13 January 1994
Sir/Madam,
Eight months have already passed since CEPES organized in
Oradea (Romania) a high level consultation focussed on policy
issues of quality assurance and institutional accreditation in the
higher education systems of the central and eastern European
countries. The final statement adopted by the participants urged
CEPES to launch, within the framework of the European Group for
Academic Assessment (EGAA), various operational projects addressing
the needs of the central and eastern European systems of higher
education in the domains of quality assurance and accreditation.
The purpose of this letter is to inform you of the stages of our
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work, to consult you with regard to further proposals to be made
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and actions to be taken, and to invite you to attend the first EGAA
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Conference.
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1. The proceedings of the high level consultation were
published in our review Higher Education in Europe (Vol. XVIII, No.
3, 1993), which is sent to you separately. Meanwhile, we have been
constantly gathering information on developments in all the
countries of the Europe Region. This information can be made
accessible to you upon request. We are currently building up a
database on the recognized institutions of higher education which
will soon be accessible via E-mail and in hard copy (print outs).
2. We are involved, together with the World Bank, in an
extensive project focussed on the process of reforming the Romanian
higher education system. Particular attention is being paid to the
procedures and mechanisms of quality assurance and accreditation.
In this context, we have contributed to the drafting of a law on
accreditation which has already been adopted by the Romanian
Parliament, and we are now monitoring pilot projects intended to
prepare the ground for its wide implementation. The emphasis is
being placed on ways to develop institutional quality assurance
mechanisms and on the procedures for licensing and accrediting
newly established higher education institutions. CEPES will present
the conclusions derived from this experimental stage in a report.
It will also formulate various suggestions for the implementation
of the provisions of the law on accreditation both at the national
and the institutional levels. The Romanian authorities are
establishing a national body of a buffer type to be in charge of
quality assessment and accreditation. It will be linked to both
institutional activities and ministerial responsibilities.
3. We are co-operating with the Romanian universities, the
Ministry of Education, and the national TEMPUS office for the
establishment of both the National Council on Academic Evaluation
and Accreditation and of an appropriate division in the Ministry of
Education to be given responsibility for quality control,
accreditation matters, and diploma recognition. Indeed, the issues
related to the recognition of diplomas are closely linked to those
of academic quality assurance and accreditation.
We would like to stress that CEPES is co-operating on these
projects with various international agencies, such as the World
Bank, the Council of Europe, and the TEMPUS Office. As CEPES
intends to strengthen its co-operation also in other domains with
these agencies, we wish to include your country in this framework.
As you can see, we are particularly concerned that national
systems of higher education and the institutions which compose them
develop appropriate operational projects. As it is from this
perspective that we are addressing you this letter, we would very
much like to receive your suggestions and comments for the eventual
development of similar projects in your country.
Under the auspices of EGAA, we are planning to organize a
conference focussed on the procedures and operational aspects of
quality assurance and accreditation in higher education. We propose
that this conference be held during the first half of May 1994, in
Bucharest, at CEPES. The objectives of the conference are
threefold:
i) to take stock of the latest experiences and developments
in the fields of academic quality assurance and
accreditation;
ii) to make a detailed presentation of the results of the
pilot projects carried out in the Romanian system of
higher education;
iii) to further plan the activities envisaged under the
auspices of the European Group for Academic Assessment
(EGAA).
If these proposals are of interest to you, please inform us
about your participation in the above-mentioned conference as soon
as possible, but not later than the 15th of February 1994, in order
for us to have sufficient time to prepare for the Conference.
You can write to us via e-mail: anda@cepes.ro
via fax: 40-1-641 50 25 (CEPES-UNESCO)
Sincerely yours,
Carin Berg
Director of CEPES