Quality Policy Statement

With the cooperation of higher education institutions and of the local and European organizations and through the creation of a quality culture, CYQAA aspires to Cyprus’ establishment as an international center for higher education of high quality. Through its activities, it safeguards every student’s right to study in programs that meet European quality standards and promotes synergies between institutions. It supports new models of university education, based on transnational joint programs that enhance the experience and expertise of academics and students in innovative approaches, research, teaching and practical training.

The CYQAA formally affirms its commitment to quality, acknowledging that high professional standards and integrity in the Agency’s work are indispensable and that quality assurance in the performance of its activities is essential to the credibility of its actions and the trust of its stakeholders, namely higher education institutions, students, political authorities and society at large.

Further, CYQAA formally commits to implement all necessary measures and mechanisms so that:

  1. all persons involved in its activities are competent and act professionally and ethically
  2. they lead to a continuous improvement within the agency
  3. they enable the agency to guard against intolerance of any kind or discrimination
  4. they safeguard the appropriate communication with the relevant authorities of the Republic of Cyprus
  5. they ensure that any activities carried out and material produced by subcontractors are in line with the ESG
 The fundamental elements of CYQAA’s quality policy are:
  • A clear definition of its mission and objectives;
  • Compliance with the European Standards and Guidelines (ESG) and the relevant national legislation;
  • Quality management of the evaluation process of programs, departments and institutions of higher education;
  • Transparency of all its activities;
  • Establishment of accountability mechanisms;
  • Adoption of a Code of Ethics for every member of the Agency’s personnel;
  • Development of a quality culture among its, internal and external, members and collaborators;
  • Establishment of monitoring and continuous improvement mechanisms of its activities;
  • The periodic external evaluation of the Agency;
  • CYQAA’s collaboration with ENQA and EQAR and other European and international organizations relevant to higher education.
In order to adhere to its quality policy, CYQAA establishes the following internal quality assurance mechanisms:
  • Scheduling of activities (external evaluations) on a six-month basis, systematic progress monitoring, decision making for internal quality assurance via personnel and council meetings, tasks and objectives achievement appraisal feedback;
  • Formal and informal hearings of higher education institutions and their representative bodies on the development of legislation, criteria, procedures, and instruments related to external evaluation and accreditation processes;
  • Implementation of the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) a total management tool used in the civil service in Cyprus and in Europe.
  • Adoption of the “Code of Conduct and Ethics of Civil Servants” for the staff of the Agency.
    The document focuses on:
    • basic standards and rules governing the behavior of the officers when they come in direct, personal or telephone, contact with the citizens, under the general obligations of decorum, professionalism and honesty.
    • ethical standards governing the actions of officials with regards to the handling of citizens' affairs (respect for legality, obligation to impartiality, objective judgment, credibility, accountability and transparency, the duty of equal treatment of citizens and good administration);
  • Monitoring, review and regular updating of the evaluation and accreditation mechanisms and procedures;
  • Meetings of the Agency’s Council on a monthly basis - The Council systematically examines comments, analyses and suggestions and, when appropriate, integrates them in the decision-making process;
  • Collection and analysis of feedback from the Agency’s stakeholders, such as higher education institutions, members of external evaluation committees, student associations, faculty associations, professional associations an
  • ministry of education, regarding the Agency’s organisation, tools, criteria, performance and the evaluation and accreditation procedures.
  • Guidance and training of the members of external evaluation committees and specialised training of the Agency’s staff;
  • Development and regular supplementation of an experts’ registry, with experienced experts in all disciplines from all over Europe;
  • Systematic study of ENQA and other organizations’ publications and reports aiming at the implementation of best practice;
  • Organization of seminars for institutions of higher education aiming at their updating and guidance on the Agency’s policies and its external evaluation procedures;
  • Development and systematic updating of forms, questionnaires, documents etc. targeting transparency and equal treatment of higher education institutions;
  • Monitoring and assessment of the Agency’s procedures and activities by the Council of the Agency and the competent assigned officer;
  • Recording and presentation of the Agency’s activities and distribution of day-to-day tasks to the members of the personnel via bottom-up procedures.
The Council of CYQAA pledges to ensure the fulfilment of this quality policy and its periodic updating taking into account the development of higher education matters, the Agency’s needs and those of the society and, most importantly, by adopting innovative practices which unify, via quality, the European Area for Higher Education. 

