State accreditation of educational institutions: requirements, necessary documents, state duty. Accreditation is the essence and goals

According to 2016 data, 40% of 9th grade graduates enter vocational education institutions, and only 60% move on to the tenth grade. All 3,200 colleges and technical schools in Russia are required by the Federal State Educational Standard to undergo state accreditation. Why is it carried out and what is it?

Types of accreditation:

• state;
• public.

State accreditation- confirmation at the federal level that the current educational programs of the college and technical school are legal and of high quality.

What do they pay attention to when conducting an examination as part of accreditation in a secondary vocational education institution? The main thing is that the final quality of student preparation corresponds to the content of the educational program.

— Information on the implementation of educational programs declared for state accreditation must necessarily contain the full texts of the programs agreed with representatives of employers in accordance with the requirements of 273-FZ and specific Federal State Educational Standards, including the UE, including the IUP (if any), KUG, workers programs of modules and disciplines, methodological and evaluation materials with positive conclusions from employers and other materials updated annually in accordance with the organization’s LNA,” commented expert in the field of educational law Elena Vasilievna Zachesova at one of the webinars of the Academy of Professional Development.

The examination is carried out by the Federal Service for Supervision in Education and Science (a special commission of Rosobrnadzor). The decision on accreditation can be positive or negative, but in any case the body must issue a certificate.

The validity period of this certificate varies slightly for institutions working in different areas:

• 6 years. Main educational areas (this also includes secondary education).
• 12 years old. General education programs.

If the college has successfully passed the inspection, the college management will be given:

• relevant certificate;
• applications to it.

Attachments to the certificate are needed to confirm its validity. It is in the applications that accredited educational programs are indicated. Under these programs, the educational institution can provide benefits to students and issue diplomas.

In already accredited organizations, the result of the examination is provided no later than 105 days from the date of receipt of the application and documents from the college or technical school. If we are talking about re-issuing a certificate of state accreditation, then it is carried out no more than 45 days from the date of registration of the application from the applicant. Issuing a duplicate takes no more than 15 days.

Typically, inspectors require printed documents from the organization. But the law allows them to be provided electronically.

“If the VET has a LNA on the rules of office work and document flow, then according to it, documents should be stored and provided,” says Elena Zachesova. - But on the other hand, you somehow need to convince the members of the accreditation commission that they can read your electronic documents from the screen and not print anything out. There are a lot of arguments, but I would refer not to the standard, but to a role model - Order of the Government of the Russian Federation dated February 12, 2011 N 176-r “On approval of the action plan for the transition of federal executive bodies to paperless document flow when organizing internal activities.” If the Government is against paperwork, then so is your VET.

Public accreditation implies recognition of the level or merits of an educational organization by any public trade-union organizations, unions, or associations. Public accreditation cannot be replaced by state accreditation. But public accreditation affects the prestige of an educational institution.

Let us give an example of public accreditation of a Russian university. In April 2017, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada decided to provide institutional accreditation to one of our medical universities. As a result, our educational institution received the status of an internationally accredited higher education institution and increased its authority.

For what reasons can accreditation be refused?

Refusal of an expert opinion on state accreditation of a college can occur in two cases:

• if the educational organization provided documents with false information;
• as a result of a negative conclusion of the accreditation examination.

What are the consequences of failing accreditation?

If the college does not receive the certificate, it will not be able to continue teaching students. And even today's graduates will not be able to take back their diplomas.

In the media environment there are practically no stories about vocational education institutions that have not passed accreditation, but there are many similar stories about universities.

Thus, at the beginning of June 2017, news was published on the Omsk city website that the Rosobrnadzor Commission did not renew the accreditation of a department of one university in Omsk. The university website contains information that students are trained in 7 areas, and at the moment only the “Quality Management” profile remains accredited to issue a diploma. The rest didn't pass. Most 2017 graduates will not receive degrees from this institution. The university will have to take action. For example, negotiate with other higher education institutions so that they issue diplomas to their graduates.

A similar situation may occur in educational institutions of secondary vocational education.

Appeal or what to do if the college is not accredited?

A representative of the STR institution can appeal the decision, as well as the actions or inactions of the inspectors.

