In Colombia, accreditation is a state testimony on the quality of a program or institution, following an earlier evaluation assessment process in which three parts participate; the institution, academic communities, and National Accreditation Committee.
This certification arises from the need to strengthen the quality of higher education in Colombia, and provide a public recognition of the high-quality standards reached. Is also born as a response to the requirements of the modern world which are focused on the quality of Higher Education as a way of development for a country.
It can be said that in Colombia the higher education accreditation is of a mixed nature, as state and university components participate in the process. It is regulated by the laws and policies of the National Higher Education Committee, NHEC, it receives financial support from the state, and the Accreditation Acts are issued by the Ministry of Education. The process is driven by the same institutions, by academic peers and by the National Accreditation Council, CNA which is formed of academic people presently employed in different Higher Education Institutions.
Considering the dynamics generated by this process, the decision of accrediting undergraduate programs was taken before accrediting institutions. This strategy was thought of taking into account the multiplying effect that this first unit of Higher Education Assessment could have. It is done by the peer assessment who examines the way programs accomplish the requirements set by the academic communities of the corresponding profession or discipline, and its coherence with the nature and scope of the institution in relation to the optimal standards defined by CNA.
This process, with its various components was developed as follows:
- Self evaluation which is the study carried out by the institutions or academic programs, based on the criteria characteristics and aspects defined by the National Accreditation Council. The institution should take the lead in this process and promote the broad participation of the academic community.
- External Assessment or peer review assessment uses the self evaluation as as starting point. It verifies the results, identifies the internal operational conditions of the institution or programs and finishes with a conclusion about its quality.
- Final Assessment is done by the National Accreditation Committee based on the results of the self evaluation and external assessment.
- Public recognition is done through the Accreditation Act that the Ministry of Education issues based on the technical concept of the National Accreditation Committee.
The main and most effective investment done in context of Accreditation is not only the implementation of the model itself and its assessment processes, but also the investment done in the application of Institutional Improvement plans and programs, which institutions have created as a requirement for getting into the system, or as a result of the self evaluation and academic peer reports.
I am interested to hear about your experience with accreditation in your country? What is the process like? Let me know by leaving a comment below.