As part of the institutional accreditation process, upcoming site visits are scheduled to Yerevan State Armenian-Greek College of Tourism, Service and Food Industry, Yerevan State College of Light Industry, Ararat State College and Yerevan State College of Informatics. On April 7, ANQA held a meeting with the participation of the agency’s director, head of the Institutional and Programme Accreditation Division, coordinators and expert panels for the four VET institutions.
This is the second cycle of accreditation for the four VET institutions, with the meeting primarily highlighting the progress achieved since the previous accreditation, the impact of accreditation on the educational process and the outcomes of the implementation of the follow-up plans. The expert panels shared the results and issues identified through the desk review, which will be their focus during the external review process.
The following issues were discussed:
- the VET institutions’ indicators for evaluating their effectiveness;
- the credibility of the qualifications awarded by the VET institutions;
- the cooperation between VET institutions and employers, the effectiveness of organising and conducting internships;
- the research component in the educational process and the research nature of student assignments;
- the labour market demand for vocational academic programmes and the VET institutions’ response to the market needs;
- the availability of resources and the teaching staff, including employer teachers;
- the approaches to student assessment and the use of formative assessment methods;
- the distribution of general education subjects and the teaching effectiveness;
- the VET institutions’ steps to engage in international programmes, develop external cooperation and attract new funding sources.
It was emphasised that the experts' recommendations should be well-defined and actionable, suggesting ways to solve education institutions' key issues.