An appeal is possible in the following cases:

• the deadline for registering the applicant’s request for state accreditation was violated;
• the deadline for granting state accreditation was violated;
• the applicant was asked for documents that are not provided for by the regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation for the provision of state accreditation;
• refused to accept documents;
• refused on grounds not provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation;
• demanded from the applicant any fees that are not provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation;
• refused to correct errors in issued documents or violated deadlines for correcting them.

The appeal document must be submitted printed on paper.

The complaint must indicate:

• The name of the authorized body, an indication of the official or civil servant who provided the public service and whose actions are being appealed.
• Full name, information about the applicant’s place of residence and contact information (telephone number, email address).
• Information about the subject of the appeal.
• Clarifications of claims. If the applicant has evidence (for example, documents), they must be sent along with the complaint.

If a refusal to accept documents, a refusal to correct typos/errors, or a violation of the deadlines for their correction is appealed, then the authorized body must consider the complaint within 5 days. In other cases, the review period is 15 days from the date of registration.

If during the consideration of the complaint or as a result of its consideration an administrative offense or crime is discovered, the authorized official must immediately send the relevant materials to the prosecutor's office.

You will learn at the International Conference how to bring the work in your vocational education institution in line with modern requirements “Practical solutions in the field of transition to new Federal State Educational Standards of secondary vocational education: development of working documentation and assessment of educational results” .

What is certification of an educational institution, why is it needed?

Certification of an educational institution is carried out in order to find out how well the level of knowledge of its graduates corresponds to established state standards.

During the certification of an educational institution, the availability of a license and the results of final exams for the last three years are checked. In addition, students of a certified educational institution write special tests and examinations.

Certification is carried out once every five years, so before the expiration of the old certification report, it is worth asking when the certification will be carried out and whether it will be carried out at all. If an educational institution does not pass certification, it is deprived of accreditation. If it passes the certification successfully, it is admitted to state accreditation.

The essence of state accreditation is that an educational institution confirms that it is either a higher educational institution (university, academy, institute), or a secondary vocational institution (technical school, college, college), or a general educational institution (school, gymnasium, lyceum) .

Why should an educational institution have state accreditation?

The purpose of accreditation of a university is to establish (confirm for the next term) its state accreditation status by type (higher educational institution) and type (institute, academy, university) with the establishment of a list of educational programs of higher professional education for which the university has the right to issue education documents to graduates state standard.

State accreditation of an educational institution gives it the right to issue state-issued diplomas (certificates) in accredited educational programs.

Before enrolling in an educational institution, you should find out whether it is accredited.

Public accreditation is recognition that graduates of a higher educational institution have a more or less satisfactory level of education. Public accreditation is carried out by public educational, professional, scientific and industrial organizations; it does not entail the issuance of state diplomas.

Branches of a higher educational institution undergo licensing and certification independently, and accreditation - as part of the university. If branches teach without their own license to conduct educational activities in general or in individual specialties, citing the presence of a license from the base university, this is a violation of the law.

Accreditation is given for a period of up to five years. Accreditation is confirmed by a certificate that confirms the right of the university to issue state-issued documents to its graduates. Programs for which training is accredited are indicated not in the certificate itself, but in an appendix to it. The levels of education (bachelor, specialist, master), professions taught by the university, branches and a list of accredited programs in which training is provided in each branch are also indicated there.

In the event of liquidation or reorganization of an educational institution (merger, accession, division, spin-off), its accreditation becomes invalid and the certificate is invalidated.

What criteria are used to accredit higher education institutions?

Accreditation is carried out according to the following eight criteria:

Quality of training - the level of requirements for applicants is checked, the quality of training of students and graduates meets the requirements of state educational standards, the effectiveness of the intra-university system for ensuring the quality of education, the level of organization of students' research work, and the demand for graduates.

Educational activities of an educational institution - the conditions created in the educational institution for extracurricular work are checked, as well as the organization of educational work with students.

Range of implemented basic educational programs.

Possibility of continuing education in educational programs of postgraduate and additional professional education.

Scientific, scientific and technical activities and their effectiveness.

Methodical work.

Qualification of teaching staff.

Which body accredits a higher education institution?

The accreditation of a university is carried out by the Federal Service for Supervision in Education and Science on the basis of the certification conclusion, the results of an examination of the university’s indicators and accreditation criteria for universities of various types, approved by the accreditation body.

