On December 24, 2024, a regular meeting of the International Accreditation Board (IAB) on education quality issues was held. The meeting was opened by Alexander Kulikov, Head of the Russian Register program for independent quality assessments in education. The session was continued by the Board Secretary, Alexandra Zvezdova, who informed the participants about the transfer of the Board Chair’s authority to Dr. Lyudmila Skakovskaya, Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education, and Culture, Senator, and representative of the executive authority of the Tver region.
Dr. Skakovskaya has been a member of the Board since 2019 and actively participates in the activities of the The Agency for the Assessement of Tertiary and Vocational Education. Always open to collaboration, she is expected to bring a new dynamic to the Board’s work, making its meetings more multifaceted by leveraging her experience as a Federation Council Senator who works closely with many Russian universities.
Regarding accreditation decisions, the educational programs of the following institutions were highly rated by expert groups and received support for their proposed accreditation periods:
- Chuvash State University named after I.N. Ulyanov
- Tver State Technical University
- Saratov State Law Academy
- The specialty program of North Caucasus State Academy
During the discussion, Dr. Yevgenia Korneva, Coordinator of the program for independent education quality assessments, emphasized the need to update the methodology of independent quality assessments by the Russian Register Certification Association to facilitate the international accreditation of educational programs. Dr. Korneva substantiated the proposed adjustments, which were approved by the Board for pilot testing in subsequent accreditation procedures.
Parida Bostonova, Director of the “Sapattyu Bilim” Agency from Kyrgyzstan, was invited to the meeting and shared insights on the main requirements for accreditation agencies, the specific features of the Kyrgyz educational system, and the key players in the accreditation services market.
Undoubtedly, all the recommendations are important and will be considered in planning the Russian Register’s future activities to advance independent education quality assessments.