ANQA held a meeting with representatives of 20 state VET institutions. 12 of them will undergo institutional accreditation for the first time, while 8 others are in the re-accreditation process.
The VET institutions undergoing accreditation are selected in cooperation with the RA MoESCS, taking into consideration the sector peculiarities. The VET institutions’ institutional accreditation is carried out with state funding.
During the meeting, Ruben Topchyan, ANQA’s director and Varduhi Gyulazyan, head of ANQA’s Institutional and Programme Accreditation Division, presented the accreditation process, its stages and peculiarities, along with the clarification of the timeframe for each stage.
An importance was attached to the completion of the institutional electronic questionnaire, which will serve as a basis for self-evaluation and provide data to the expert panel during the review process. It was emphasized that VET institutions should strive for utmost honesty in their self-evaluation and present an objective picture. This will ensure the effectiveness of external review and the targeted nature of expert recommendations.
Anahit Terteryan, specialist at ANQA’s Institutional and Programme Accreditation Division, introduced ANQA’s policy for VET institutions’ accreditation. It was highlighted that:
- VET institutions should include their collaborations with employers and the resulting outcomes in the self-evaluation, considering all accreditation criteria;
- VET institutions undergoing re-accreditation should present the achievements made through the follow-up plan and the remaining challenges in the self-evaluation;
- If the VET institution offers both primary and secondary vocational education, one primary and one secondary vocational academic programme may be submitted for external review.
- One of the Aps under review may also be newly introduced as the expert panel observes programme management.
Ahead of the accreditation, ANQA will conduct free trainings for VET institutions’ every four employees, specifically addressing the implementation of self-evaluation and the completion of the institutional questionnaire. VET institutions’ employees and students will also have training opportunities to be included in the pool of experts and student experts.
Shirak Regional State College, Kotayk Regional State College, Lori Regional State College, Stepanavan State Agricultural College, Abovyan State College of Power Engineering, Gavar State Agricultural Collage after academician A. Tamamshev, Vayots Dzor Regional State College, Goris State Agricultural Collage after professor Kh. Yeritsyan will undergo re-accreditation process.
Yerevan State Technological College, State Musical College Named after Romanos Melikyan, Yerevan State College of Culture and Arts, College of "Mkhitar Sebastatsi" Educational Complex, Gyumri State Technical College, Gyumri State Sports College of Olympic Reserve, Alaverdi State College, Syunik Regional State College, Kapan State Medical College, Berd State Multifunctional College, Armavir Regional State College, Aviation Training Center will undergo accreditation process for the first time.