Accreditation issues are considered by the collegial body of the accreditation body, which includes representatives of federal executive bodies that have jurisdiction over universities, public organizations and state-public associations in the system of higher professional education, and heads of universities.

What confirms that a higher education institution has passed accreditation?

The decision to accredit a university is approved by an administrative document of the accreditation body, on the basis of which the university is issued a certificate of state accreditation.

The certificate is a document confirming the status of the university, the compliance of the content and quality of training of graduates in accredited programs with the requirements of state educational standards, the right of the university to issue state-issued documents to its graduates on the appropriate level of education. The certificate is signed by the head of the accreditation body and certified by the seal of this body.

The certificate indicates the registration number, date of issue and validity period of the certificate, location (legal address) of the university and its full name, including the name (including special name - conservatory, higher school, etc.), type of university (institute, academy, university) , organizational and legal form.

If during accreditation it is established that the status of a university differs from that indicated in its name, the university is issued a temporary certificate for a period of no more than six months indicating its name. Such a certificate gives the university for a given period all the rights of a higher educational institution that has state accreditation. A permanent certificate is issued to a university on the basis of an application and constituent documents with the name of the university brought in accordance with the status established during accreditation.

The appendix to the certificate indicates accredited programs of all levels of education implemented by the university, as well as levels of education, qualifications (degrees) that will be awarded to graduates, the name and location of branches, a list of accredited programs implemented in each branch.

A certificate without an attachment is invalid.

The certificate is valid for the duration of the accreditation period, after which it becomes invalid.

The validity of the certificate is renewed in the same manner as its receipt. Additions to the certificate concerning accredited programs of the university and its branches are documented as an appendix to the certificate.

Can a university be denied accreditation if it has not passed certification?

Accreditation of a higher education institution is carried out on the basis of conclusions on the certification of the university. A higher educational institution of any organizational and legal form, in addition to obtaining a license to conduct educational activities in educational programs of higher and postgraduate professional education, issued by the federal (central) governing body of higher professional education on the basis of the conclusions of an expert commission, must undergo state accreditation and certification to obtain the right for the issuance of state-issued documents. The purpose of the latter is to establish compliance of the content, level and quality of training of graduates of a higher educational institution with the requirements of state educational standards of higher professional education in areas of training (specialties).

A negative conclusion based on the results of certification serves as the basis for refusing accreditation to a university.

In 2017, Rosobrnadzor deprived dozens of universities across the country of accreditation and licenses. In recent months, hundreds of students from MITRO, the First Moscow Law Institute, the Moscow Academy of Economics and Law and other universities have been left out of higher education, many before defending their diplomas. Students are worried about the future of their education, and for good reason. A university without accreditation does not have the right to issue state diplomas, because the presence of accreditation just means that the quality of education meets federal standards. Other privileges are also lost: students are no longer guaranteed a deferment from the army, the institution cannot use tax breaks or maternity capital when paying for education.

If accreditation is lost, the university must notify students within five working days and also post an announcement online. However, as a rule, management withholds information until the last minute, and for many students the news comes as a surprise.

Lack of accreditation does not deprive a university of the opportunity to educate students. In accordance with the Federal Law “On Licensing of Certain Types of Activities,” a university will close only if it loses its license. A university deprived of accreditation can issue its own diploma - a non-state standard, but such a “crust” has no value.

“No one needs this document in modern conditions. Both in professional organizations and firms, and in the civil service, a non-state diploma is not valued. With it, among other things, you cannot enroll in a master’s program or get a second higher education,” explains Grigory Shabanov, vice-rector for academic affairs at RosNOU.

How to transfer to another university

If a student does not want to remain a dropout, the only way out is to complete his studies elsewhere. The procedure for transferring from a university deprived of accreditation is regulated by the Federal Law “On Education in the Russian Federation.” It sets out a special procedure that guarantees that students' rights are respected. By law, the university is obliged to ensure the transfer of students to other universities while maintaining the conditions of study. The student has the right to count on the same specialty, form and cost of training, course.

According to the general director of the legal bureau “Amelin and Kopystyrinsky” Alexander Amelin, the transfer period does not depend on the time of the school year.

