Medical Schools

Procedure for Submitting and Examining an Application for the Evaluation / Accreditation of an Institution / Department / Program of Studies by the Cyprus Agency of Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education

Subject to the provisions of Article 17 of the "Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education and the establishment and operation of an agency on related matters" laws 2015 to 2019 [Ν.136 (Ι)/2015 to Ν.35 (Ι)/2019], the application procedure shall be defined as follows:

1. Application
2. Evaluation
3. Decision

Medical Programmes Accreditation - Guidelines and Procedure

The procedure:

1. Application

   • The higher education institution prepares and applies for institutional /departmental /programmatic evaluation.

   • The application for a programmatic evaluation is entirely submitted in the English language, irrespective of the language of the program. If the program is offered in Greek or another language, the application is submitted in English and in the language of the program.

   • The application for institutional and departmental evaluation is submitted only in English.

   • In order to obtain a license for the establishment and operation of a Private University or a Private Institution of Higher Education after the relevant fees have been paid to the Ministry of Education's accounting department, an application is submitted to the Minister of Education and Culture together with the following forms of the Agency as an annex:

     #	Title/Τίτλος	Doc in Greek	Doc in English
     200.1	Application for Evaluation - Accreditation of Programme of Study Αίτηση για Αξιολόγηση - Πιστοποίηση Προγράμματος Σπουδών
     200.1.2	Self-evaluation report for Basic Medical Education Έκθεση αυτοαξιολόγησης στη Βασική Ιατρική Εκπαίδευση
     200.2	Application for Institutional Evaluation Αίτηση για Ιδρυματική Αξιολόγηση
     200.2.2	Attachment – For the issuing a Certificate of Inspection for Public and Public Use Buildings Προσάρτημα – Έκδοση Πιστοποιητικού Επιθεώρησης για Δημόσια και Δημόσιας Χρήσης Κτήρια
     200.3	Application for Departmental Evaluation Αίτηση για Τμηματική Αξιολόγηση

   • The application, accompanying letter and all relevant forms must be submitted both in print and in digital form and must be signed by the institution's officer responsible for the institution in accordance with the law.

   • The application for an institutional evaluation of an existing institution is submitted directly to the Agency after the relevant fees have been paid to the Ministry of Education's accounting department.

   • The institution is required to provide copies of each member of the External Evaluation Committee during the on-site visit to the institution.

   • Accreditation of a program in one district or / facility is not transferred to branches and other facilities without prior institutional evaluation and accreditation of the infrastructure at another site.

   • In the case of a new program offered in both Greek and English, with a unique difference in the language of the offer, the application should be accompanied by a detailed workload of each instructor both in the programs and in the institution in general.

   • The institution is responsible for verifying the completeness and correctness of the data submitted in the application and the accompanying documents.

   • The deadline for submitting applications for new programs is posted on the Agency's website.

   • The process for re-evaluation of an institution/department/program must be submitted at least 16 months before the expiry of the previous accreditation. [.. back]

2. Evaluation

   • The Agency appoints an External Evaluation Committee (EEC). The educational institution is informed about the composition of the EEC and the evaluation timetable.

   • The EEC examines the application and conducts an on-site visit during which it may request additional information.

   #	Title/Τίτλος	Doc in Greek	Doc in English
   	Orientation and Briefing of the External Evaluation Committee (EEC)-Medical Schools
   600.4	Site-visit schedule - Basic Medical Education

   
   

   • The EEC shall prepare a report based on the application, the quality criteria specified by the Agency and additional information to be requested during the on-site visit. The report shall include a numerical score and justify whether and how the individual criteria defined by the Body are met and to what extent. The report shall also include a substantiated submission to the Board of the Agency on the basis of which the decision will be taken.

