CONIES Council on International Higher Education Supervision 
ProgrammE Accreditation
CONIES-ICHE Accreditation does not cover undergraduate or first-cycle programmes subject to national recognition authorities and qualifications frameworks. CONIES-ICHE Accreditation applies to the accreditation of distance and online education, trans-national, inter-university collaborative postgraduate programme provision schemes. CONIES-ICHE Accreditation complements and does not substitute national recognition or accreditation. It applies to postgraduate distance education or online programmes not falling into the scope of national recognition procedures and responsibilities regarding collaborative trans-national provision. It also applies to the accreditation of doctoral degree programmes of universities from countries lacking accreditation schemes for doctorates or programmes of the third cycle. CONIES-ICHE accreditation is ideal for trans-national and collaborative university provision of courses.
Recognition is mandatory. It represents an institution’s compliance to abide by the legal standards and to subject itself regularly to examination by regulatory authorities in charge of higher education. As such recognition is compulsory as an evidence of accountability to the public.
Accreditation is voluntary. It represents an institution’s willingness to abide by the Standards and to open itself regularly to examination by outside evaluators familiar with higher education. As such accreditation is recognized as a symbol of accountability to the public.
Programme Validation
Validation is the evaluation of a programme provided by a Business School or College or Research Institute without degree awarding authority. CONIES-ICHE Board of Accreditation validates a programme against CONIES and international standards of degree programmes at the respective levels of postgraduate higher education.
Business Schools, Colleges and Research Institutes qualify for programme validation. Programmes in a variety of specialisations are subject to validation for the recommendation of the award of postgraduate degrees by awarding institutions.
An essential requirement for programme validation is the compliance with legal regulations in the countries where the validated programmes are provided. In the UK trans-national programme validation requires RSEO by QAA for the collaborative provision. Various countries and US states regulate restriction, registration, approval, audits or accreditation of foreign or out-of-state university programmes provided in their country or state. All CONIES validated programmes must be legally provided in the country or countries of provision. CONIES applies rigorous standards in the audit and validation of providers and programmes in line with CONIES regulations and standards.
Generally, online programmes are not subject to the above mentioned restrictions, if no physical presence in the country or state of provision is associated.
CONIES member universities and awarding institutions can accept the CONIES Validation for the award of the respective degrees in validated provision.
Programme Accreditation
Accreditation is evaluating the programme provided by an institution of higher education with degree awarding authority against CONIES-ICHE Board of Accreditation criteria. Accreditation attests to the public the compliance of a progamme with the Dublin Descriptors for second cycle (Master) and third cycle (Doctor) degree programmes and with the respective EQF level qualificaton requirements for Level 7 (Master) and Level 8 (Doctor) embedded in the CONIES Accreditation Criteria.
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
"The goal of accreditation is to ensure that education provided by institutions of higher education meets acceptable levels of quality. Accrediting agencies, which are private educational associations of regional or national scope, develop evaluation criteria and conduct peer evaluations to assess whether or not those criteria are met. Institutions and/or programs that request an agency's evaluation and that meet an agency's criteria are then "accredited" by that agency. " (Source: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/)
CONIES ICHE accreditation either stands by itself as voluntary evaluation and accreditation or it can be complementary to the national systems which are in place. Accreditation by CONIES-ICHE may be formally recognised by national credential evaluation authorities and receiving universities. The quality assurance standards applied by CONIES-ICHE are state of the art and in line with internationally comparable standards.
Transnational Programme Accreditation
Accreditation of programmes provided trans-nationally in more than one country by a university.
Inter-University Programme Accreditation
Accreditation of programmes provided by more than one university as single, joint, dual, double or multiple degree award.
Distance Education / Online Programme Accreditation
Accreditation of programmes provided in distance education or online modus.
Application Form for Accreditation
Download the Application Form - contact us for a Word-format version of the form
Auto Evaluation Form
Download the Auto Evaluation Form - contact us for a Word-format version of the form
Application Form for Programme Validation
Download the Application Form - contact us for a Word-format version of the form
Fees
Quality Certification is charged by AFQ or BQS or the QM certification body in charge according to actual cost for
- Certification of Internal Quality Auditor
- Certification of Quality Management System
Notice: If the HEI has an Internal Quality Manager and also a certified QMS this requirement can be waived and the immediate validation or accreditation phase can be started.
