European space of higher education. Renewed higher education quality assurance mechanisms are the prerequisites for further fundamental changes in the higher educational system of Georgia, which will contribute increase of confidence in the educational system of Georgia, its internationalization and integration into the European space. The system will become attractive for both local and foreign students, the process of international recognition of education, fulfillment of exchange and joint educational and research programs will be simplified.
Implementation of the reform started in 2015, which was accompanied with relevant legislative amendments and on May 5, 2017, by the order of the Minister of Education and Science of Georgia, the renewed standards and procedures for authorization of higher educational institutions were approved. The Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia, leading local, the EC and ENQA experts, together with the representatives of the higher educational institutions were involved in implementation of the reform.
The higher educational institutions authorization standards and procedures have been changed under the reform. The higher educational institutions will be assessed according to 7 standards instead of 3. Special focus will be made on evaluation of the student-centered teaching-learning process and the results achieved by the higher educational institutions, such as the students’ employment rate, the research productivity rate, satisfaction level of the students and other stakeholders towards the educational programs and services carried out by the higher education institutions.
The experts’ corps was established with the purpose of evaluation of the higher educational institutions with renewed standards. For the first time, in the activities of the experts’ groups, the foreign experts, students and employment market experts will join the local experts.
An electronic platform was created for effective implementation of the authorization process, through which all phases of authentication process will be implemented – including from application to decision-making by the Council.
Within the framework of the target program of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia, piloting with participation of the foreign experts will be implemented in 3 higher educational institutions by the end of 2017 for introduction of renewed mechanisms. In addition, the center will conduct consultations, trainings and workshops intensively for preparation of higher education institutions and experts; in addition, we are working on preparation of supporting materials.