     #	Title/Τίτλος	Doc in Greek	Doc in English
     300.1.1/1	External Evaluation Report for Basic Medical Education Έκθεση Εξωτερικής Αξιολόγησης Προγράμματος Σπουδών στη Βασική Ιατρική Εκπαίδευση
     300.1.2/1	Medical School’s response (Basic Medical Education) Απάντηση Ιατρικής Σχολής (Βασική Ιατρική Εκπαίδευση)
     300.1.3/1	Feedback report from  EEC Experts (Basic Medical Education) Ανατροφοδότηση από ΕΕΑ (Βασική Ιατρική Εκπαίδευση)

   • The institution receives the external evaluation report and within three months submits its observations in writing and documents the implementation of all necessary changes according to the report of the EEC. [.. back]

3. Decision

   • The Council of the Agency on the basis of the EEC report may take one of the following decisions regarding the assessment of an institution /department/program:

     • Decision approving and granting accreditation. The accreditation is valid for a period of five years, after which a re-evaluation has to be carried out.

       #	Title/Τίτλος	Doc in Greek	Doc in English
       400.1	Final report of CYQAA - Accreditation of Programme of study Τελική Έκθεση Φορέα - Πιστοποίηση Προγράμματος Σπουδών

     • Decision to conduct a second evaluation before the final decisions are taken.

     • Decision to reject accreditation if the institution / department / program does not meet the accreditation criteria.

   • The Council of the Agency shall inform the Institution of its decision.

   • Τhe Agency's decision, the EEC report and the institution's response are posted on the Agency's website. [.. back]

Standards and Guidelines

Experts

E1. The CYQAA pool of Experts

Guidelines for the Members of External Evaluation Committees (EECs)	Doc. 600.1
Orientation and Briefing of the External Evaluation Committee (EEC)

• Programmatic and Departmental Evaluation
• Institutional Evaluation

Short - Term Assignment Offer for the Chair of an External Evaluation Committee	Doc. 600_2_1
Short - Term Assignment Offer for a Member (Professor) of an External Evaluation Committee	Doc. 600_2_2
Short - Term Assignment Offer for a Member (Student) of an External Evaluation Committee	Doc. 600_2_3
Short - Term Assignment Offer for a Member (Professional Body) of an External Evaluation Committee	Doc. 600_2_4

• Application for evaluation accompanied by institution’s/department’s/programme’s self-evaluation study.
• The external evaluation, carried out with the contribution of a panel of independent experts selected by the Agency. This process includes, in particular, the study of the application and of the self-study, a site-visit and the writing of the experts’ report.
• The institution’s response. The experts’ evaluation report is sent to the institution for its response, including the actions taken for full/substantial compliance and the action plan drawn up and implemented by the institution. Full or substantial compliance may need to be verified by the experts’ panel.
• The council’s decision for accreditation/rejection or second evaluation.

Follow up evaluations are repeated every five years.  

Experts must declare that no conflict of interest exists and that they will inform the CYQAA if any such conflict arises.

Doc. 600.3

Higher Education Institution’s response	Doc. 300.1.2
Feedback report from EEC experts	Doc. 300.1.3

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E2. Who can apply?

Experts for Institutional, Departmental and Programme evaluation. 

2.1. Expert panels are composed of:

• International academic staff experts
• National academic staff experts
• Students
• Representatives of recognised professional bodies
• Rectors and deans of academic institutions (professors or emeritus)
• Directors/managers of services offered by local or international universities

2.2. How experts of the panel are selected:

National and international academic experts are selected from the expert pool of an authoritative international accreditation (quality assurance) agency or from the international expert pool of CYQAA (on the basis of personal applications or through an online search for competent experts).

Students are recommended by the Cyprus Public Universities which provide the Agency with a list of students fulfilling the predefined criteria.  

Representatives of professional bodies are nominated by the accredited professional bodies in Cyprus.

2.3. Selection Criteria of the Panel’s Experts:

Academic staff representatives should have:

• recognised qualifications on the level of a PhD
• the status of an associate professor/professor
• experience in academic programme evaluation and/or institutional or programme accreditation quality assessment (participation in an evaluation panel, implementation of quality management procedures in an institution or organisation)
• experience in research and teaching in the field of the programme under evaluation
• international experience in teaching, research or evaluation
• experience in academic programme development, monitoring, methodology and review
• participation in trainings on evaluation/accreditation or audit procedures

Students engaged in External Evaluation Committees should:

• be either undergraduate students or Master’s students
• have high academic performance
• have  participated in external academic and social activities/volunteering
• have participated in trainings on evaluation

Representatives from professional bodies should:

• be members of recognised professional bodies
• have experience in professional review processes
• have participated in trainings on evaluation/accreditation

In the experts’ team involved in the evaluation of vocational programmes, the members should have at least recognised qualifications at the Master’s level and outstanding professional/academic experience or should be recognised vocational performers in the field.

