On July 16, 2021, the tenth working meeting of the Quality Assurance Thematic Group of Higher Education Institutions was held.  The meeting was held at Vano Sarajishvili Tbilisi State Conservatoire in a hybrid format. The main topics of the meeting were summarizing and analyzing the work of the thematic group, discussing its future plans and priorities, and discussing the issues of quality assurance of e-learning. Each presenting university shared their specific experience of shifting their international quality assurance procedures to adjust to e-learning requirements.

Additionally, at the meeting, Prof. Irma Grdzelidze, a Head of Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University shared with the thematic group information about Erasmus + project “Strengthening the Quality and Relevance of the Third Mission in Georgian Universities (SQUARE)”. Prof. Nino Okribelashvili, a Vice-Rector for Research, shared with the group information about another Erasmus + project – “Raising Research Capacity of Georgian HEIs Through Developing  R&D Units (HERD)”.

On June 24, 2021, the ninth working meeting of the Quality Assurance Thematic Group of Higher Education Institutions was held.  30 members of the thematic group from both state and private higher education institutions and the representative of the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement (Center) attended the meeting.

The aim of the meeting was to discuss cluster accreditation piloting. Cluster accreditation was piloted at three state HEIs; Namely, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Akaki Tsereteli State University, and Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University. Representatives of each university talked about their experience with the preparation for cluster accreditation, the process of accreditation itself, and the challenges and advantages of the process. The representative of the National Center of Educational Quality Enhancement also made a presentation summarizing the process of piloting and shared vision and plans of the Center regarding cluster accreditation.

As a result of the meeting, the feedback document about cluster accreditation was drafted and sent to the Center.

The eighth working meeting of the Quality Assurance Thematic Group of Higher Education Institutions, established by the Standing Conference of Rectors, was held on February 9, 2021, through the electronic portal Zoom.

The meeting was attended by 40 members of the thematic group from state and private higher education institutions.

The aim of the meeting was to discuss the draft version of the cluster accreditation self-evaluation report sent by the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement (Center) to universities and to prepare feedback document for the Center.

As a result of the meeting, the feedback document was drafted and sent to the Center.

The seventh working meeting of the Quality Assurance Thematic Group of Higher Education Institutions, established by the Standing Conference of Rectors, was held on December 16, 2020, through the electronic portal Zoom. The meeting was attended by 46 members of the thematic group from state and private higher education institutions.

The aim of the meeting was to discuss the draft version of the changes to accreditation procedures proposed by the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement (Center) and to prepare a feedback document for the Center. As a result of the meeting, the feedback document was drafted and sent to the Center.

The sixth working meeting of the Quality Assurance Thematic Group of Higher Education Institutions, established by the Standing Conference of Rectors, was held on October 16, 2020, through the electronic portal Zoom. The meeting was attended by 34 members of the thematic group from state and private higher education institutions. Deputy director of the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement, Mr. Lasha Margishvili, a representative of the Estonian Vocational and Higher Education Quality Assurance Agency, Fiona Crosier, She is experienced in the development, testing and use of national and regional frameworks and criteria for QA such as the ESG (Europe), the AQAF (ASEAN), the ASG (Africa) and INQAAHE's global standards, and the expert of Higher Education Quality Assurance, Professor of the Babes-Bolyai University, Mrs Anka Gris.

The aim of the meeting was to discuss online teaching implementation challenges due to the pandemic, the dates of the program accreditation and the changes needed in the Order #3 of the Minister of Education and Science.

The fifth working meeting of the Quality Assurance Thematic Group of Higher Education Institutions, established by the Standing Conference of Rectors, was held on September 22, 2020, through the electronic portal Zoom. The meeting was attended by 50 members of the thematic group from state and private higher education institutions.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the draft self-evaluation report form provided by the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement (NCEQE). During the meeting, the Thematic Group agreed on the main questions and remarks regarding the document that were later sent to the NCEQE.

