Accreditation of Communication programs Preapared for ERASMUS Program İn Tırnava/ Slovakia 23-28 April 2017

Bologna Process and ESQ In Europe almost every university, every academic unit have been implementing Bologna Process and European Standart and Guideline (ESQ) in order to proof the quality assurance of their programs What are the main specifications? What have been done so far? Program outcomings were prepared Every lecture in the Program should have the syllabus which meet of the requirements of the program outcomings Grading system of each lecture was changed from credit into ECTS (in Turkish: AKTS)

Bologna Process and ESQ (con.) Total grading were accepted as 240 ECTS for four years Communication program Calculation the grading system (ECTS) should based on the student’s resposibility that how many hours spending for the lecture in order prepare himself / herself…

Bologna Process and ESQ (con.) Internal and external stakeholders became very important part of the communication studies. Internal stakeholders; students, academicians, lecturers, administrator, all other related personnel, even parents of the students External stakeholders; all related sector such as media organisations, public relations firms, advertising agencies, film industries, creative arts etc.)

Quality Assurance The implementation of Quality Assurance (QA) is one of the most challenging reform areas for Turkey due to the unique organization of its higher education system. how Turkey accomplishes the goal of implementing QA practices at institutional, national and international levels.

Quality Assurance (cont.) We conclude that the focus of current reform should be on developing internal quality practices and encouraging participation of all stakeholders. Turkish higher education needs to find its own combination of measures that will consider historical and social characteristics of quality culture and to develop strategies befitting Turkey's conditions.

Acceditation of the communication programs What is İLDEK? (Dean of the Communication Faculties Meeting) It is an independent body of which consists all the deans of communication faculties in Turkey, TRNC (Turkish Republic of North Cyprus),and some other Turkish Republic. Deans of communication faculties have gathered every year since 2000 by the invitation of one the communication faculties.

Board of the Deans of Communication Faculties (İLDEK/BDEC) Agenda of the meetings: What we have already discussed in these meetings; problems of the communication faculties from A to Z. that is almost everything. Some topics which İLDEK has been discussing since many years; Up-to-date curriculums under graduates and graduates Employment problems of the graduates Relations with the stakeholders (public service, NGOs & private sector) Relations with YÖK (Council of Higher Education) Enhancing of the educational quality of communication faculties

Acceditation of the communication programs Nowadays there is no acceditation body /NGO Since two years, what we will be discussing in the meeting primarly accreditation issue of communication education in Turkey. İLDEK meeting in 2015, all the deans decided to found an accreditation body for communication education which now compulsory in university education.

İLAD (Communication Research Association), İLAD being as an NGO, which started and completed recently all the related works and applied to the Council of Higher Education in Turkey in order to obtained «Registration Certificate» for accreditation of the all the communication faculty programs in Turkey & TRNC.

ESG (European Standards and Guidelines for the External Quality Assurance of Higher Education) STANDARTS Standart 3.2 Legal Basis ?? «Agencies should have an established legal basis and should be formally recognised as quality assurance agencies by competent public authorities.» Standart 3.3. Independence «Agencies should be independent and act autonomously. They should have full responsibility for their operations and the outcomes of those operations without third party influence»

ESG STANDARTS (Cont.) Standart 3.4 Thematic analysis «Agencies should regularly publish reports that describe and analyse the general findings of their external quality assurance activities.» Standart 3.5 Resources «Agencies should have adequate and appropriate resources, both human and financial, to carry out their work.»

ESG STANDARTS (Cont.) Standart 3.6 Internal quality assurance and Professional conduct «Agencies should have in place processes for internal quality assurance related to defining, assuring and enhancing the quality and integrity of their activities.» Standart 3.7 Cyclical external review of agencies «Agencies should undergo an external review at least once every five years in order to demonstrate their compliance with the ESG»

External Quality Assurance of Higher Education in Europe & US ENQA (European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education) EUA (European University Association) HLC (Higher Learning Commission) ACA  (American Communication Association) ACEJMC (Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications)