External evaluation

Commitment to the quality is also manifested in regular collection of the feedback from the Agency’s employees and stakeholders on their satisfaction with the work of the Agency. The Agency has a practice of receiving feedback from the clients on the quality of the services provided. The feedback can be found on the Agency’s website.

Russian laws do not require accreditation agencies to undergo external evaluation. However, the Russian Register chooses to conduct such evaluations independently to continually improve the quality of its work. It allows the Russian Register to analyze their activities, identify areas for development, and aim to become more reliable and transparent both nationally and internationally.

This external evaluation process helps universities with work with the Russian Register to ensure that the agency accrediting them is truly reliable and adheres to high standards. The external evaluation of the APQR was first conducted in 2017 and confirmed in 2024. After this evaluation, the Agency is carrying out the analytics regarding their actions in response to the recommendations contained in the 2024 evaluation report. Some of these recommendations can be implemented immediately, while others require longer-term actions involving stakeholders.

External recognition of activities convincingly prove the reliability and commitment of the Agency to the principles of quality, allow the provision of high-quality services to key stakeholders.

Thanks to the recognition and membership of the Russian Register in international and regional networks and associations, our academic clients have access to the most advanced standards and services in the field of accreditation. They can publish their research in electronic journals of networks, and also perform transborder cooperation in the area of QA.

The Agency is constantly expanding the range of memorandums and cooperation agreements with stakeholders in terms of accreditation procedures, training of experts and holding joint projects and open events, incl. with regional structures of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, industry Boards for professional qualifications, public youth and industry organizations. It maintains and builds up international cooperation with accreditation agencies around the world (Russia, Germany, Philippines, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Latvia, Moldova, etc.).

International:

• Accreditation by the Dutch Council for Accreditation RvA, a member of the international accreditation forum IAF,
• Membership in the International Certification Network (IQNet – International Certification Network),
• Membership in the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE),
• Membership in the Asia Pacific Quality Network (APQN), entry into the network registry (APQR)
• Affiliate status in the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA)
• Membership in the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM)

National:

• Accreditation of the Federal Service for Accreditation of the Russian Federation (Rosakkreditatsiya),
• Automated information system “Monitoring of professional and public accreditation” (in accordance with the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 431 dated April 11, 2017)
• Register of organizations conducting professional and public accreditation of degree programmes of higher education and (or) other professional programs of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation
• Register of organizations conducting professional and public accreditation of vocational education and (or) other vocational training programs of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation.

Recognitions in industry and pertnership of the Russian Register:

In the modern world, industry and business organizations of all sectors of the economy place more and more demands on educational institutions for the competencies of graduates and the educational process. The Russian Register operates and is recognized in various industries (automotive, railway, shipbuilding, aviation and aerospace, oil and gas, food, military-industrial complex, education, medicine and pharmaceuticals, energy, IT industry, etc.) and through areas of activity (ecology and forest management, materials science, technical supervision, engineering, industrial safety, social responsibility, innovation, business reputation), therefore, the Agency is able to involve competent experts in most industries in accreditation procedures, ensuring compliance with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation in the field of education and labor which added the value to the procedures of international accreditations.

Currently, “Russian legislation allows various forms of accreditation: along with the mandatory state accreditation of education, there are “professional and public accreditation of degree programmes” and “public accreditation of educational institutions, incl. the possibility of international accreditation for the recognition of degree programmes” for compliance with international standards. Therefore, the Russian market for international accreditation services is experiencing intensive development. Currently, 3,614 degree programmes have been independently accredited in Russia (including 1,118 with valid international accreditation). This is the number of programmes accredited by 16 agencies included in the Russian rating of accreditation agencies, where, as of spring 2022, the Russian Register took the 2nd place according to the results of completed works.