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Global information based economic competition which accelerated in the last quarter of the 20th Century, coupled with significant developments in information and communication technologies, led to a reassessment of higher education systems and revisions and restructurings in the light of the developments.
The expectation of higher quality service in the light of the fast pace of economic and social change and the developments concerning the information economy and society, combined with ever increasing demand for higher education, which cannot be met with parallel increases in the public resources allocated to higher education institutions, made it necessary for the higher education institution to adapt systematical and strategic approaches to education, teaching, research and other activities as a response to the growing scale and complexity levels involved.
This transformation is in full swing in Europe, which aims to develop a dynamic and efficient information society and economy by the year 2010, through a process ignited with the Lisbon Process. In this respect, the European Countries began work on an effective and common European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and European Research Area (AAA). The efforts in this respect were shaped through the Bologna process, and reinforced and developed through subsequent processes. Today efforts to achieve these goals are only accelerated. Among the activities carried out in this respect, the efforts to reinforce European higher education systems, to improve quality levels, and to establish quality assurance systems for higher education systems meeting widely recognized standards, are at the forefront of the agenda.
The work carried out in this respect as part of the Bologna process, and the proposals for further action were published in the "Report on Quality Assurance Principles and Standards in the European Higher Education Area" published in year 2005 by European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education-ENQA). The principles and standards published in this report continue to provide direction for the efforts in this field, and serve the aim of ensuring higher education institutions in the European Higher Education Area function in harmony and with comparable quality levels.
In this respect, each country announces the quality assurance standards in line with its own education system, and assesses its education systems in the light of these standards. In this framework, the states establish quality agencies to asses the quality improvement activities of higher education institutions, and determine the quality levels of higher education institutions via external evaluators.
The quality assurance system in Turkey is based on the internal assessment process carried out annually by the universities, and an external evaluation carried out once every 5 year under normal circumstances. This system is arranged also to provide accreditation and evaluation elements to ensure the quality of education outputs specified per program under the "National Qualifications Framework".
In Turkey, in year 2005 the Council of Higher Education published the "Regulation on Academic Evaluation and Quality Improvement in Higher Education Institutions", in line with European Quality Assurance Standards and Principles (ESG), to serve the objective of improvement and evaluation of education, teaching, and research activities, as well as to ensure the development of quality standards and international harmonization. This Regulation established the Higher Education Institutions Academic Evaluation and Quality Development Commission (YÖDEK) comprising nine members elected by the Inter-University Council, as well as one student representative appointed by the National Student Council, responsible with the organization and coordination of academic evaluation and quality improvement activities at higher education institutions. YÖDEK, in turn, prepared the "Academic Evaluation and Quality Improvement Manual for Higher Education Institutions", which is to serve as guidance for quality improvement at higher education institutions, defining the processes to direct the academic evaluation and quality improvement activities under the light of the Regulation.
The said Regulation's objectives include the establishment of independent national external quality assurance agencies. The authority to license national external quality assurance agencies rest with the Higher Education Council (YÖK), acting in consultation with YÖDEK. The higher education institutions which undergo the external evaluation shall be given a "Quality Certificate" indicating the quality level of the institution, and the improvements achieved in the quality front. The certificate will be valid for a period of 5 years. The Quality Certificate to be accorded to the higher education can be accorded for the whole institution, or per academic departments or programs.
Today, some independent quality agencies began their operations. Association for Evaluation and Accreditation of Engineering Programs (MÜDEK) received the Quality Evaluation License on 15th November 2007, and began its operations as the first recognized national external evaluation agency. To date, MÜDEK provided accreditation for 57 engineering programs of 10 universities. In addition to MÜDEK, two more agencies have applied to YÖDEK in order to receive national independent external evaluation agency licenses.
Higher Education Institutions Academic Evaluation and Quality Improvement Commission (YÖDEK) identified the processes and performance indicators required for a systematical approach towards academic evaluation and quality improvement activities at higher education institutions, within the framework of the Regulation on Academic Evaluation and Quality Improvement at Higher Education Institutions.
The processes identified include the following:
In accordance with the regulations developed in the area of quality assurance, the organization, coordination, and execution of this process is to be carried out by YÖDEK at the national level, and Academic Evaluation and Quality Improvement Committees (ADEK) in the higher education institutions level. The strategic planning activities to be formulated by the higher education institutions within the framework of quality assurance efforts will be prepared and executed jointly by the senate and board of directors of the relevant institution. The academic evaluation and quality improvement activities at higher education institutions, on the other hand, are executed under the responsibility and coordination of ADEK of the institution.
The Quality Assurance System of Turkey also allows international evaluations. To date, a total of 42 engineering programs from four universities were evaluated at various times by Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology-USA (ABET), and were accorded "substantial equivalence" level of accreditation.
