Integrating the ESG-2015 in the context of higher education in Armenia Where are we now? Integrating the ESG-2015 in the context of higher education in Armenia Lusine Fljyan Lviv, 19-20, November, Ukraine

BACKGROUND Data on Higher Education in Armenia Public Private Transnational Branches of foreign private universities Branches of foreign state universities Number of HEIs 20 31 5 3 Number of students 95.322 Number of teaching staff 11.388

QUALITY HIGHER EDUCATION The situation is different from institution to institution, but we are on our way to improve the quality assurance in the context of higher education in Armenia. The accreditation process of HEIs has launched since 2011, and since then, 10 public and 6 private HEIs have already undergone institutional accreditation by ANQA, 1 out of which was granted accreditation for 6 years, 9 state and 1 private HEIs received accreditation for 4 years, 3 private HEIs received conditional accreditation for 2 years and 2 private universities were rejected in institutional accreditation. The Universities which are awarded institutional accreditation, are discussing the terms to launch cluster accreditation of their study programmes.

QUALITY ASSURANCE-ESG 2015 Standards: What to do? Guidelines: Why is it important to do?

Adoption of the Principles of ESG 2015 continuity and change principles and operational issues emphasis on “all types of higher education” modes of delivery and places of study link to ‘Bologna tools’ like QF‐EHEA and ECTS •new standard on SCL – link to academic quality •learning outcomes and their role in QA •employability

Adoption of the Principles of ESG 2015 Things to be improved Higher education institutions have primary responsibility for the quality of their provision and its assurance- the HEIs feel responsible for the quality of their education programmes, but the triangle between the education, research and innovation is still very week at HEIs

Adoption of the Principles of ESG 2015 Things to be improved “ESG 2015 support academic integrity and freedom and is vigilant against academic fraud”, The policy needs to take into account the national and institutional context.

Design and approval of programmes HEIs have established procedures for the design and approval of their programmes. The study programmes are designed so that they meet the objectives set for them, including the intended learning outcomes. The qualification resulting from a programme refers to the correct level of the new national qualifications framework for higher education and, consequently, to the Framework for Qualifications of the European Higher Education Area.

STUDENT-CENTERED LEARNING, QUALITY AND ASSESSMENT -The diversity of students and their needs are not fully taken into consideration, enabling flexible learning paths to different types of the students; A variety of pedagogical methods are not fully and flexibly used by the universities; Some universities do not regularly evaluate and adjust the modes of delivery and pedagogical methods; -The autonomy of the learner is not fulfilled in some cases, there are no regulations yet for providing the learner with autonomy - The Universities do not have appropriate procedures for dealing with students’ complaints, no student-support services are established yet to facilitate them throughout the period of their study programme

TEACHING STAFF Higher education Institutions have established regulations for fair and transparent recruitment and development of the staff, but in some cases they are left on the paper and not always appropriately used by the HEIs

Thank you!