“The student must write a transfer application addressed to the management of his university. For minors, such a statement is written by one of the parents or a legal representative. Within 5 days, the university is obliged to provide a list of educational institutions ready to accept students,” says the lawyer.

He adds that it is possible to change the specialty. Then in the application you need to write about your desire to transfer to another educational program.

If a student does not agree with the transfer, he can obtain a certificate and independently transfer to other universities. However, according to Grigory Shabanov, in this case not a single serious university will accept him. Therefore, the student needs to try to choose the best option from those organizations that the rector’s office offers him to choose from. As soon as the student has chosen a new university, it is worth contacting this organization and clarifying whether it actually carries out the transfer, and also once again discussing the conditions that will be preserved.

State certification at another university

Sometimes universities that have been deprived of accreditation do not inform students about this and proceed with graduation as if nothing had happened. In this case, in order to receive a state diploma, students have the right to undergo state final certification as an external student at an accredited university.

“The Russian New University provides the opportunity for students of other universities to pass the GIA, but only if they studied in the areas of training that we have. Otherwise, we would have to separately develop a huge package of methodological and regulatory documents for each profile. In addition, not all universities conscientiously comply with the legislation in the field of education, and we cannot take their students either,” says the vice-rector of RosNOU.

According to Shabanov, the duration of the procedure depends on how prepared the student is. All disciplines studied after the university was deprived of accreditation are subject to re-certification. This also applies to practice, so the university must find time to conduct consultations, recertify the person, schedule a defense time, provide time to prepare for the exam, and at the same time comply with all deadlines set by the Ministry of Education. As a rule, this takes from three to six months. The student receives a diploma from the university in which he passed the state final certification.

In what cases can you receive compensation?

State accreditation of a higher educational institution is a procedure for recognizing the quality of an educational institution and its compliance with educational standards, carried out by state quality authorities.

The university accreditation procedure takes place every five years. Opened universities or their individual new branches can receive accreditation only after the first graduation of students.

In case of successful accreditation, the educational institution receives a standard certificate and an annex to it, which lists the accredited specialties in this higher educational institution. In addition, the certificate indicates the name and type of educational institution, its type: academy, university, institute. The branch is not certified separately from the parent institution. Each branch of the university must have a certified copy of the accreditation certificate and its annex.

Accreditation procedure

In order to pass certification, each university is checked on time by the National Accreditation Agency. The level of knowledge of both students and teachers is assessed.

In addition, a mandatory requirement is the presence of teaching in a number of specialties and the conduct of scientific activities by the university. For example, this type of educational institution, such as an institute, can prepare students in only one direction and not conduct scientific activities at all.

Purpose of accreditation

The final result of the accreditation procedure is the receipt by the university of a certificate of state accreditation, which confirms the status of the educational institution and the quality of the education offered. Only accredited universities have the right to issue state diplomas. Universities that have not passed state accreditation have the right to issue only established diplomas, which are less valued by some employers than state ones. An accredited university is in any case more reliable and more prestigious. In such educational institutions, all benefits are strictly guaranteed to students, and state support is provided to accredited universities.

The advantage of studying at an accredited educational institution

In addition to the fact that at an accredited university, students are guaranteed to receive, if they can write or, naturally, pass it, a state diploma, they always have the opportunity to continue their studies in master's and postgraduate studies. Such institutions have a number of advantages and benefits over graduates of non-accredited educational institutions.

1. Only an accredited university has the right to grant deferment from the army, and only for those specialties that are listed in the appendix to the certificate.
2. Opportunity to study on a budget basis and receive student benefits. At unaccredited universities you will not receive government benefits or support for your studies. Such universities can only offer their own programs organized within them.
3. By enrolling in an accredited university, you insure yourself against the sudden closure of an educational institution.
4. It is worth noting, however, that the quality of education and the amount of knowledge do not always depend on whether the university is accredited or not.

A fairly large percentage of the adult population of our country believes that accreditation is the right of a journalist or media representative to receive information from its owner. And this is true, but there is one significant nuance - the presented category has a broader meaning, which is not limited to journalism.

The accreditation procedure is an official confirmation that a certain object or service fully complies with the characteristics, standards and indicators established by the competent authorities in this matter. The main goal is to help service users or product buyers purchase an object that meets their expectations and stated technical and operational characteristics.

