Approval in the Georgian System — Accreditation
In higher education, the „approval“ of a study programme legally means the accreditation procedure. Under paragraph 4 of Article 63 of the Law on Higher Education, a higher education programme — apart from Orthodox theological programmes — and a preparation-in-Georgian programme may be carried out only after passing accreditation.
The purpose of accreditation, under the same article, is to establish systematic self-assessment through the determination of compliance with standards and to promote the development of quality assurance mechanisms — not a one-off formality but a permanent quality system.
The Accreditation Standards
Paragraph 2 of Article 63 sets the accreditation standards: the goal of the programme, learning outcomes and the programme's conformity with them; teaching methodology and organisation, the adequacy of assessment; student achievements and individual work; provision of teaching resources; and opportunities for quality development.
Preparation of the application rests precisely on documenting these five standards — each is the subject of the expert group's assessment.
Who Takes the Decision
Accreditation is ensured by the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement, and the decision is taken by the accreditation council — under Article 66, in accordance with the accreditation statute, including on the basis of the expert group's conclusion. The council consists of permanent and invited members.
The programme's fate is thus decided at two levels — expert assessment and the council's decision — and each level has its own documentary preparatory stage.
The 7-Year Cycle and Conditional Accreditation
Under Article 66 the decision is of four types: on accreditation, conditional accreditation, refusal and cancellation. The term of a programme's accreditation is 7 years; conditional accreditation runs for no more than 4 years and may not be awarded twice in a row. A conditional decision is taken where the programme partially satisfies the standard; full accreditation — where fully or mostly.
On refusal or cancellation the institution's right to admit students to that programme is restricted — the loss of status is directly reflected in enrolment.