Institutional accreditation for continuing education organisations (continuing professional development)
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Published: 20 April 2021
INSTITUTIONAL ACCREDITATION OF CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD) ORGANISATION
Legislative Basis for Institutional Accreditation
In accordance with Order of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. RK MOH-303/2020 dated December 21, 2020, “On approval of the rules for additional and non-formal education of health professionals, qualification requirements for organizations implementing educational programs of additional and non-formal education in the field of health…” (https://adilet.zan.kz/eng/docs/V2000021847), Clause 3 CPD training is carried out by: Higher and/or postgraduate education organisations, National and scientific centers, Research institutes, Higher medical colleges, on the basis of accredited clinical sites, clinics of educational and scientific organizations in healthcare, and university hospitals that implement continuing and/or non-formal education programmes and have undergone institutional accreditation in accreditation bodies listed in the register of recognized accreditation bodies in accordance with Clause 6, Article 221 of the Code.
In accordance with Article 221 "Features of Educational Activities in Healthcare" of the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Public Health and the Healthcare System No. 360-VI dated July 7, 2020 (https://adilet.zan.kz/eng/docs/K2000000360) “Clause 6 The acquisition of additional knowledge and skills by healthcare professionals shall be carried out through additional and non-formal education. Additional education shall be carried out in educational and scientific organizations that implement educational programs of additional education and have passed institutional accreditation in accreditation authorities entered in the register of recognized accreditation authorities”
Additional education on disinfection, disinsection, and deratization in healthcare is conducted by: Educational and scientific organsations, Professional self-regulatory organisations, that implement additional education programmes and have undergone institutional accreditation in accreditation bodies listed in the register of recognized accreditation bodies. (https://adilet.zan.kz/eng/docs/K2000000360) The Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Public Health and the Healthcare System stipulates that the list of organizations providing continuing education in medical specialties is approved by the authorized body. Order of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 414 dated June 28, 2024, “On the Approval of the List of Organizations Providing Additional Education in Medical Specialties” is available at the following link: https://docs.yandex.ru/docs/
The Eurasian Centre for Accreditation and Quality Assurance in Higher Education and Health Care (ECAQA) (https://www.ecaqa.org/en/about-ecaqa/about-ecaqa) is a recognized accreditation body by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan (https://enic-kazakhstan.edu.kz/en/accreditation/accredited_organizations). ECAQA conducts institutional accreditation in compliance with the Standards for Institutional Accreditation of CPD organisations (Copyright Registration Certificate No. 2773 dated 20.11.2017).
In conducting institutional accreditation of CPD organisations, the Eurasian Centre for Accreditation and Quality Assurance in Higher Education and Health Care applies Accreditation Standards developed based on the International Standards of the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) to improve the quality of continuing professional development (CPD) for physicians, aligning with institutional needs and the priorities of the healthcare system of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Institutional accreditation is funded by CPD organisations in accordance with Article 9-1 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 319-III "On Education" dated July 27, 2007 (as amended and supplemented as of January 1, 2025) (https://adilet.zan.kz/eng/docs/Z070000319_).
Requirements for Organisations Applying for Institutional Accreditation
ECAQA has established the following requirements for CPD organisations to apply for institutional accreditation:
1. Possess official state registration that grants the right to operate, including educational activities (a valid certificate of registration issued by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan, a registered Charter of the Organisation, and relevant Regulations).
2. Comply with the requirements of the Order of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. RK MOH-303/2020 dated December 21, 2020, “On approval of the rules for additional and non-formal education of health professionals, qualification requirements for organizations implementing educational programs of additional and non-formal education in the field of health, as well as the rules for recognizing the learning outcomes of health professionals received through additional and non-formal education” (https://adilet.zan.kz/eng/docs/V2000021847). “Paragraph 3 Additional education shall be carried out in educational and scientific organizations that implement educational programs of additional education and have passed institutional accreditation in accreditation bodies included in the register of recognized accreditation bodies in accordance with paragraph 6 of Article 221 of the Code”
3. Provide continuing and/or non-formal education for at least one (1) calendar year, following an approved mission, strategic objectives, and development plan.
4. Maintain an official website and/or active social media pages where the organisation publishes up-to-date information about its activities in the state, Russian, and English.
Until 2023, accreditation results were published on the website of the National Center for the Development of Higher Education under the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan (https://enic-kazakhstan.edu.kz/en/accreditation/organizacii-dopolnitelnogo-obrazovaniya).
Since 2024, the decision on institutional accreditation and full versions of external expert commissions reports of the Eurasian Centre for Accreditation and Quality Assurance in Higher Education and Health Care (ECAQA) are published in the international register – APQR-DAQAR (https://daqar.org/). ECAQA has been included in the Asia-Pacific Quality Register (APQR) since 2019, after successfully passing an international quality assurance review.
The Institutional Accreditation Process Includes the Following Steps:
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Stage |
Activity |
Timeline (Months) |
|
1. |
Submission by the CPD organisation (hereinafter referred to as the applicant organisation) of an official application to the ECAQA in the form presented below and a brief description of the organisation. The application form can be downloaded via the following links: https://www.ecaqa.org/en/submit-an-application. The completed form must be printed on official letterhead, include an outgoing reference number, date, and signature of the organisation’s head, and be sent in scanned form to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. |
+1 |
|
2. |
ECAQA evaluates the applicant’s eligibility for institutional accreditation based on the established requirements for CPD (see below). |
+1 |
|
3. |
Training and consultation for the applicant organisation's staff by ECAQA experts on the accreditation procedure and standards for institutional accreditation. |
+2 |
|
4. |
Provision of institutional accreditation standards and a self-assessment guideline to the applicant organisation. |
+2 |
|
5. |
Self-assessment process, preparation of a self-assessment report, and submission of the report along with supporting documents to ECAQA. |
+2 - +5 |
|
6. |
Formation of the External Expert Commission (EEC) and a preliminary review of the applicant organisation to avoid conflicts of interest. Preparation of the EEC for the on-site visit. |
+5 - +6 |
|
7. |
On-site visit by the External Expert Commission (2-3 days), preparation of the final report, recommendations for improvement, and submission of recommendations to the ECAQA Accreditation Council regarding the accreditation status and period (full accreditation, conditional accreditation, or denial of accreditation). |
+6 |
|
8. |
Decision of the ECAQA Accreditation Council on granting accreditation to the applicant organisation for a specified period, in accordance with the institutional accreditation standards. |
+7 |
|
9. |
Notification of accreditation results to the applicant organisation and relevant authorized bodies in education and healthcare. The accreditation outcome is published in APQR-DAQAR (https://daqar.org/) and on the ECAQA website under the "Reestr" section: https://www.ecaqa.org/en/reestr-en |
+8 |
|
10. |
Post-accreditation monitoring, including the development of an improvement plan by the applicant organisation based on EEC recommendations and annual progress reports submitted to ECAQA on the implementation of the improvement plan (All requirements will be detailed in the official notification following the accreditation decision). |
Throughout the accreditation period |
|
11. |
Re-accreditation is conducted after the expiration of the institutional accreditation period. The applicant organisation must initiate the re-accreditation process at least one year before the accreditation period ends (see Stage 1). |
Contact Information: +7 747 5609212, +77013291665