Notice: If the HEI has an Institutional Accreditation by a reputed accreditation agency this requirement can be waived and the immediate validation or accreditation phase can be started.
Programme Validation is charged by CONIES
- Audit fee 1,500 EUR per application
- Validation fee 300 EUR per programme
Programme Accreditation is charged by CONIES
- Audit fee 2,500 EUR per application
- Accreditation fee 300 EUR per single or identical group of programmes
Notice: Audit fee per application refers to one programme or an identical group of programmes, including 2 related different courses, e.g. MBA + DBA as consecutive course combination, or including 3 similar courses, e.g. MBA in different specialisations
The Audit fee is based on three peer auditors for trans-national provision, online and LMS, and one discipline - if more than three auditors are required the additonal auditor fee is 500 EUR
Data Protection and Privacy Policy
CONIES-ICHE Board of Accreditation Privacy Policy
This privacy policy will explain how CONIES uses the personal data we collect from you when you submit applications.
CONIES may use your personal data for the purpose of membership, certification of quality assurance systems, accreditation and validation of programmes and qualifications offered by a higher education provider online, transnational and/or by collaborative provision.
- What data do we collect?
- Data on institutions, the authorities, lecturers, programmatic information on courses
- How do we collect your data?
- By submission of the data in applications for membership, accreditation or validation
- How will we use your data?
- For the purpose of evaluation and assessment of the quality of programmes provided regarding accreditation or validation.
- How do we store your data?
- Protected.
- Marketing
- We are not using your data for marketing purposes.
What data do we collect?
CONIES collects the following data:
- Personal identification information (Name, email address, phone number, etc.)
- Company information as per the application forms submitted by applicant
How do we collect your data?
You directly provide CONIES with the data we collect. We collect data and process data when you:
- Register online or place an order for any of our products or services.
- Voluntarily complete an application form via email.
- Data you may additionally supply during the audit and evaluation phase of a programme accreditation or validation.
CONIES may also receive your data indirectly from the following sources given your written prior consent:
- Government and public administration sources;
- Accreditation bodies or Quality Assurance bodies;
- Any other source that you recommend and suggest in order to conduct the audit and evaluation of the application subject.
How will we use your data?
CONIES collects your data so that we can:
- Process your order and manage your account.
- Email you with communications related to our services we provide.
How do we store your data?
CONIES securely stores your data at the head office of CONIES with limited access.
CONIES will keep your data for the period of accreditation or validation plus one year. Once this time period has expired, we will delete your data.
Marketing
CONIES would like to send you information about products and services of ours that we think you might like.
If you have agreed to receive marketing, you may always opt out at a later date.
You have the right at any time to stop CONIES from contacting you for marketing purposes or giving your data to other members of the CONIES Group.
If you no longer wish to be contacted for marketing purposes, please INFORM US.
What are your data protection rights?
Our Company would like to make sure you are fully aware of all of your data protection rights. Every user is entitled to the following:
The right to access – You have the right to request CONIES for copies of your personal data. We may charge you a small fee for this service.
The right to rectification – You have the right to request that CONIES correct any information you believe is inaccurate. You also have the right to request CONIES to complete the information you believe is incomplete.
The right to erasure – You have the right to request that CONIES erase your personal data, under certain conditions.
The right to restrict processing – You have the right to request that CONIES restrict the processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
The right to object to processing – You have the right to object to CONIES processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
The right to data portability – You have the right to request that CONIES transfer the data that we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions.
If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you. If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact us at our email.
Changes to our privacy policy
CONIES keeps its privacy policy under regular review and places any updates on this web page. This privacy policy was last updated on 15 December 2019.
How to contact us
If you have any questions about CONIES privacy policy, the data we hold on you, or you would like to exercise one of your data protection rights, please do not hesitate to contact us.
How to contact the appropriate authority
Should you wish to report a complaint or if you feel that CONIES has not addressed your concern in a satisfactory manner, you may contact the Information Commissioner’s Office.
DOWNLOAD DATA PROCESSING AGREEMENT (PDF)
DOWNLOAD RIGHT TO ERASE REQUEST FORM (PDF)
Study areas and study languages
Eligible study areas
The following ISCED fields of eduation and training are subject to an application for validation or accreditation. Fields not mentioned below are excluded.
