Accreditation Rules and Procedures
Pursuant to KRPUT Resolution entitled “Agreement to Ensure the Quality of Education,” the Signers thereto hereby resolve as follows:
I. ACCREDITATION COMMISSION OF UNIVERSITIES OF TECHNOLOGY
Clause 1
1. Pursuant to the Agreement of Polish Technical Higher Education Institutions and Article 49a of the Act on Higher Education Law (Dz. U. of 2012, item 572, as amended), the Accreditation Commission of Universities of Technology (hereinafter referred to as the “Commission) shall be responsible for the assurance of the quality of education.
2. The Commission shall define general standards of the education quality at technical higher education institutions, stimulate enhancements to the quality of education and create an accreditation system for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate courses as well as basic organisational units of higher education institutions.
3. The Commission shall cooperate with and assess basic organisational units of Polish technical higher education institutions, being the Agreement Signers. Having applied for accreditation of their departments, other Polish higher education institutions with technical departments, may also be included in the Commission activities.
Clause 2
1. The Conference of Rectors of Polish Universities of Technology (the “KRPUT”) appoints the Accreditation Commission of Universities of Technology.
2. The Commission shall consist of a representative of each higher education institution appointed by the rector and, additionally, one person designated by KRPUT.
3. The term of office of the Commission shall be four years.
4. The term of office of the Commission shall commence on 15 March and terminate on 14 March of the first academic year following the election of new authorities at Polish state higher education institutions.
5. An annual report on the Commission activities along with a financial report and an application to establish the financial management rules for KAUT and its Bureau for the following academic year shall have been submitted by the Commission to KRPUT by 14 February of each year.
Clause 3
1. The President of the Commission shall be appointed from among the Commission members and dismissed by the Conference of Rectors of Polish Universities of Technology.
2. The Commission shall work at plenary sessions.
3. The Commission shall choose from among its members three Deputy Presidents in a secret voting by a simple majority of votes with at least half of the Commission statutory membership present.
4. A plenary session shall be convened by the President of the Commission according to the Commission schedule or on his/her own initiative.
5. The President of the Commission shall also convene a session at the request of the president of KRPUT or on application of at least one-third of the Commission statutory membership not later than within a month of the date of the submission of an application.
6. A plenary session of the Commission shall be chaired by the President of the Commission, or in the case of his/her absence, a deputy appointed by him/her.
7. A plenary session of the Commission shall be valid if at least half of the Commission statutory membership is present.
Clause 4
1. The President of the Commission shall manage the Commission activities, represent the Commission in external relations and supervise the Commission Bureau work.
2. The President of the Commission may authorise his/her deputy to represent the Commission in particular cases.
Clause 5
The Commission Bureau is registered and run at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków.
Clause 6
1. The Commission Presidium shall be composed of the President of the Commission and his/her deputies.
2. Sessions of the Commission Presidium shall be attended by the Secretary of the Commission.
Clause 7
1. At plenary sessions the Commission shall:
a) appoint Panels of Experts, Assessment Bodies along with their heads,
b) define general rules concerning the development of standards the quality of education,
c) establish at the request of a Panel of Experts standards for the quality of education for graduate and post graduate courses, doctoral studies in science and accreditation rules for basic organisational units of higher education institutions,
d) specify documentation for accreditation procedure
e) decide to commence accreditation proceedings for a graduate or postgraduate course, doctoral studies in a scientific discipline proposed by a basic organisational unit of a higher education institution or for the basic organisational unit,
f) supervise accreditation proceedings,
g) accept Reports of Assessment Bodies,
h) take a decision to grant, adjourn or refuse accreditation for a graduate or postgraduate course, doctoral studies in a scientific discipline or for the basic organisational unit,
i) pass a plenary session agenda,
j) undertake other activities necessary to fulfil its objectives.
2. The Commission decisions concerning accreditation proceedings shall be taken by an absolute majority in a secret voting.
3. Decisions, arrangements, petitions and opinions of the Commission in matters other than those referred to in subclause 2 and clause 3, subclause 3 are passes by a simple majority of votes in an open voting.
4. A chairperson of a plenary session of the Commission may call a secret voting on his/her own initiative or at the request of at least three Commission members present.
Clause 8
1. Administrative support and financial services for the Commission, Panels of Experts and Assessment Bodies shall be provided by the Bureau of the Commission.
2. The Commission Bureau shall include the Commission Secretary and not more than three employees.
3. The Commission Secretary shall be appointed by the President of the Commission with the appointee’s consent.
4. The Commission Secretary and other employees of the Bureau shall be employed for a specific period of time at the request of the President of the Commission by the rector of the higher education institution where the Commission Bureau is registered and run.
Clause 9
The Secretary of the Commission shall be responsible for
a) organising current work of the Commission,
b) managing the Bureau work,
c) taking care of relationships with higher education institutions and their basic organisational units interested in accreditation,
d) ensuring that working conditions of the Commission, Panels of Experts and Assessment Bodies are proper from the organisational and technical point of view,
e) performing other task set by the President of the Commission.
II. PANELS OF EXPERTS AND ASSESSMENT BODIES
Clause 10
1. The basic organisational unit submitting an application for accreditation may put up candidates to Assessment Bodies.
2. The candidates may be academic teachers or representatives of their employers. Academic teacher shall have an academic title or academic degree of doctor habilitowany. Concise data on the candidates’ academic and professional achievements together with their written consent shall be enclosed to lists with candidates. Not more than three candidates may be put up for one election.
