Governance Principles — the Obligation of Publicity
The core of university compliance is the governance principles of Article 16 of the Law on Higher Education. The institution ensures the publicity and accessibility of decisions, reports of governing bodies and legal acts to every interested person; by the same norm the institution must have developed transparent procedures of decision-making.
On a state-founded non-profit legal entity the norms on freedom of information of the General Administrative Code apply — publicity is thus reinforced by a separate legal regime.
The Principle of Equality and Academic Freedom
By the same article the institution ensures the academic freedom of academic staff, scientific staff and students, their participation in decision-making, and equal treatment irrespective of the person's ethnic origin, sex, social origin, political or religious views and otherwise.
The charter and the regulations of structural units may not establish norms restricting these principles — internal acts cannot set a boundary around lawful principles.
The Internal System of Quality Assurance
Article 25 regulates the quality regime: the institution's teaching and research work, and the quality of its personnel's professional development, are subject to systematic assessment in which students also participate and whose results are public. For the purpose of systematic assessment there must exist a quality assurance mechanism, including in the basic educational unit.
The institution also ensures a high level of teaching quality through the introduction of modern methods and the preparation of self-assessment for the authorisation and accreditation process — quality is thus not only an internal system but stands in connection with external assessment.
Authorisation Standards — What the State Checks
The frame of external control is Article 56-1: authorisation is the procedure of acquiring the status of an institution. The authorisation standards concern the mission and strategic development, organisational structure and governance, educational programmes, personnel, students and support measures, research and creative activity, and material, information and financial resources.
The term of authorisation is 6 years and it is carried out by the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement under the procedure of the authorisation statute — the center is the common auditor of compliance.
A compliance audit is thus built in three layers: the governance layer — publicity, equality, transparency; the quality layer — systematic assessment and the assurance mechanism; and the authorisation layer — the seven blocks of standards. Each layer requires different documentary evidence.
The audit concludes in two types of document: the internal self-assessment prepared for the authorisation and accreditation process, and the public reports that are the duty of the governing bodies — together they create the complete picture of a university legal compliance.
In the general picture these norms operate as a single system: every detail — deadline, form, organ and consequence — is determined by law, and their totality creates the legal environment in which the subject exercises his rights. No individual detail is therefore untouchable: a breach of one norm is reflected along the whole chain, and practical defence begins precisely with the restoration of that chain.
Experience shows that most disputes begin with neglect of details: the form of the decision was not observed, a deadline missed, documentation incomplete or the procedure conducted in private. Each such defect is a separate ground — and each can be remedied separately, if the reaction is timely.
The three layers are three steps of one compliance architecture: the governance principles (Article 16) build the decision-making structure — publicity creates accountability, equality and academic freedom fix the substantive values; the internal quality-assurance system (Article 25) translates those values into daily procedures; and the authorization standards (Article 56-1) define the language of external review. For a university this means that internal documents must be written for all three steps at once.
Documentary discipline is decisive here: the records of the quality system — the updating of programmes, assessment rules, procedures for hearing opinions — are read directly as evidence during the authorization review. What is written in the internal system stands as an answer in the external assessment as well — and conversely: unwritten practice cannot be counted as existing at the moment of authorization — and this asymmetry rewards institutions that write as they work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below we answer the questions most frequently raised about university compliance.
What is the first block of compliance?
The governance principles — publicity, transparent procedures, equality.
What is the quality regime?
Systematic assessment with student participation and a quality assurance mechanism.
What does authorisation check?
Mission, governance, programmes, personnel, student support, research, resources.
Who conducts authorisation?
The National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement; the term is 6 years.
May principles be restricted by the charter?
No — internal acts may not establish norms restricting the principles.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The Legal.ge team conducts compliance audits of universities — from the governance principles to the authorisation standards — and builds self-assessment documentation.
Contact us on Legal.ge — compliance is the result of a properly built system.