On September 26, Group for Legal and Political Studies (GLPS) organized a Roundtable Discussion on the topic: “Monitoring the Kosovo Accreditation Agency: Where does this institution stand in assuring quality of higher education?”, held in Prishtina. GLPS has monitored the Kosovo Accreditation Agency (KAA) for a two-year period, and the aim of this event was to discuss the challenges and problems this institution encounters, its performance during these years, as well as its role in ensuring the quality of higher education system in Kosovo. In addition, special focus was given to the problems with which the agency was recently faced and their impact on the international aspect. At the beginning of the discussion, GLPS presented a Policy Analysis entitled “The Journey of Kosovo Accreditation Agency: What is the Quality Offered by Private Higher Education Institutions?” which analyzes the work of the KAA in accrediting, re-accrediting and overseeing all Private Higher Education Institutions and their study programs for 2017 and 2018. At the same time, this analysis focuses on the continuous increase of the number of Private Higher Education Institutions in Kosovo and their impact on the quality of education offered. Furthermore, the analysis addresses the challenges and ongoing problems faced by this institution and their impact on the higher education sector in Kosovo. In conclusion, the panel agreed that there is a need for serious commitment towards improving the quality of education offered by private higher institutions in Kosovo, there is a need to increase the capacities of KAA in order to properly monitor the accredited institutions, as well as the Board of KAA needs to make sure it acts independently in order to be part of European Quality Assurance Register (EQAR). This roundtable was organized under a project supported by UNDP – Support to Anti-Corruption Efforts in Kosovo (SAEK).

Panelists:

Mr. Colin Tuck – Director of European Quality Assurance Register (EQAR);

Mr. Ismajl Kurteshi – Chairperson of the Committee on Education, Science, Technology, Culture, Youth, Sports, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, Kosovo Assembly;

Mr. Gazmend Luboteni – Chairman of the State Quality Council at the Kosovo Accreditation Agency;

Mr. Valmir Gashi – Advisor to the Minister of Education, Science and Technology;

Mr. Mato Meyer – Chief Technical Specialist at UNDP;

Mr. Rron Gjinovci – Executive Director, Organization for the Promotion of Quality in Education (ORCA).

Venue: Hotel Sirius (Castor Hall), 10000 Prishtina, Kosovo.