CONIES  Council on International Higher Education Supervision 

CONIES-ICHE BOARD OF ACCREDITATION.

CONIES-ICHE establishes the Board of Accreditation for Postgraduate Programmes.

CONSIDERING

That national programme accreditation systems are limited by state boundaries and do normally not apply to international postgraduate programmes, trans-national higher education, inter-university joint, dual and double degree programmes across institutions and nations.

That university systems of self-accreditation and autonomy do not require external accreditation of programmes and that accreditation is a verification of the quality of a programme provided.

That university systems requiring the recognition or authorisation or national accreditation of programmes provision do often not include inter-university and trans-national provision of programmes, in this case accreditation provides the external verification.

WHEREAS

Accreditation is the process by which an institution voluntarily undergoes an independent appraisal of its institution or programmes by institutional and programme accreditation.

CONIES-ICHE accredits postgraduate programmes. CONIES-ICHE does not provide institutional accreditation or graduate programmes of the first cycle of higher education.

CONIES-ICHE programme accreditation does not guarantee a degree will be accepted or recognised.

CONIES-ICHE Board of Accreditation is a programmatic accrediting body auditing the quality and integrity of postgraduate degree programmes (Master, Doctor).

Accreditation by CONIES-ICHE is based on an independent evaluation of an institution’s postgraduate programmes by a group of peer-auditors, professional faculty and academic administrators in the field of postgraduate education.

In order to pursue CONIES-ICHE accreditation, the awarding institution is one of the following

- a nationally recognised IAU listed university;

- a nationally recognised and accredited institution of postsecondary education;

- a state approved or licensed institution of postsecondary education with degree awarding powers;

- an institution of postsecondary education with institutional accreditation by an accrediting agency recognised or listed by any government authority or board in charge of recognising accrediting agencies, or listed and recognised by CHEA, ENQA or INQAAHE.

Institutions must present, with the application for membership, a translation of an official document from an appropriate government organisation in their country stating authorisation, recognition, accreditation, and/or their right to grant degrees. This documentation and additional justification of quality, such as accreditation by national and international accrediting bodies or quality assurance organizations, should be submitted with candidacy application.

CONIES-ICHE does not offer accredited membership or programme accreditation to institutions without national authorisation, recognition or accreditation or without degree awarding authority.

Non-degree awarding HEI providers may qualify for validated membership and programme validation.



CONIES-ICHE BOARD OF ACCREDITATION GOALS

(1) To serve the members of the Confederation and to promote the quality and verification of distance education and trans-national postgraduate programmes;

(2) To establish standards for the provision and conduct of distance education postgraduate programmes and to provide adequate accreditation for programmes meeting these standards;

(3) To promote the adoption of sound educational standards and ethical business practices in the distance and trans-national education areas;

(4) To work with public and private agencies at all levels in the development and exchange of information helpful to the advancement of distance education and trans-national postgraduate programmes;

(5) To cooperate with trans-national organisations, state and federal authorities in the implementation of high standards and sound policies in the area of distance education quality assurance;

(6) To conduct and promote research for the advancement of distance education and trans-national provision of postgraduate programmes.

DURATION OF ACCREDITATION PERIOD

Accreditation is initially valid for five years subject to the institution remaining in good standing.

Renewal of accreditation is valid for six years subject to the institution remaining in good standing. 

 

CONIES-ICHE BOARD OF ACCREDITATION STANDARDS

CONIES-ICHE standards were developed to improve postgraduate, particularly trans-national and distance/online programme delivery, processes and acceptance. CONIES-ICHE accreditation is ideal for distance learning degree-granting institutions worldwide that are committed to excellence.

• The institution must agree to comply with CONIES-ICHE quality standards.
• The institution must offer distance/online degree programmes.
• The institution must demonstrate the quality of their programmes.
• The institution must be regionally/nationally authorised, recognised or accredited.
• The institution must be state/country registered/licensed or otherwise meet the regulation of its educational jurisdiction.
• The institution must have a process of assessing prior learning and/or experience for conversion to credit that includes a verification system meeting CONIES-ICHE standards.
• The institution must provide documentation of good faith, reputation and ethical practices.
• The institution must treat students equitably and fairly and never discriminate on the basis of race, religion, age, sex, color, handicap, sexual orientation or national or ethnic origin in administering its educational policies, admission policies.

 

CRITERIA FOR PROGRAMME ACCREDITATION AND AUTO EVALUATION

I           General Criteria

• Rationale
• Structure
• Learning outcomes
• Content
• Assessment
• Internal verification / review and evaluation
• Market needs
• Target group of learners
• Resources (general)
• Tutor details
• Examination materials
• Self evaluation for accreditation
• Internal auditor qualification

II          Provision Criteria

• Provider
• Collaborative Provision
• Cross-border Higher Education
• Trans-national Quality Assurance
• Trans-national Academic Recognition
• Trans-national Professional Recognition
• Collaborative Trans-national Provision
• Recruitment
• Resources
• Support
• Outcomes

III         E-Learning Criteria

• Quality of Education
• Technical Quality
• The catalogisation of multi-media applications
• The quality of visual features
• Learning and cognitive theories
• The functionality of the application

IV         Criteria for Quality of Online Education

• Online learning is appropriate to the institution’s mission and purposes
• The institution’s plans for developing, sustaining, and, if appropriate, expanding online learning offerings are integrated into its regular planning and evaluation processes
• Online learning is incorporated into the institution’s systems of governance and academic oversight
• Curricula for the institution’s online learning offerings are coherent, cohesive, and comparable in academic rigor to programs offered in traditional instructional formats
• The institution evaluates the effectiveness of its online learning offerings, including the extent to which the online learning goals are achieved, and uses the results of its evaluations to enhance the attainment of the goals
• Faculty responsible for delivering the online learning curricula and evaluating the students’ success in achieving the online learning goals are appropriately qualified and effectively supported
• The institution provides effective student and academic services to support students enrolled in online learning offerings
• The institution assures the integrity of its online offerings

V          Online Education and Open Educational Resources OER Auto-Evaluation

• Extent of actual use of online education and OER in the institution
• Assessing vision of openness and strategy for open educational practices
• Implementing and promoting Open Educational Practices