Country: Finland

A comprehensive accreditation system of educational offering: International accreditation of awarding HEI

Best practices A comprehensive accreditation system of educational offering: International accreditation of awarding HEI Users: Training Providers (Private), Training Providers (Public) | Theme: Accreditation and certification | Action: Fremework/methodology | Beneficiaries: Training Providers (Private), Training Providers (Public). xAIM xAIM Maria Chiara Demartini In 2020 the xAIM consortium aimed at designing a high-quality master program in explainable AI applied to healthcare management. Although each beneficiary was supposed to contribute in term of the design and the teaching staff, the vocational master program had to be delivered by one HEI only. To ensure high-level standards of quality delivered at each phase of the design, organization, roll-out and monitoring of master program, the consortium looked for internationally recognised systems for accreditation to show outstanding excellence in quality assurance.Moreover, one of the sustainability strategies formulated by the consortium entailed the delivery of single modules of the xAIM master programs, beyond the entire master program. The challenge? The xAIM consortium faced multiple challenges: As an international consortium, xAIM didn’t want to rely on one single national regulation for the accreditation of the master program, in order to promote an internationally recognised high-quality master program. Since only one HEI was expected to award the master diploma, other national regulations were not necessarily fit for purpose. A broader and more international quality assurance framework was expected to be adopted for the xAIM master program. The sustainability strategy included opportunities to deliver single modules, beyond the whole master programs. Hence, a comprehensive accreditation system was needed, including both bachelor’s, master’s programs, and short courses. Our solution An internationally recognised accreditation system was selected to quality assure the entire educational offer of the awarding institution. It is worth noting that there are alternative international accreditation systems for business schools. However, the consortium decided to apply for the EFMD quality improvement system (EQUIS), managed by EFMD Global, since it has a European focus. The following explains how each of the identified challenges are addressed: High-quality standards in master’s programs accreditation Challenge: One single national regulation for the accreditation of the master program could be partial and lack some international requirements in terms of accreditation of master programsHow the EQUIS accreditation process facilitates solutions:EQUIS is a comprehensive principle-based system to improve the quality of awarding institutions;• It has strongly agreed upon principles, though flexible implementation, based on national context and local needs;• EQUIS provides learning communities, which are focused on specific principles (e.g., internationalisation) or thematic areas (e.g., the role of AI in educational offer). Difficulty in selecting another (set of) national regulatory frameworkChallenge: Since only one HEI was expected to award the master diploma, other national regulations were not necessarily fit for purpose How the EQUIS accreditation process facilitates solutions:• EQUIS is an internationally recognized standard, acknowledging national context, but promoting a standardised international process for accreditation of HEIs• EQUIS was initially developed in and for European universities, without a specific national framework in mind Need for a supranational accreditation system Challenge: Need for an international quality assurance framework to overcome the limits of national regulationsHow the EQUIS accreditation process facilitates solutions:• It is an internationally recognized standard, based on a benchmarking approach• Although it was initially intended to improve the quality of the educational offer of European universities, EFMD has now extended its scope both geographically, with a global outreach of EQUIS accredited institutions, and institutionally, covering the accreditation of non-university training institutions too; • EQUIS has a strong experience in the field of accreditation of business schools, although its principles and processes are adapting to the ever-changing international educational landscape. Comprehensive accreditation system Challenge: Need to assure short courses and longer programsHow the EQUIS accreditation process facilitates solutions:• EQUIS is an institutional accreditation system covering bachelor’s, master’s, PhD’s, executive programs, and other educational offer;• Being a comprehensive quality improvement system, EQUIS provides support to accredited HEIs in enhancing the quality of the entire educational offer, from multiple and interlinked perspectives;• EQUIS provides HEIs with a global quality recognition of their educational offer. Outcomes The membership to the EFMD Global Network, and the eligibility to EQUIS accreditation were the first steps achieved in the process of EQUIS accreditation. The achievement of these milestones resulted in a set of outcomes: 15% increase in recruitment of international students; 1 new international exchange program with an EQUIS internationally accredited HEI; International recognition in accreditation of educational offer in advanced digital skills, with one new co-funded project with other EQUIS accredited HEIs; Improvement in national and international ranking for master programs Integration of EQUIS methodology with European approach to micro-credentials to further increase the quality level of educational offer. Key takeaways Institutional accreditation (e.g., EQUIS) is key when HEIs and training institutions are looking for a comprehensive accreditation system for their educational offer. Being principle-based, the EQUIS accreditation process is a replicable, yet flexible, strategic benchmarking tool to enhance the quality of the HEI’s educational offer.  Institutional accreditation systemWhat worked: The accreditation system is not targeting a single program, or a short course, but the whole HEI or business school awarding the diplomas or certifications.This approach ensures accreditation is coherent throughout the HEI’s educational offerReplicable Lesson:Adopting comprehensive accreditation systems can lower the time to seek for accreditation of one additional program or courseThe whole institution is involved in the quality assurance process, leading to change in the mindset Standardised and widely adopted accreditation systemWhat worked: EQUIS is an internationally recognised and globally adopted accreditation system.In order to get immediate international recognition of the high-quality of its educational offer, the HEI can look for a widely adopted international standard.Replicable Lesson:An initial scope of the accreditation systems available in the market can help selecting the one best fitting the training institution’s needs.Benchmarking of leading HEIs can support the choice of an institutional accreditation system and its implementation Lessons learnt on the institutional accreditation system can be shared among partner HEIsWhat worked: More experienced HEIs in institutional accreditation systems can mentor other partner HEIs, in the same consortium, in their journey towards institutional accreditation.Replicable Lesson:Sharing achieved outcomes