If we define this category in simple words, without using special terminology, then we can say that accreditation is a statement by a specialist that the product/service is 100% of high quality and the manufacturer (or seller of the service) is not deceiving you. This article talks about all the nuances and important points that are related to accreditation. The information presented is of interest not only to people professionally involved in the study of this category, but also to ordinary readers who care about their education and increasing their erudition.

Essence and goals

Many readers have already guessed that this procedure is impossible without the participation of a party that gives an opinion on the compliance of the product/service with certain criteria and operational parameters. To do this, the expert must have the appropriate qualifications, be competent in a specific field of activity, and also need established standards (this point relates to the functions of the state). The need for such a concept as accreditation arose in parallel with the formation of industrial production, when standards and norms began to be approved to ensure the ability to compare the results obtained in a specific sector of the economy.

For example, steel for mechanical engineering meets one requirement, and for construction – another; deviation from the requirements can lead to serious negative consequences. But how can an enterprise that produces metal parts for machines know that the raw materials are of high quality and reliable?

Creating your own laboratories with a large staff of scientists is a very expensive “pleasure”, which will significantly increase the cost of products, and if there is a competent body confirming the quality of raw materials, the problem can be easily solved without additional financial costs for business entities. If you think carefully, every reader will remember a lot of situations that they have encountered before, without even knowing that it was accreditation.

The procedure under consideration allows us to obtain a conclusion that a company (factory, institution, organization), service or product meets certain criteria and declared characteristics. Interested subjects, participating in competition with each other, are constantly working to improve these criteria. As a result, accreditation helps to establish a high level of trust between participants in market relations (producers, consumers, experts, government organizations) and constantly improve the quality characteristics of the goods and services offered, which is the main goal of this procedure.

In addition, accreditation in modern economic realities pursues the following goals:

Identifies the strongest and most promising participants in their industry. If the driving school has been accredited, then you can safely contact us to obtain the necessary knowledge and skills as a driver.

Provides an independent, objective assessment of the quality of services provided or manufactured products.

Minimizes the participation of government agencies in assessing the activities of independent commercial structures. In most cases, the role of the state is reduced only to approving standards for each sector of the economy (for example, 95 gasoline should have certain properties, and 76 gasoline should have others).

Ensures that the results provided by different market participants are up to date. Laboratory research data from individual certification bodies can be combined and complement each other through accreditation.

Stimulating competition between different commercial entities. If company “A” has passed accreditation, it means that the management of company “B” will strive to reach the same level today, and in a week – to work better than its competitors.

Accreditation helps to divide market participants into certain categories, which makes the competition between them more civilized and fruitful.

If we draw one general conclusion, then all of the listed goals of accreditation are aimed at ensuring that the consumer receives quality services and goods, and that manufacturers work using fair methods of competition.

Main forms of accreditation

Business representatives interested in how to obtain accreditation must first understand its basic forms, which depend on a number of external factors and the individual characteristics of each company.

Depending on the region where the company operates, there are different levels of standards for each form of accreditation.

The legislation of many countries determines the list of areas of activity of enterprises for which corporate accreditation is allowed. In this case, international, national or the enterprise's own standards can be used. Very often, by setting its own criteria, the company’s management obliges suppliers of raw materials and consumables to adhere to certain quality standards.

Industry accreditation is associated with the individual characteristics of certain areas of activity in the country’s economy. The results of this procedure are relevant within the state, region or at the international level, subject to appropriate agreements, between participating countries.

Regional accreditation is most often carried out within small territories or individual areas that are located in the same country. Much less often, compliance with regional standards is checked for entities that conduct their activities “under the flags” of different countries.

Many readers have already guessed that national accreditation is carried out within one state, which can be based both on its own and on international standards. There are situations when agreements are signed between countries that are aimed at recognizing the results of national accreditations bilaterally. In this case, these procedures are considered international.

The highest level according to the presented classification model is occupied by international accreditation, which is based on the application of international standards and recognition of the results of procedures performed in different countries of the world. If the last condition is not met, then accreditation loses its international status.

