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Seminar on "Evaluation and Accreditation of Professional Fields and Specialties of Regulated Professions" Between NEAA and UNWE
On 17.05.2024, the University of National and World Economy (UNWE) and the National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency (NEAA) held a joint seminar titled "Evaluation and Accreditation of Professional Fields and Specialties of Regulated Professions." The event brought together over 270 participants (more than 150 joined online), including representatives from 32 higher education institutions — rectors, vice-rectors for accreditation, experts, faculty, university staff, and representatives of research institutions. The seminar was also attended by officials from the Ministry of Education and Science and the National Center for Information and Documentation.
Prof. Eliza Stefanova, President of NEAA, emphasized the need to restore trust in higher education in Bulgaria. She stated: "If we view accreditation as granting a credit of trust, let's put maximum effort on both your side and ours to truly restore public confidence. If we aim for a developing country with a stable economy, the quality of higher education we provide is crucial." She expressed hope that the seminar would address processes related to improving the quality of higher education.
Moderator of the event, Prof. Dr. Matilda Alexandrova, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs and Chair of the UNWE Accreditation Commission, highlighted the importance of the seminar, where pressing issues are discussed jointly with NEAA representatives. "This is the first seminar of its kind and scale at the national level on the evaluation and accreditation of professional fields and doctoral programs," Prof. Alexandrova noted.
In her presentation on "Changes in the Evaluation and Accreditation Process. Digitalization of Processes," Prof. Eliza Stefanova provided a detailed explanation of the changes in the accreditation process and their significance. "The standards and criteria remain unchanged as they are part of the ESG (The Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area); however, the indicators, which are both quantitative and qualitative relative to the criteria, have been partially modified, and the methodology has been refined and optimized."
https://www.neaa.government.bg/images/events/SeminarUnss2024/1.ChangesAccreditation-17.05.2024.pdf
https://cloud.neaa.government.bg/index.php/s/3sRB6gJigbLioFY
Prof. Galina Mladenova, Chair of the Standing Committee on Economic Sciences and Management and a lecturer at UNWE, presented "Procedures and Documentation for Program Accreditation of Professional Fields/Specialties." "The evaluation of the same professional field is carried out simultaneously for all higher education institutions according to an established schedule by NEAA every four years. The application to the NEAA Chair for accreditation of a professional field/specialty must be submitted two months before the start of the accreditation process," explained Prof. Mladenova.
https://www.neaa.government.bg/images/events/SeminarUnss2024/2.Procedura_seminar_17.05.pdf
https://cloud.neaa.government.bg/index.php/s/wXJDBYRLKT9PB5Z
Prof. Nadya Zlateva, member of the Standing Committee on Natural Sciences, Mathematics, and Informatics, presented the "Methodology for Calculating Quantitative Indicators: Collection, Processing, and Valuation of Source Data." "NEAA extracts and provides universities with tables containing primary data for each procedure of program accreditation of professional fields/specialties. The data are extracted from the Registers of the National Center for Information and Documentation (NACID) and from the Rating System of the universities in Bulgaria," noted Prof. Zlateva, explaining that the data pertain to students, faculty, specialties, and doctoral programs, elaborating on the specifics of the data for each category and how to fill them in correctly.
https://www.neaa.government.bg/images/events/SeminarUnss2024/3.PresentationData-17.05.2024.pdf
https://cloud.neaa.government.bg/index.php/s/n29N5bkt9A8WMC6
Assoc. Prof. Silvia Tsvetanska, member of the Accreditation Council, presented the "Methodology for Reporting Qualitative Indicators and Innovative and Best Practices." She discussed the meaning and role of qualitative indicators in the criteria system (39 qualitative indicators and 61 quantitative ones) and the opportunity for universities to use qualitative indicators to showcase the distinctive features, specifics, and uniqueness of the development of the professional field in a given university.
https://www.neaa.government.bg/images/events/SeminarUnss2024/4.QAindicators-17.05.2024.pdf
https://cloud.neaa.government.bg/index.php/s/Cp5e3pMtf2PJAbx
On the topic of "Evaluation and Accreditation of Doctoral Programs," Prof. Dr. Maria Schnitter, Deputy Chair of NEAA, explained the legal framework and new aspects of the evaluation and accreditation of doctoral programs. Some of the new elements include: the accreditation of doctoral programs is conducted in the same procedure as the program accreditation of the corresponding professional field; for the accreditation of each doctoral program, a separate self-assessment report is prepared, and instead of ten, the evaluation is carried out using only four standards. The indicators are formulated to highlight the specifics of each doctoral program and the differences between the educational and scientific degree "Doctor" and the educational qualifications "Bachelor" and "Master."
Assoc. Prof. Maria Kehaiova-Stoycheva, member of the Accreditation Council of NEAA, provided a detailed explanation on "Methodology for Determining the Capacity of Professional Fields. National Higher Education Map: Opportunities and Limitations." She addressed the changes in the Higher Education Act since 2021, specifically that a project to open a new professional field must simultaneously meet the requirements of NEAA, the National Higher Education Map, and the approved policy of the Ministry of Education and Science (MES).
https://www.neaa.government.bg/images/events/SeminarUnss2024/6.Kehayova_presentation-final.pdf
https://cloud.neaa.government.bg/index.php/s/ZY4eMZFWbJFa7HL
Снимки: унсс
