QUALITY ASSUARANCE

The Federal Service for Supervision in Education and Science   is a central body which carries out:
- control and supervision over legislative execution in education;
- quality control in educational institutions independently and together with state regulatory bodies of education of constituent parties (republics, territories, regions, etc.) of the Russian Federation;
- licensing, certification and state accreditation of educational institutions and their branches;
- consideration of questions connected with confirmation and recognition of degrees and titles obtained in the Russian Federation and abroad.

 In order to ensure quality of education a nationwide mechanism for quality control and assessment is in function. This mechanism includes the state educational standard; licensing and state accreditation. Each HEI has its own system of quality assurance compatible with the nationwide one.

The state educational standard
The state educational standard is a set of nationally recognized requirements laid down by the state which determines a mandatory minimum for  contents of educational programs, the maximum workloads assigned to students, as well as general course loads and requirements to be met by graduates.
The state educational standards of higher professional education are developed by Teaching and methodological associations. These Associations are formed of experts from HEIs in relevant fields of study on the basis of a competition organized by the Ministry of Education and Science. Arrangements for implementation of the ‘third generation’ of the state educational standards of higher professional education beginning from 2011 have being carried out.

Licensing
Licensing is a procedure of assessment of the compliance of educational facilities, laboratory equipment, expertise of teaching staff, and teaching materials with state requirements and the issuing of a duly worded authorization. Being licensed an educational institution is granted the right to carry out educational programs in relevant fields of study (specialities) and at corresponding levels of education.

State accreditation
Accreditation is the formal recognition (confirmation for the next term) of the status of an education establishment by the state according to its type (secondary vocational or higher education establishment) and kind (college, institute, academy, university), confirmation of education programs level and quality of graduates’ preparation relative to the state educational standards.  The accreditation procedure includes both a self-evaluation and a peer review. State accreditation is applicable both to state educational establishments and to private institutions. It results in the granting to the educational institution the right to issue Diplomas of the state format and to be included in the state funding list.

Licensing in non-university level education is the prerogative of the local authorities. It includes a formal assessment by a visiting expert group to ensure that an educational establishment meets the state and local requirements, including facilities, sanitation, equipment, staff, etc. Each new program must also be assessed and licensed. Accreditation allows the institution to issue state recognized diplomas. Accreditation for non-university level education is carried out by federal ministries-founders of respective institutions in cooperation with local authorities.

All university level institutions have to pass licensing and accreditation procedures carried out by the Federal Service for Supervision in Education and Science.

It is prohibited to start any education activity without obtaining formal authorization based on licensing procedures.

Non-accredited HEIs issue their own non-state diplomas.