Accreditation in Turkey
Quality of education is an important aspect to consider while searching for an educational opportunity in Turkey. The two key things to pay attention too are if the university is licensed to operate by the Council for Higher Education (CoHE) of Turkey and if it is accredited by any national or international accreditors.
The number of universities opened in Turkey has exploded from only 27 (state) in 1984 to 206 (now include foundation universities and vocational schools) in 2018. The cities with the highest number of universities are Istanbul (61), Ankara (21), Izmir (9), Antalya (5) and Konya (5).
Number of international students attending Turkish universities jumped from 16,656 in 2001 to 125,138 in 2018 (more than fivefold increase!).
Most popular cities among international students are Istanbul and Ankara.
Turkish state and private universities offer number of scholarship opportunities for international students.
Many Turkish universities participate in the Erasmus exchange program that provides study abroad opportunities across 34 countries for students of these countries. Mevlana is another popular program initiated by Turkish government that facilitates students and academics exchange internationally.
The history of the Turkish national system of quality assurance in higher education begins with its participation in the Bologna Process in 2001. Since than several significant steps took place within the Turkish Higher Education, including creation of the Turkish Higher Education Quality Council (THEQC) in 2015. Its Turkish name is Yükseköğretim Kalite Kurulu (YOKAK). The THEQC has established the following list of programmatic accrediting agencies:
- MÜDEK (Mühendislik Eğitim Programları Değerlendirme ve Akreditasyon Derneği – Association for Evaluation and Accreditation of Engineering Programmes)
- FEDEK (Fen, Edebiyat, Fen-Edebiyat, Dil ve Tarih Coğrafya Fakülteleri Akreditasyon Derneği – Science, Literature, Faculty of Science and Letters, Faculty of Languages, History and Geography Curriculum Programmes Assessment and Accreditation Association)
- VEDEK (Veteriner Hekimliği Eğitim Kurumları ve Programları Değerlendirme ve Akreditasyon Derneği – Association for Evaluation and Accreditation of Educational Institutions and Programmes of Veterinary Medicine)
- TEPDAD (Tıp Eğitimi Programlarını Değerlendirme ve Akreditasyon Derneği – Association for Evaluation and Accreditation of Medical Education Programmes)
- MİAK(Mimarlık Akreditasyon Kurulu – Architectural Accrediting Board)
- HEPDAK (Hemşirelik Eğitim Programları ve Akreditasyon Derneği – Association for Evaluation and Accreditation of Nursing Education Programmes
- İLEDAK (Iletişim Eğitimi Değerlendirme Akreditasyon Kurulu – Association for Evaluation and Accreditation of Communication Programmes)
- SABAK (Sağlık Bilimleri Eğitim Programları Değerlendirme ve Akreditasyon Derneği – Association for Evaluation and Accreditation of Health Sciences Programmes)
- TURAK (Turizm Eğitimi Değerlendirme ve Akreditasyon Kurulu – Association for Evaluation and Accreditation of Tourism Education)
- EPDAD (Eğitim Fakülteleri Eğitim Programlarını Değerlendirme ve Akreditasyon Derneği – Association for Evaluation and Accreditation of Education Faculty)
Currently there are 16 national accreditation bodies and 4 international accreditation bodies that are authorized by THEQC to accredit university programs in Turkey. According to the 2020 data, 93 universities in Turkey have accredited programs. Since 2009 some Turkish universities also hold the European Credit Transfer System Label which makes their programs and courses recognizable and transferable by participating universities.
References:
https://www.yok.gov.tr/Documents/Yayinlar/Yayinlarimiz/2019/Higher_Education_in_Turkey_2019_en.pdf
https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/about/factsheets_en
https://apnnic.net/country-profile/turkey/qa-of-heis/
Photos: Unsplash