If there is just a Broad field listed, the whole field is included. In case a Narrow field is listed, the whole Narrow field is eligible. When particular Detailed fields are listed, only the Detailed fields are applicable.
Excluded fields cover all medicine and engineering fields.
ISCED fields of education and training (ISCED-F 2013):
Broad field
01 Education
02 Arts and humanities
03 Social sciences, journalism and information
04 Business, administration and law
05 Natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
Narrow field
052 Environment
06 Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
09 Health and welfare
Narrow field
090 Health and welfare not further defined
091 Health
Detailed field
0919 Health not elsewhere classified
092 Welfare
0921 Care of the elderly and of disabled adults
0922 Child care and youth services
0923 Social work and counselling
0929 Welfare not elsewhere classified
098 Inter-disciplinary programmes and qualifications involving health and welfare
10 Services
102 Hygiene and occupational health services
108 Inter-disciplinary programmes and qualifications involving services
Language of Instruction
CONIES-ICHE Board of Accreditation will consider applications for validation or accreditation of a programme taught in one or more of the following languages:
English, Spanish, German, French, Slovak, Polish.
If a programme is instructed in another language, the applicant may suggest the nomination of independent peer auditors.
CONIES-ICHE Board of Accreditation reservers the right to reject applications for lack of capacity in the language of instruction.
CONDITIONS FOR APPLICANTS FOR ACCREDITATION
The applicant institution is one of the following
- a nationally recognised IAU-WHED (UNESCO) listed university;
- a nationally recognised and accredited institution of postsecondary education with degree awarding powers;
- a state approved or licensed institution of postsecondary education with degree awarding powers;
- a legally established and operating institution of postsecondary education with degree awarding powers and 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, EQAR, ENQA, APQN or INQAAHE and other regional accreditation associations;
- a legally established and operating institution of postsecondary education with degree awarding powers offering programmes with programmatic 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, EQAR, ENQA, APQN or INQAAHE and other regional accreditation associations;
AND
The applicant institution is an accepted Affiliated Member of CONIES-ICHE.
AND
The programme is one or more of the following
any postgraduate programme leading to the qualification of Specialist, Master or Doctor provided under one or all of the following conditions:
- distance education or online provision of the programme;
- the programme is provided by more than one institution (collaborative provision);
- the programme is provided in more than one country (trans-national provision);
- the programme is open for enrolment to international students.
TCO-ACCREDITATION
The CONIES-ICHE Accreditation is a reliable accreditation system of programmes provided by TCO (TNE-COP-ODL)
TNE refers to transnational education
COP refers to collaborative provision
ODL refers to online open and distance learning
CERTIFICATION AND ACCREDITATION PROCESS:
The accreditation process at CONIES-ICHE is broadly broken into the following steps:
STEP I – Affiliate Membership
The first step toward affiliate membership is to request an online membership evaluation form. Please send us your request by using our CONTACT US form. Please include your email address, name, position or title, institution name and address.
Payment of Affiliate Membership fee (1st year) is required.
STEP I-A – Certification of Internal Quality Auditor
This step is to train and certify the Internal Quality Auditor.
STEP I-B – Certification of Quality Management System
This step is to audit and certify the QMS according to ISO 9001:2015 or ISO 29990:2010 standards.
Prior to step I Payment of QM Certification fee is required.
STEP II- Pre-Accreditation Evaluation
Your submitted application will be reviewed by the CONIES-ICHE and if considered, you will be contacted to send further details which will also be analysed regarding the eligibility policies of the Board of Accreditation. After the evaluation phase, you will be advised about the fees, policies and regulations. Once you agree, the next phase of evaluation commences.
STEP III- Self Evaluation, Audit and Accreditation
Your institution will go through self evaluation and external CONIES-ICHE audit phases through which the institution's quality will be gauged and checked. After we spend a considerable amount of time reviewing the individual programme, it becomes CONIES-ICHE accredited.
The peers do not conduct an on-site audit on the physical premises of the institution - which have already been audited during QMS certification or institutional audit - rather than on the virtual premises, the online learning platform and ODL system environment of the provider, and by means of online video conferencing.
This virtual on campus audit explains why and how we can manage to offer the validation and accreditation services at reasonable prices covering the own cost of CONIES-ICHE Board of Accreditation for this member service.
Prior to step III Payment of Programme Validation or Programme Accreditation fee is required.
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 borders.
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.