The present quality policy is communicated to all internal and external partners of the Agency and is available on the Agency’s Website.

Environmental Policy/Mission Statement

CYQAA is committed to protecting the environment, the health and safety of our employees, and the community in which we conduct our work. It is our policy to seek continual improvement throughout our operations to lessen our impact on the local and global environment by conserving energy, water and other natural resources; reducing waste generation; recycling and; reducing our use of toxic materials. We are committed to environmental excellence and pollution prevention, meeting all environmental regulatory requirements, and to purchasing products which have greater recycled content with lower toxicity and packaging, that reduce the use of natural resources.

Tasks

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The Agency has, according to the Law, extended competencies amongst which are the following:

  • Institutional, Departmental and Programmatic Evaluation and accreditation of higher education
  • Quality Assurance in higher education on the basis of the European Standards
  • The Evaluation and Accreditation of cross-border forms of education, offered by local institutions in member states or third countries
  • Assessment of the conditions for the provision of cross-border education from foreign institutions in Cyprus
  • Assessment of inter-institutional cooperation of higher education institutions
  • The provision of information of Quality Assurance in higher education

With the cooperation of Higher Education Institutions, the Agency will contribute towards the effort for the establishment of Cyprus as district center of quality higher education, in accordance to the standards and guidelines provided by the European Network for Quality Assurance (ENQA). The Cyprus Agency of Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education aspires to join the European Network of Quality Assurance (ENQA) as well as the European Network of Quality Assurance Register (EQAR).



 
 
 
 

External Evaluation of the Cyprus Agency of Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education (CYQAA) by ENQA

The Cyprus Agency of Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education (CYQAA) announces its external evaluation for,
  • its full membership in the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) and,
  • Its registration in the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR)

The Agency's external review is carried out on the basis of Article 26 (6) (a) of the "on the Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Higher Education and the Establishment and Operation of an Agency for Relevant Issues Laws of 2015 and 2016", which states that,

The Agency has an obligation to undergo a competency evaluation, based on external evaluation procedures, in order to ensure the quality of its work, and this evaluation is an integral part of its wider self-awareness and accountability.

The External Evaluation by ENQA is multilevel and one of the main assessment criteria is the implementation of the European Standards and Guidelines (ESG) in the European Higher Education Area. The evaluation is expected to be completed in February / March 2019.

For more information, please visit the official ENQA website .

Criteria and Quality Indicators for Distance Learning Programmes of Study (Number: 2)

The Agency for Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education, has decided and informs all institutions of Higher Education, the following:

All Distance Learning Programmes are expected to meet the following criteria and quality indicators

1. Establishment of a Pedagogical Planning Unit for distance learning, which will be responsible for the support of the Distance Learning Unit and will address the requirements for study materials, interactive activities and formative assessment in accordance to international standards.
2. Stipulating feedback processes for students in relation to written assignments.
3. Specific plan to ensure student interaction with each other, with the teaching staff, and the study material.
4. Development of teacher training programmes focusing on interaction and the specificities of distance learning.
5. A complete assessment framework design, focusing on distance learning methodology, including clearly defined evaluation criteria for student assignments and the final examination.
6. Plan of a set number of expected teleconferences for presentations, discussion and question-answer sessions, guidance.
7. Development of a Study Guide for each course, fully aligned with distance learning methodology and the need for student interaction with the material. The study guide also includes, for each course week / module, the following:
7.1 Clearly defined objectives and expected learning outcomes of the programme, of the modules and activities in an organised and coherent manner
7.2 Presentation of course material, on a weekly basis, in a variety of ways and means (e.g. printed material, electronic material, teleconferencing, multimedia)
7.3 Weekly outline of set activities and exercises and clear instructions for creating posts, discussion, and feedback.
7.4 Self-assessment exercises and self-correction guide.
7.5 Bibliographic references and suggestions for further study.
7.6 Number of assignments/papers and their topics, along with instructions and additional study material
7.7 Synopsis

It is highlighted that the above criteria and indicators were established following the Agency’s announcement entitled "Quality Criteria and Indicators for Distance Learning Programmes" dated 23 September 2016 and will be taken into account by the External Evaluation Committees in addition to the following documents:

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