About AKKORK
The Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education and Career Development ( AKKORK ) is a professional quality assurance organization in the field of higher, secondary professional and additional education. AKKORK work is based on Russian and internationally recognized standards.
AKKORK has been operating in the Russian Federation, CIS countries, the European Union, and Southeast Asia since 2005.
MISSION, AIMS AND TASKS OF AKKORK
AKKORK mission - the development of education quality assurance (in Russia is used term external independent education quality assessment) system in accordance with the Russian and internationally recognized criteria and standards , the best global and Russian practices.
The main aim of AKKORK is to assess the educational programs quality levels and the degree to which the conditions for their implementation are provided by HEI. The AKKORK activity supports the dissemination of the global best practices in assessing, monitoring and controlling the education quality, and obtaining by the stakeholders of the education system objective information about the learning outcomes quality levels.
The aims of AKKORK are:
- Improvement of the education quality assurance practice and the development of educational audit in the European and Global educational areas.
- Adaptation and introduction of quality criteria in the practice of educational organizations in Russia and the CIS countries.
- Systematic interaction with educational organizations in order to ensure an external independent assessment of education quality in them.
- Conduction on a professional level external education quality assurance procedures, external independent assessment of conditions for the implementation of educational programs provided by an educational organization at the program and institutional levels.
- Contribution to the improvement of mechanisms for assessing the education quality in Russia and in the world.
- Informing stakeholders about Russian and international criteria for the education quality assurance, best and standard practices of educational activities in the Russian Federation and in the world.
The tasks of AKKORK are:
- Improvement of the methodological base for assessing the education quality in the Russian Federation in accordance with Russian and internationally recognized standards and criteria, best global and Russian practices.
- Application of a methodology for assessing the education quality based on Russian and internationally recognized standards and criteria, the best global and Russian practices when conducting an external independent assessment of the education quality in Russian and international educational organizations.
- Systematic education quality assurance procedures in educational organizations.
- Training of reviewers for conducting of the education quality assurance procedures.
- Representation of the Russian Federation interests (AKKORK membership) in key international associations in the field of education quality assurance.
- Conducting conferences on the themes related to the education quality assurance.
- Participation in conferences on topics related to the education quality assurance.
ACTIVITIES
- Regular analysis of the best Russian and foreign practices of education quality assurance
- Regular analysis of standards and criteria for education quality assurance
- Update of the education quality assurance methodology according to the analysis of best internationally recognized and the Russian practices, standards and criteria for quality assessment
- Quality assurance of educational programs on the level of higher, secondary vocational and additional education
- AKKORK international accreditation of educational programs
- Organization, together with employers' associations and professional qualification councils (PQC) professional - public accreditation of educational programs in accordance with AKKORK basic principles of work
- Joint accreditation at the program and institutional levels together with foreign partner agencies
- Seminars and trainings (further training ) on education quality assurance
- Regular assessment of the quality of AKKORK work in key international associations in the field of education quality assurance
- Participation in conferences on the on topics related to the education quality assurance.
BENEFITS FOR PARTNERS:
Benefits for educational organizations:
- Synchronization of learning outcomes for educational programs with current labor market requirements, industry professional standards, best Russian and internationally recognized practices and quality criteria.
- Provision of an education quality guarantee by optimizing the conditions for the implementation of educational programs ( strengthening faculty and infrastructure ) and external guarantees of the education quality at the level of educational programs and educational organization.
- Improvement of the effectiveness of the education quality assurance system in an educational organization.
- Improvement of the performance of the educational organization.
- Formation of quality culture among the administrative, managerial staff and faculty.
- Confirmation of the program quality based on Russian and internationally recognized standards and criteria.
- Constant collaboration with the leading experts in the education quality assurance and education quality management.
- Further training for educational organization staff in matters of quality assurance.
Benefits for applicants and students:
- Improvement of the education system;
- Provision of reliable information to students and applicants about the state of affairs in the educational organization and indicating its strengths and development areas.
Benefits for employer associations and professional qualification councils:
- Obtaining objective information about the learning outcomes quality in the evaluated programs;
- Obtaining objective information on the compliance of the evaluated programs with professional standards and / or other qualification requirements existing in the labor market.
Benefits for Russian Federation state educational authorities:
- Obtaining reliable information about the state of affairs in the educational organization;
- Obtaining reliable information about the strengths and development areas of the evaluated programs and educational organizations;
- Obtaining objective information about the learning outcomes quality in the evaluated programs;
- Obtaining objective information on the compliance of these programs with professional standards and / or other qualification requirements existing in the labor market.
AKKORK PRINCIPLES OF WORK
The basic principles of AKKORK operation are independence of quality assurance procedures, openness, transparency and objectivity of the assessments , the high level of quality assurance reviewer’s competence and professionalism.
RECOGNITION IN RUSSIA AND WORLDWIDE
Since 2007, AKKORK is a member of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA). Since 2015, AKKORK is registered in the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR). This equates the AKKORK accreditation to accreditation by recognized independent European quality assurance agencies.
AKKORK on a continuous basis undergoes an external independent evaluation of its activities in the ENQA and EQAR
AKKORK is also a member in the following major international associations:
- International Network of Higher Education Quality Assurance Agencies (INQAAHE)
- Asia Pacific Education Quality Assurance Network (APQN)
- The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA ) of the United States Committee for Quality Education.
Within the framework of professional - public accreditation, AKKORK cooperates with the following associations of employers and Professional Qualifications Councils (PQC): the Inter-regional public organization “Association of Russian Managers” ( AMR ), the Association of Employers of the Electric Power Industry ( Association “ERA Rossii” ) , the Association of Computer and Information Technologies ( APKIT ) , the Association of Geological Organizations ( AGO ), the All-Russian Industrial Association of Employers "Russian Engineering Union" ( SoyuzMash ) , the Council for Professional Qualifications of the Financial Market ( SPKFR ), the Society of Social Sciences ( OSN ), the Union of Translators of Russia ( SPR ) , NefteGazKonsalt , the All-Russian Public Organization of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises “ OPORA RUSSIA ” , the Council on Professional Qualifications in the Field of Labor Safety, Social Protection and Employment ( SPK-STS ) and others.
The database of AKKORK reviewers includes over 400 certified reviewers from the Russian Federation, as well as the CIS and EU countries in the areas of educational activities.