Depending on the object of accreditation, there are:

accreditation of institutions/enterprises, organizations (legal entities and individuals who are business entities);

accreditation of individuals (experts in a certain sector of the economy);

and accreditation of a specific type of activity (medicine, education, etc.).

Depending on the nature of the event, there is a voluntary and mandatory form of accreditation. The latter option, as a rule, is a monopoly of government agencies, and the main goal of mandatory accreditation is considered to be the preservation of the health and safety of residents of the Russian Federation. The voluntary version of the procedure allows organizations and enterprises to carry out their activities without accreditation, and the mandatory form excludes this possibility. If an institution continues to operate, ignoring the need for mandatory accreditation, its management is subject to administrative/criminal liability.

Another criterion used in the classification system of existing forms of accreditation is the validity period. But both open-ended and time-limited accreditations are periodically checked by competent authorities for compliance with established standards and norms.

Accreditation system and criteria

Any accreditation system includes:

purpose of creation;

organizational and technical elements that ensure the functioning of the accreditation system;

participants who are related to both the system itself and its elements;

services and products – the results of the work of participants in the accreditation system.

The goals of creating an accreditation system are to increase the efficiency of competition, increase the trust of participants in each other, etc. The constituent elements include norms, rules, standards and regulations that may belong to one separate system or relate to different areas of accreditation.

Among all possible participants in the system, it is necessary to highlight the mandatory ones who take part regardless of the form of accreditation: experts (competent specialists in their field), organizations that are interested in the result of the procedure in question, the accreditation body, etc. There is a certain pattern according to which the number of participants in the system depends on the rank of the procedure itself (international accreditation can have more than seven participants, and industry accreditation can have no more than four). Experts are individuals and legal entities, the main thing is a high level of competence in the matter presented.

All services that are included in the accreditation system can be divided into two types. The first (this also includes products and material objects) is everything that undergoes accreditation. The second are services and work to ensure the accreditation procedure or the direct activities of experts.

Without delving into the smallest details and giving a brief but meaningful definition of the accreditation criteria, we can say that this is a minimum list of actions that applicants must perform in order to undergo the accreditation procedure. It is not difficult to guess that the more complex the system, the higher the requirements for applicants.

There are general and specific accreditation criteria. The first ones are established by laws and special national legislative acts, their main goal is to regulate the general requirements for accreditation. Particular criteria can be found in additional rules and regulations; they are aimed at detail and describe all the nuances that the applicant must know so that the accreditation procedure is carried out at the highest level and does not drag on indefinitely.

Documents confirming completion of the accreditation procedure

The main document that confirms that the applicant has passed the entire accreditation procedure is the certificate.

The main points of this document include:

Name of the authorized body (including government agencies) that issued the certificate. At this point, it is necessary to have additional papers confirming the competence of this organization.

Full name of the accreditation system to which the applicant belongs.

The full name of the enterprise (commercial entity) that has successfully completed the procedure in the specified accreditation system.

The date of issue of the submitted document and its validity period, if the accreditation form is valid for a certain period of time or an indication that the certificate is unlimited.

List of activities (accreditation) that the certificate holder can carry out. The full name of the work envisaged is indicated.

Document identification number. Not only the unique number of this certificate is indicated, but also the number under which the document confirming completion of the accreditation procedure is entered into the appropriate register.

A unique accreditation mark that corresponds to a specific system.

Additional details, including signatures of the persons who issued the certificate.

In principle, you have every moral right to do this, the main thing is not to overdo it so that representatives of the target audience do not turn your achievement into an object of ridicule. As a rule, this is done at the suggestion of competing companies. In addition, before you start using the received mark for marketing purposes, check with representatives of the organization that carried out the accreditation procedure about the rules for its use. For some systems there are quite strict restrictions in this matter. Sometimes business entities refuse the accreditation mark, which must be promptly notified to representatives of the organization that issues it.

Passing the accreditation procedure and licensing certain areas of business activity. Despite quite a lot of common points that are typical for these categories, they are completely different, both from a legal and economic point of view. And obtaining a license cannot be equated to passing the accreditation procedure.

Despite the fact that accreditation is a rather multifaceted procedure that is associated with a large number of different important nuances, in general, it does not cause any problems for understanding even for people who are not related to the study of economic disciplines, while this procedure has a huge practical value for ordinary consumers.

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