Independent agency for accreditation and rating (IAAR) held an international conference "Global Challenges and the future of independent accreditation in Kazakhstan" during the celebration of the 5th anniversary of the Agency on October 6-7, 2016.

The conference was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, European Quality Assurance Register (EQAR), European Association for Quality Assurance (ENQA), foreign accreditation bodies - ACQUIN, FIBAA, AIC (Latvia), NAA, AKKORK , international organizations, Kazakh universities, employers and students.

There was a plenary session in the conference room of the L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University. Director of the IAAR, Alina Zhumagulova welcomed the speakers and participants of the conference, noting the importance of the event for the development of national quality assurance and active positioning of the universities in the world educational space.

The meeting highlighted current problems of the system of independent accreditation and dissemination of the best practices in the field of quality culture.

3 Panel Session were held:

1) Independent accreditation in Kazakhstan: contemporary challenges;

2) Globalization and Diversification of quality assurance of professional education;

3) Problems of Formation of the Professional Community on External Quality Assessment.

A round table was organized with the participation of rectors of higher educational institutions, representatives of civil society and professional associations, where the development of an independent accreditation in Kazakhstan universities and responsibility of HEIs for the improvement of quality of education were discussed.

In conclusion, organizing committee members and participants of the international conference have made a resolution, which identified the need to improve the national quality assurance system, in particular:

• It is believed, that it is necessary to systematically summarize the experience of all accreditation bodies, members of the National Register, and maintain the quality of the external evaluation of educational institutions in accordance with the ESG 2015.

• It is recognized that independent accreditation had a positive impact on the quality of education and the competitiveness of Kazakhstan universities; improving the employability of graduates; expansion of academic mobility of students and teachers; student-centered development training; recognition of learning outcomes of Kazakh universities at the national and international levels. 

• It is believed that an independent accreditation becomes the focus of a new relationship, a tool of competition, popular and attractive to a variety of stakeholders.

• It is believed that higher education institutions need to intensify the administration and operation of the report on self-assessment as a tool to a real improvement of the activities of the internal quality assurance system on a regular basis.

• It is recommended to the universities to speed up the work on the development of a quality culture based on ESG 2015.

• It is recognized, that the IAAR standards are reflected the recommendations of the ESG 2015 to the quality assurance system, transparency instruments, independence, awareness and accessibility to meet the new challenges in the context of the integration of the national system of higher education in the European educational space.

• It is recommended to the national accreditation bodies to:

1) continue to improve the skills of academic experts, including foreign students and employers;

2) continue to spread the culture of quality and best practices, awareness-raising;

3) continue research in the field of quality assurance;

4) post links to the European Quality Assurance Register website (EQAR);

5) use the European approach to the development of the methodology of accreditation of joint educational programs;

6) develop standards for the accreditation of e-learning programs on the basis of existing international experience ESGi.

• It is noted the importance of creating a platform for dialogue between Kazakhstan and foreign experts to discuss challenges and trends in the development of an independent accreditation, training for experts to develop practical skills of analysis and evaluation (questions of psychology, conflict management, teamwork, effective communication, efficient conducting interviews, etc.) using Internet technologies, the organization of abroad training for experts of category I and EEC chairmen.

There was seminar-training during the improvement of qualification of the IAAR experts, as well as seminar-training for candidates for experts with the participation of foreign lecturers on October 7 .