The Polish State Accreditation Committee

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The Polish State Accreditation Committee
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Tasks

• New objectives of the State Accreditation
  Committee under the Law on Higher Education of 27
  July 2005
• Presentation to the minister responsible for
  higher education opinions and proposals
  concerning
• 1) the assessment of the quality of education in
  a given field of study, including teacher
  training,
• 2) the compliance with legal requirements for
  the running of degree programmes of higher
  education,
• 3) the establishment of a new higher education
  institution, 
• 4) awarding a school the right to run degree
  programmes
• - in a given field of study and at a given
  level of study,
• - as part of a macro-field of study,
• - as part of an interdisciplinary programme,
• 5) awarding the right to run degree programmes
  at an external centre established by a unit with
  the right to offer postgraduate (M.A.)
  programmes and the establishment of an external
  teaching centre by a higher education institution
  that does not have basic organizational units ,
• 6) the extension of licences granted to
  non-public higher education institutions,
• 7) the establishment of a higher education
  institution in Poland by a foreign school.

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Strategy of PKA
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Strategy of PKA /continuation/
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Strategy of PKA /continuation/
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Strategy of PKA /continuation/
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Composition
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Organs of the Committee

• The Committee operates in plenary sessions and
  via its statutory organs

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Sections for Fields of Study

• Committee members work in 11 sections,
  representing the following groups of fields of
  study

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Workload of Sections for Fields of Study
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Assessments results
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Quality assessment.
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Accreditation standards

• Staff resources
• a) core staff resources (scientists responsible
  for the education) number and qualifications,
• b) the staff / students ratio.
• Educational standards
• a) educational profile of a graduate,
• b) the core curriculum contents.
• Curriculum
• a) compliance of the curriculum with the
  educational profile for the graduates,
• b) courses layout,
• c) analysis of lecturers qualifications /
  course programme compliance,
• d) quality of syllabi and support literature
  advised,
• e) quality of class teaching (random classes
  observations),
• f) workload per semester (per day, per course).
• Teaching resources
• a) teaching facilities, labs, equipment,
• b) library and electronics resources.

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Accreditation standards /continuation/

• Students matters
• a) student facilities and services,
• b) students satisfaction.
• Learning outcomes
• a) analysis of diploma dissertations,
• b) analysis of exam contents,
• c) credit point system.
• Internal quality assurance system
• a) staff evaluation system,
• b) students course evaluation system.
• Research related to field of study
• a) staff publications,
• b) conferences and grants,
• c) students involvement in research.
• International cooperation and students exchange
• Further development plans and resources

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STAGES OF THE EDUCATION QUALITY ASSESSMENT
PROCEDURE

• The Presidium selects the area of studies and
  institutions of higher education to be evaluated
  in a given calendar year.
• The institutions which are early informed about
  the beginning of the assessment procedure submit
  a self-evaluation report to the Committee
• /SELF-ASSESSMENT/
• The Committee Secretary appoints the experts
  panel.
• The evaluation panel inspects the institution
• /EXTERNAL EVALUATIONS, SITE VISIT REPORTING/.
• The institution studies the report prepared by
  evaluation panel and sends its response to the
  State Accreditation Committee.
• The Presidium of the Committee adopts a
  resolution by voting it on.
• /FINAL ASSESSMENT/
• The resolution is presented to the higher
  education institution and the Minister of Science
  and Higher Education.

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Conditional assessments

• In the period 2002-2006 the State Accreditation
  Commission awarded 287 conditional ratings.
• Pursuant to the Committee Statutes, when a
  conditional assessment has been made, in its
  resolution the Presidium indicates the
  shortcomings that have to be removed and sets the
  time for the re-assessment.

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Conditional assessments / revisits after the
first conditional ratings/

• In 2002-2006 revisists were made at 212 higher
  education institution, resulting in 188 positive,
  18 conditional and 6 negative assessments. This
  shows that the majority of the schools (approx.
  89) have improved the conditions and effects of
  education.

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Reasons for negative assessments

• Negative assessment of the quality of education
  were made with respect to the organizational
  units, which opened an area of study or a field
  of vocational study in violation of the law or
  offered education at a level much lower than the
  necessary minimum, which was mainly due to the
  following reasons
• there was not a sufficient number of academic
  teachers with appropriate formal qualifications,
• education was offered in line with the curricula
  and syllabi which did not meet the requirements
  stipulated in educational standards, as result of
  which the graduates did not acquire the knowledge
  and skills that are expected to be acquired upon
  the completion of a given area of study,
• the principles and criteria governing the
  preparation and assessment of the diploma theses
  were defined or principles and criteria were
  adopted as a result of which theses did not meet
  the basic methodological requirements or their
  topics were not related to the area of study
  pursued by students,
• sufficient and appropriate resources and
  facilities were not available there was no
  laboratory, equipment or library,
• research to the extent and at the level that
  guarantees education at the masters level was
  not conducted.

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Relation between number of assessed and
non-assessed fields of study
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Relation of students number at assessed and
non-assesed fields of study
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Relation between full-time and part-time students
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Results of education quality evaluation

• In the years 2002-2006 the Committee award 1663
  ratings on the evaluation of education quality
  including 23 outstanding ratings, 1293 positive
  ratings, 287 conditional ratings, 60 negative
  ratings, amounting to c. 2, 78, 17 and 4 of
  the total of legally binding ratings.

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Number of opinions on applications and
assessments issued by PKA
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Opinions on Applications

• Out of 2979 application submitted to the
  Committee in 2002-2006, the Polish State
  Accreditation Committee examined 2952
  applications. The Committee gave a positive
  opinion on 1503 applications, and negative
  opinion on 1405 proposals.

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Results of opinions on applications
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• The Polish
• State Accreditation Committee
• Zurawia 32/34, 00-515 Warsaw, Poland
• www.pka.edu.pl