On Friday, 8 June 2023, the plenary session of the Council for Higher Education Institutions of the Slovak Republic (CHEI) was held. It was also attended by Prof. Robert Redhammer, Chair of the Executive Board of the Slovak Accreditation Agency for Higher Education (SAAHE).
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Robert Redhammer also spoke at the meeting with information on the progress of the review of Slovak higher education institutions for new accreditations. “Until today, our expert review panels (working groups) have visited approximately one-third of the schools. We expect the first evaluation reports of the review panels at the end of the summer. We will comment on these results in the autumn, while the institutions themselves will also be given the opportunity to comment on the review,” he said. Larger institutions will be evaluated by the working groups during October and November. There are still four institutions left to complete their accreditation applications next year, which is why the start of those proceedings has been delayed.
The expert working groups are conducting specially structured discussions at the institutions with different groups of people, officials, students, teachers, and representatives of professional practice and employers. They aim to clarify the evidence from accreditation applications and to verify facts and factual evidence. “Unfortunately, the supporting documents from a number of institutions are not up to the standard we expected. It can lead to more complex and lengthy reviews, as well as the fact that in some cases, compliance with the standards will not be found in the end,” Redhammer describes.
The reviews will also result in specific recommendations that will help higher education institutions further improve the quality of education they provide. It’s a challenging, long-term process, but a rewarding one. “I believe that together we can do it. I would like to thank the universities for their good cooperation in organising the site visits of the expert groups, for their approach to preparation, and for arranging all the tasks. I am confident that this whole process will help to improve the higher education provision,” Redhammer added.