The fourth working meeting of the Thematic Group of Quality Assurance Services of Higher Education Institutions, established by the Standing Conference of Rectors, was held on May 19, 2020 through the electronic portal Zoom. The meeting was attended by 65 members of the thematic group from state and private higher education institutions, with the participant by Mr. Lasha Margishvili, Head of the Higher Education Quality Assurance Department of the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement, Mrs Lia Lauri, a representative of the Estonian Vocational and Higher Education Quality Assurance Agency, and expert of Higher Education Quality Assurance, Professor of the Babes-Bolyai University, Mrs Anka Gris.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the topic of cluster accreditation. Mr. Lasha Margishvili presented the vision of the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement on cluster accreditation, and the foreign colleagues introduced to us the experience of European countries in this regard, what stages ENQA member quality assurance agencies have passed regarding programs evaluation (see presentation) and the pros and cons of separate forms of cluster accreditation (see presentation).

As a result of the meeting, it was decided that the thematic group will evaluate the accreditation process in Georgia and will also study the international experience on the topic of cluster accreditation. Based on the results of the study, the group will prepare recommendations for the development and implementation of cluster accreditation for the National Center for Quality Enhancement.

Representatives of the Quality Assurance Service of Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University and other higher education institutions discussed the challenges and prospects of e-learning. The third working meeting of the Thematic Group on Quality Assurance of Higher Education Institutions, established by the Standing Conference of Rectors, was held on April 15, 2020 through the electronic portal zoom.

Representatives of 40 public and private higher education institutions took part in the meeting, sharing their experiences with each other and discussing ways to overcome difficulties. Smaller groups were also formed around separate fields for an in-depth discussion of the topic.

The members of the thematic group discussed the need to modify the evaluation system and its relevant regulatory documents, the difficulties of practice and research, the specific difficulties of implementing programs in medicine, art and maritime programs electronically, the protection of personal data while conducting e-learning, the possibility to cooperate with international experts for personal development of academic staff and creating an internal quality assurance mechanism for e-learning.

Prior to the meeting, a questionnaire on e-learning was prepared, which allowed the members of the thematic group to see the state of e-learning in universities (see the presentation). During the meeting, the results of the questionnaire were shared. After the meeting, the representatives of the thematic groups shared the documents created on e-learning at different universities and planned future studies (see the news).

The third meeting of the Quality Assurance Thematic Group was scheduled for March 2020 at the Tbilisi State Conservatory, but due to the situation caused by the Covid-19 virus, we were forced to postpone the meeting. Instead, we consulted via email about the needs for online learning, pinpointing difficulties caused by the situation in their universities and what needs they faced. They discussed the needs for legislative changes in the higher education system in order to fully implement distance learning.

The information received as a result of these consultations was collected and sent to the National Center for Quality Enhancement. During the consultations, we also agreed that in 2020-2021 the thematic group will be chaired by Dr. Irma Grdzelidze, Head of TSU Quality Assurance Service. At the same time, the list of members of the thematic group was specified.

On February 7, 2020, a working meeting of the Thematic Group for Quality Assurance in Higher Education was held at the Georgian National University SEU attended by representatives of the Quality Assurance Service of higher education institutions (see agenda).

The following issues were discussed at the meeting: quality assurance of doctoral programs in Georgia (see the presentation), review of the authorization self-assessment report attachment and Bachelor's/Master's degree self-assessment reports, student satisfaction questionnaires (see presentation) and others.

As a result of the discussion, the thematic group of quality assurance developed a package of recommendations and sent it to the National Center for Quality Enhancement (see the letter). A large proportion of recommendations are considered in the process of submitting attachments to the Authorization Self-Assessment Report (see SEU News).

The first working meeting of the Thematic Group on Quality Assurance of Higher Education Institutions was held at Tbilisi State University on December 19, 2019 (see agenda), attended by participants from 32 public and private (including regional) higher education institutions.

This thematic group was established on December 6, 2019, at the second session of the Permanent Rectors' Conference (see news). At the meeting they agreed on the format, principles and issues to be discussed.

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