Language Proficiency
Local experts should be fully proficient in both spoken and written Greek and they should demonstrate an appropriate level of proficiency in the English language. International experts should be fully proficient in the English language and/or in the language in which the programme under evaluation is offered.

All experts should have also academic, personal and social skills:

• have an in-depth knowledge of the ESG and necessary skills at making reasonable interpretations and practical applications of the evaluation/accreditation criteria appropriate for the specific situation
• possess analytical skills for thorough examination of the information and background data submitted for evaluation
• have necessary skills at making analyses and recommendations for improvement
• be able to take into account the context of the functioning of the educational institution
• be honest, fair, sincere and discreet; hold a respectful attitude towards the persons involved in the programme/institution being evaluated
• be able to act independently while interacting effectively with others
• comply with confidentiality requirements. All information related to the assessment (opinions of the interviewees, the Self-Assessment Report, and additional information provided by the higher education institution/college) shall be used exclusively for the assessment process
• adhere to the agreed division of tasks and committee deadlines

Experts should possess the aforesaid qualities so that they can:

• collect true facts, relevant details, and supporting evidence
• remain loyal to the purpose of the assessment
• perform the assessment process without any deviation
• react effectively in stressful situations
• arrive at conclusions generally accepted by all the members of the panel and base those conclusions on objective evidence collected during assessment processes
• remain loyal to confirmed conclusions even if they are under pressure to change them, especially when there are no reasonable grounds 

E3. How to apply?

To apply please follow the link Experts Online Application Form.

E4. Site-Visit

The initial site-visit schedule is prepared by the CYQAA	Doc. 600.4
Procedural Guidelines for the Conduct of Remote (Online) External Evaluations - (24/06/2020)

As an expert-member of the External Evaluation Committee:

• Examine the schedule prepared by the CYQAA based on your international experience and advise whether any differentiation is needed
• Introduce yourself and try to put the interviewee at ease
• Interview all the persons that are necessary for collecting the factual information and the evidence you need for judgements and recommendations
• Listen to the interviewee very carefully and analyse in depth the facts and procedures they present
• Render thanks to the interviewees for their responses and time
• Keep the interview within the time frames; but if you still need further information, suggest and agree on extra time  

E5. Preparation of Assessment Report

• The report should include clear references to the evidence gathered.
• The decision-making process is well justified – based on what and why the committee comes to that conclusion concerning compliance or not with the standards and the criteria included in the evaluation forms.
• The numerical assessment is fully justified and in accordance with the observations, recommendations, and suggested degree of compliance with the standards.
• All assessments and recommendations are well-founded – both the positive and negative ones.
• Reasoned and different views of members of the panel are outlined separately in the report.
• Have in mind that the report will be sent to the institution for its response and both the report and the response will be published along with the Agency’s decision.

E6. Training of Experts

Two types of trainings are organised for the experts – one before the on-site visit and one during the academic year.

An on-line seminar is also under way.  

The Agency organises the meeting of the group of experts before the on-site visit either in the Agency’s offices or in a hotel conference room. A team or persons responsible for the seminar provide an overview of higher education in Cyprus, information about the institution and programme under evaluation, inform the experts on the goals and tasks of the assessment, introduce the methodology, procedures and expected outcomes, and elaborate on the evaluation form which had been sent to the members of the Committee before their arrival in Cyprus, focusing on the structure and the need for consistency among the numerical assessments, the Committee’s comments and observations and the decisions of compliance or not with the ESG.

Training organised separately during the academic year is addressed to different groups of experts (students, representatives of professional bodies, academics, directors of university services).

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Obligations

Selection Criteria