Project for the implementation of cyclical assessment of higher education institutions in Latvia
The European Commission has supported the project for the implementation of cyclical assessment of higher education institutions in Latvia
The Ministry of Education and Science has received support from European Commission to implement the project “Road Map for Implementation of Institutional Assessment” (further – a Project), which is funded by European Union ERASMUS + K3 program “Support for policy reforms”. The Project has been selected as a qualitative application, as it is important in ensuring the development and quality improvement of Latvian higher education.
Currently, there are three main quality assurance procedures in Latvia – 1) accreditation of higher education institution (HEI), 2) accreditation of study directions and 3) licensing of new study programs. The only cyclical assessment procedure is the accreditation of study directions. However, the assessment of study direction and respective study programs do not give the full overview of the HEI itself. The assessment criteria of study directions, for example, the strategic development and organizational structure, should still be assessed on the level of the whole HEI.
The main objective of the Project is to improve the quality assurance system in Latvia and introduce a regular institutional accreditation as the main quality assurance procedure that will decrease the current overlap among the different quality assurance procedures and reduce the administrative burden as well as the costs of assessment procedures.
To raise awareness of external quality assessment procedures and to gain knowledge about institutional assessment and its benefits, the Project aims to analyze the quality assurance systems and legal framework of several European Higher Education Area countries, as well as workshops for higher education institutions, policy makers and social partners with the participation of international experts will be organized. As a result of the project, it is planned to work out a concept for a smooth transition to cyclical institutional accreditation of higher education institutions in Latvia, thus the Project is directly aimed at enforcement of the Government`s 2019 Action plan activity “To set the implementation of cyclic institutional accreditation of higher education institutions from 2024”, which intends to develop and submit for consideration to the Cabinet of Ministers proposals for the implementation of cyclical institutional accreditation of higher education institutions and proposals for regulatory framework.
The leading partner and the coordinator of the Project is Ministry of Education and Science (LV). Other beneficiaries are Ministry of Education and Research of Estonia (EE), Estonian Quality Agency for Higher and Vocational Education (EE) and Academic Information Centre (LV).
The project will be implemented as a centralized Erasmus + Project overseen by the European Commission's Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA).
The total Project funding is EUR 187 428.69 (90% of which is European Commission’s grant and 10% must be co-financed by each partner). The Project implementation time is 24 months