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• Transitional evaluation 2009-2012
• Accreditation 2009
• Quality assessment of study programme groups
• Institutional accreditation

Institutional accreditation

One of the main functions of EKKA is to carry out institutional accreditation of institutions that provide higher education in Estonia. Educational institutions must undergo institutional accreditation at least once in seven years.

As a result of institutional accreditation EKKA makes one of the following decisions:

1) provides an assessment and decides that the internal quality assurance system of the educational institution and its functioning meet the requirements;

2) provides an assessment and decides that there are deficiencies in the internal quality assurance system of the educational institution or in its functioning, gives instructions as to their elimination, and sets a term not longer than three years during which the educational institution must again undergo an institutional accreditation;

3) provides an assessment and decides that there are significant deficiencies in the internal quality assurance system of the educational institution and its functioning that prevent the educational institution from duly performing its functions arising from legislation; communicates findings, in addition to the educational institution, to the Minister of Education and Research; and gives instructions as to the elimination of the deficiencies.

Costs related to institutional accreditation shall be covered by the state budget or, at the request of the educational institution, by the budget of the educational institution.

There are no institutional accreditations scheduled for the current year of 2009.

The transition to the system of quality assessment of study programme groups will also cause a change in institutional accreditation, the principles and the procedure of which shall be established by EKKA Quality Assessment Council. Pursuant to law, it is possible to request and to carry out institutional accreditation and quality assessment of study programme groups as of 1 January 2010, provided that the relevant educational institution has been granted the right to conduct studies at the higher education level in at least one study programme group. As the Government will issue first education licenses in the end of 2009, the actual implementation of institutional accreditation and assessment of quality of study programme groups will probably be postponed until 2011.