The Polish Accreditation Committee gives opinions pertaining to:
1. establishment of the new HEIs and their academic units, fields, levels and profiles of study;
Minister responsible for higher education is obliged to consult the PKA in the following cases:
- establishment of the higher education institutions and granting authorisation to their units (or a whole HEI if it does not have any organisational units) to provide degree programmes in specific fields of study and at specific levels and profiles of study and
- granting of authorisations to academic units of existing higher education institutions (or a HEI as a whole if it does not have any organisational units) to provide programmes in specific fields of study and at specific levels and profiles of study.
Exception:
PKA does not give opinions concerning the authorisation regarding units of HEIs planning to offer degree programme in the field of study corresponding to academic area in which given unit is authorised to confer post-doctoral degree (doktor habilitowany). In such cases resolution of the Senate of the HEI forms a legal basis for establishment of a degree programme.
Course and scope of the opinion giving process.
PKA gives opinion on a motion of the minister responsible for higher education. Relevant documentation attached to a motion shall consist of data allowing for the assessment:
- of fulfillment of requirements laid down in the Act of 27 July 2005 Law on Higher Education and executive regulations concerning conditions for providing education,
- if applicant requesting for authorisation is able to ensure proper quality of education .
Rules for selecting experts for opinion giving process.
An application is discussed by a Section for specific academic area which are leading for a given field of study (based on a share of ECTS declared by the applicant). The largest share defines the Section of PKA which is entrusted with the responsibility for coordination of opinion giving process.
The Secretary General of PKA, in cooperation with chairs of specific Sections of PKA, appoints reviewers of the applications who represent academic areas to which learning outcomes pertain. The President of PKA or Secretary General of PKA may decide (on its own initiative or upon request of chair of specific Section) to conduct a site visit and define its framework and date.
The procedure for giving opinions is described in the “Templates and procedures” menu.
Scope of opinions.
Detailed scope of opinion on application for authorisation to provide degree programmes is described in relevant templates (please consult menu “Templates and procedures”).
Course of the appeal:
The HEI which is not satisfied with the resolution of the PKA can submit (wihtin 30 days) a request for reconsideration of the matter. Appeal which is submitted to PKA is passed to the dedicated body of the PKA – the Section for Appeals.
2. re-granting of the authorisations to provide programmes in specific fields of study at specific levels and profiles of study;
Opinions concern re-granting of the authorisation to provide programmes suspended by a decision of the minister responsible for higher education.
Course of opinion giving process, scope of assessment.
Opinions are given by a reviewer proposed by chairs of relevant Sections of PKA upon authorisation given by the Secretary General of PKA.
The President of PKA or Secretary General of PKA may decide (on its own initiative or upon request of chair of specific Section) to conduct a site visit and define its framework and date.
The PKA formulates opinions on the corrective measures with reference to the justification of negative outcome of programme evaluation or justification of decision issued by the minister responsible for higher education regarding suspendig of the authorisation to provide degree programmes (in cases where the decision was not based on the negative assessment of PKA).
Course of the appeal.
HEI which is not satisfied with the resolution of the PKA can submit (wihtin 30 days) request for reconsideration of the matter. Appeal submitted to the PKA is passed to the dedicated body of the PKA – the Section for Appeals.
3. establishment of a higher education institution or a branch campus in the territory of the Republic of Poland by a foreign higher education institution;
Course of the process.
The PKA gives opinion on a motion of the minister responsible for higher education. Establishment of a higher education institution or a branch campus in the territory of Republic of Poland by a foreign higher education institution can only be done on the basis of decision of the minister responsible for higher education having consulted the minister responsible for foreign affairs and the Polish Accreditation Committee.
Conditions.
A higher education institution can be established by a foreign higher education institutions which was awarded positive quality assessment issued by a quality assurance agency recognised by national authorities or registered in the European Quality Assurance Register or other agency which evaluations are recognized by PKA.
Criteria.
Regulations laid down in the Act of 27 July 2005 Law on Higher Education are not applicable to higher education institutions and branch campuses established by foreign higher education institutions with exception of regulation concerning course and conditions of establishing of the HEI.
4. quality of education provided by the unit applying for the authorization to grant the doktor and doktor habilitowany degrees;
Opinions are given on a motions of units applying for authorisation to confer academic degrees by reviewers selected from panels of experts that conducted in those units:
- programme evaluations:
- in the fields of study related to areas in which units apply for authorisation to confer academic degrees or
- in other fields of study if above mentioned fields of study were not evaluated;
- institutional evaluation – if most recent evaluations concern units, not programmes.