Inter-institutional cooperation for accrediting EU joint programmes at national level – the case of ManagiDiTH Master

Best practices Inter-institutional cooperation for accrediting EU joint programmes at national level – the case of ManagiDiTH Master Users: Training Providers (Private), Training Providers (Public) | Theme: Accreditation and certification | Action: Education programmes/courses| Beneficiaries: Training Providers (Private), Training Providers (Public), Policymakers (Member State). ManagiDiTH ManagiDiTH Maria do Carmo Gomes The Managing Digital Transformation in the Health Sector (ManagiDiTH) is a four-year project, launched in January 2023 and funded by the European Union through the Digital Europe Programme – Digital Advanced Skills, with the aim of creating a new master’s degree curriculum that equips healthcare professionals with the competencies needed to develop digital services in the health sector. To achieve this objective, seven consortium partners from three European countries are involved in the project, including: ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon (Portugal), Laurea University of Applied Sciences (Finland), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece), Instituto de Telecomunicações (Portugal), Whymob, Lda. (Portugal), Clinipower Finland Ltd (Finland), Mundiserviços – Companhia Portuguesa de Serviços e Gestão, Lda (Portugal).The programme’s objectives include the development of training references for level 7 of the European Qualifications Framework in the digital health sector, the creation of a multidisciplinary learning ecosystem, and the introduction of a pedagogical model that prioritises problem-oriented learning strategies supported by digital tools.The innovative pedagogical and technical skills of the consortium partners will be leveraged to create an integrated Master programme that builds on projects that have already been implemented within the consortium. Furthermore, there are several associated partners in the project, including Health Cluster Portugal, Thessaloniki’s Association of Women with Breast Cancer “Alma Zois”, Finnish Diabetes Association, European Network of Living Labs Ivzw, The Union For Senior Services – Valli, Portuguese Red Cross, Adhd Hellas, and Hovi Group Oy.Overall, the ManagiDiTH curriculum is a ground-breaking initiative that aims to transform healthcare systems and services across Europe, making them more efficient and effective. By equipping healthcare professionals with specialized digital skills, the programme will ensure that graduates are well-prepared to succeed in the rapidly evolving digital healthcare sector. The challenge? Different national accreditation frameworks (procedures, forms and calendar) were found, which required a reinforced inter-institutional cooperation among the 3 Higher Education Institutions in order to get the Master programme accredited in Finland, Greece and Portugal. Our solution Having a sequential submission of the accreditation processes throughout the first 1.5 years of the project. First, the accreditation of the Master was awarded in Finland, as Laurea University of Applied Sciences does not require a submission to a national accreditation authority; secondly, Portugal beneffited from the previous accreditation of Laurea, to submit the full process of accreditation to the national authority (A3ES); and finally, AUTH has benefitted from the previous two accreditation processes as well as all the documentation and information collected and organised previously.This has required the open and transparent sharing of all information among HEI partners, and the storage of the three set of common files that were used at the best convenience of each partner, in order to complete the necessary information for each of the national processes.This approach enabled the Master Program to start even without the accreditation process being completed in Greece, and at the same time, it was important for the Greek partner to have already the Master running for showcasing in concrete how the Programme was delivered, considering also its innovative nature of fully joint design, delivery, and online learning. Outcomes The EU joint Master Programme ManagiDiTH was accredited in three EU countries (at Month 13 in Finland, Month 17 in Portugal, and Month 23 in Greece) even though the first cohort has started in Month 20 (September 2024). No delays were registered and 187 students started their studies in the first edition. Key takeaways Having an open and transparent communication among partners of the consortium since Day 1 of the Project about the accreditation requirements and challenges (top priority on the implementation of the project) Sharing all the documents and information regarding the national accreditation requirements (forms, calendar, bodies and services to be involved in each HEI) Planning the national accreditation processes in a sequential manner and benefit from previous accreditation in one or two (or more) EU countries Permanent contact with National Authorities, in particular, for explaining the specificities of these innovative models for EU joint programmes funded by EU – DEP (not an Erasmus Mundus Joint Programme) Mutual support of each partner to the national accreditation processes (i.e. Laurea’s official documentation was a key element to assure that the accreditation was granted in Portugal; AUTH beneffited from the Official Decision of the Portuguese Accreditation Authotiry (A3ES)). 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