CONIES  Council on International Higher Education Supervision 

The acting Members of the Board execute their office independently from their respective university positions and refrain from voting once the institution which they represent as Founding members should be subject to an accreditation decision.

Accreditation decisions are made exclusively based on the outcome of a programme audit evaluated by peer auditors.

CONIES-ICHE Board of Accreditation is recognised by the Founding member universities of CONIES Confederación Internacional de Educación Súperior and not endorsed or recognised by any government agency or public accreditation body. The Board is acting in full independence from the founding member universities and the autonomy is reflected in the development of its assessment functions.  

A panel of peer auditors will be appointed for a programme evaluation, including one expert in the discipline, one expert in transnational provision (if applicable), one expert in collaborative provision (if applicable), one expert in e-learning provision and one expert in quality management.

Executive Board Members

Prof. Lic. Doris Salamando Diaz

Chairwoman of CONIES International and the Nicaragua branch

Director of UCN International Relations (Founding Member university)

Prof. Dr. Ricardo R. Saavedra Hidalgo, MSc, PhD

Deputy Chairman of CONIES International and the Mexican Branch

Director of Universidad Azteca International Programs (Founding Member university)

Prof. Dr. Dr. Dr. Gerhard Berchtold

Chairman of CONIES Europe and the Austrian branch of CONIES (Founding member of CONIES)

Dean of European Programmes of UCN / Universidad Azteca

HR Prof. Mag. Dr. Friedrich Luhan, MSc, PhD, CMC 

Former Director of Leopold Franzens Universität Innsbruck

Board member of CONIES Austria, university professor, expert in higher education legislation 

Prof. Mag. Dr. Franz Clemens Pichler

Quality Management Systems lead auditor and expert in online education provision

Board member of CONIES Austria, university professor 

Prof. Dr. Poa Chung Seong

Chairman of CONIES Asia and the Malaysian branch of CONIES

Adjunct Board Members

Prof. Mag. Mag. Mag. Dr. Dr. Mario Art, MBA, MPA

Director of FAF Academy in Vienna, Austria,

Expert in postgraduate programmes in Business, Finance and Management

Prof. Dr. Frank Deubler

Director of AFQ Akademie Futurum Qualitas, Berlin, Germany

Expert in Quality Management Systems and Lead Auditor for QMS certification

Dr. Peter Christian Endler, PhD

Expert in Health Sciences and Education programmes, Graz, Austria

Dr. Eyal Fefer

Expert in ODL e-learning and distance learning systems, London, UK

Prof. Dr. Felipe Fernandez de Rivadulla

Expert in postgraduate programme development and provision, La Coruna, Spain 

Father Dr. George Gonzales, PhD

Expert in Counseling and Psychology courses, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A.

Dr. Sandra Hurlong

Expert in Humanities courses, Delaware, U.S.A.



Dr. Lukas Kopac

Expert in HEI management and transnational provision, Bratislava, Slovak Republic



Dr. David Mills

Expert in TNE transnational programme development, Ghana, Africa

Dr. Daniel Omotosho 

Expert in transnational marketing of TNE, and in Social Sciences (Business Administration) disciplines, Warsaw, Poland

Prof. Dr. Nuria Pereira

Expert in Human Rights and International Protocol courses, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Dr. Innocent Rusagara

Expert in collaborative provision, Kigali, Rwanda

Dr. Rechad Sayfoo

Expert in qualifications evaluation, former Chairman of Mauritius Qualifications Authority, Mauritius