3. The Commission Presidium may complete the list of candidates for Panels of Experts and Assessment Bodies.
4.The appointee elected to Panels of Experts or Assessment Bodies may file a written resignation from the position.
Clause 11
1. A Panel of Experts appointed by the Commission shall consist of five to seven members, including the Head of a Panel.
2. The Assessment Body appointed by the Commission shall consist of at least three people including the Head of the Body and employers’ representative In justified cases, upon Commission’s consent, the employers’ representative shall be appointed by the Commission’s Presidium.
3. The Head of the Body shall invite a representative of the student self-government or doctoral student self-government body of the higher education institution whose basic organisational unit is being assessed to participate in the Assessment Body proceedings. The student representative shall be appointed by a suitable self-government body of that higher education institution.
4.The term of office of an Assessment Body shall terminate following the completion of accreditation procedures to perform which it was created.
Clause 12
1. The duty of the Panel of Experts shall be the fulfilment of tasks entrusted by the Commission of Commission’s Presidium.
Clause 13
1. The Assessment Body shall
a) get acquainted with accreditation documentation together with a Self-Assessment Report forwarded by the basic organisational unit of a higher education institution,
b) conduct a comprehensive assessment of the quality of education in the first and/or second level courses of the accredited faculty, doctoral studies in a scientific discipline or in a basic organisational unit, on the basis of education quality and accreditation standards adopted by KAUT and an inspection of the basic organisational unit.
c) compile a written Report on the conducted assessment and present it to the Commission.
2. A Report may not be submitted later than within six months following the establishment of an Assessment Body.
III ACCREDITATION PROCEEDINGS
Clause 14
1. Accreditation document templates shall be prepared by the Commission and forwarded to the rectors – the Signers of the Agreement.
2. Accreditation document templates shall be published.
Clause 15
1. Basic organisational units shall submit their applications for accreditation to the President of the Commission.
2. Having received an application for granting accreditation, the President of the Commission shall specify the date of filing the Self-Assessment Report written in accordance with the template.
3. The Commission Presidium shall verify documentation for defects in form and decide whether to launch accreditation proceedings or, in the case of defaults found, determine the date by which they should have been removed.
4. Once the basic organisational unit has filed all required documents, the President of the Commission shall put the accreditation case on the agenda of the nearest plenary session of the Commission.
Clause 16
1. The accreditation procedure shall include the following stages:
a) filing an application for accreditation granting appended with a copy of a current PKA Resolution and PKA Report by the basic organisational unit of a higher education institution,
b) updating the Panel of Experts membership if needed,
c) submitting a Self-Assessment Report drawn up in accordance with the Commission example by the basic organisational unit,
d) establishing the Assessment Body,
e) drawing up a Report by the Assessment Body,
f) forwarding the Assessment Body Report to the Commission,
g) forwarding the Report to the basic organisational unit, which may make annotations to the Report within 30 days from the date of its receipt,
h) considering the annotations by the Commission Presidium within 30 days,
i) putting the accreditation case on the agenda of the nearest – following the annotation clarification - plenary session of the Commission,
j) taking by the Commission a decision
- to grant accreditation,
- to adjourn accreditation until all the requirements are met,
- to refuse accreditation,
k) notifying KRPUT as well as the basic organisational unit of the accreditation decisions taken.
2. The basic organisational unit shall be entitled to appeal from the decision referred to in subsection 1, paragraph i). The appeal shall be submitted to the President of the Commission. The Commission shall establish an Appeal Body comprising from three to five people not involved in the accreditation proceedings up till that moment. The Appeal Body shall not be bound in its opinions by the Assessment Body Report and shall formulate opinions on matters being a basis for filing an appeal.
3. Once the opinion of the Appeal Body has been submitted, the appeal case shall be put on the agenda of the nearest plenary session of the Commission, which shall pass a new accreditation resolution. The Commission decision shall be peremptory with the exception of the case described in subclause 4.
4. If formal or procedural defaults of the Commission are the basis for an appeal, the appeal may be filed in KRPUT to be considered during KRPUT nearest session. KRPUT may direct the appeal to the President of the Commission as specified in subclause 2 or take another accreditation decision. KRPUT decision is peremptory.
5. An appeal procedure may not be longer than six months.
Clause 17
1. Documentation, course and results of accreditation proceedings shall be confidential. The confidentiality principle shall not apply to the basic organisational unit and the management of the higher education institution concerned.
2. A decision to grant accreditation shall be open and contain information to what extent accreditation standards are met in terms of:
a) the mission of the unit and its local function,
b) compliance of the unit activities with the binding legal regulations,
c) qualifications of the research and teaching staff,
d) curricula,
e) proper implementation of education process,
f) learning conditions,
g) activities promoting studying technical subjects among young people.
3. A decision to grant accreditation shall be published.
4. The basic organisational unit shall lose the right to use KAUT certificate and to issue KAUT accreditation related documents to its alumni following the termination of the period for which accreditation was granted.
IV. RULES OF FINANCING PROCEEDINGS
Clause 18
1. Accreditation proceedings are payable. Accreditation fees shall be specified by KRPUT at the request of the Commission. Accreditation fees shall be paid when filing applications for accreditation.
2. An accreditation fee for the basic organisational unit of a higher education institution which is not a Signer of the Agreement shall be 50% higher than the fee charged on the basis of subclause 1.
Clause 19
Detailed rules on financing the Commission and its Bureau shall be defined in the agreement between the Agreement Signer’s parties.
These “Accreditation Rules and Procedures” were passed on ......................... by KRPUT members – Signers of the “Agreement to Ensure the Quality of Education.”
President of KRPUT