INTERNATIONAL ACCREDITATION OF STUDY PROGRAMMES IN THE CONTEXT OF QUALITY ASSURANCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION.

A comprehensive strategy of a modern university includes, among other things, quality assurance policy; quality assurance mechanisms are usually customized taking cognizance of the unique features of an educational organization. In the framework of quality assurance, assessment, accreditation and audit can be performed. Internal and external quality assurance procedures accompany each other, providing synergy necessary for supporting sustainable educational process. External expert accreditation is considered to be one of the most efficient tools for quality assessment of a study programme in the agenda of quality assurance in higher education. The aim of this paper is to discuss the main procedures, principles and standards used in the process of international accreditation of a study programme. The paper is based on the analysis of theoretical sources and official EU documents on quality assurance in higher education, and the author's longstanding experience as a self-accreditation expert in Transport and Telecommunication Institute. The analysis performed in the paper has allowed the author to outline the basic study programme accreditation standards applied in the context of quality assurance in higher education. The conducted analysis has also enabled the author to conclude that the implementation of European Standards and Guidelines (ESG) used as a basis for accreditation procedures in the EU countries contributes to enhancing quality provision in cross-border higher education within the European Higher Education Area. The author hopes that whatever lessons this analysis provides would be helpful to the emerging experts in the field of international accreditation, as well as policy decision-makers in the area of higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]