Unofficial translation
Footnote. The heading as amended by the order of the Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 13.02.2023 № 49 (shall be enforced ten calendar days after the date of its first official publication).
In accordance with subparagraph 19) of Paragraph 15 of the Regulations on the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, approved by the Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated August 19, 2022 № 580, I HEREBY ORDER:
Footnote. The Preamble as amended by the order of the Acting Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 19.04.2024 № 177 (shall be enforced from 29.04.2024).1. Approve:
1) requirements for the accreditation body in higher and postgraduate education in accordance with Appendix 1 to this order;
2) the rules for recognition of accreditation bodies in higher and postgraduate education, including foreign bodies in accordance with Appendix 2 to this order.
Footnote. Paragraph 1 as amended by the order of the Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 13.02.2023 № 49 (shall be enforced ten calendar days after the date of its first official publication).2. The Committee on Control in the Sphere of Education and Science of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan (A. Primkulov) in accordance with the procedure established by legislation shall:
1) ensure the state registration of this order with the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
2) within ten calendar days after the state registration of this order send the copy to official publication in the Information and legal system "Adilet" and to periodicals in electronic variant with the application of the paper copy certified by the official stamp;
3) within five working days from the date of receipt of the registered order to send the copy of it in printing and electronic variant, certified by the seal of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan and certified by an electronic digital signature of the person, authorized to sign this order to the Republican State Enterprise on the right of economic management "Republican Legal Information Center" of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan for inclusion in the Reference Control Bank of regulatory legal acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
4) place this order on the Internet resource of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
5) within ten working days after the state registration of this order with the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan, submit to the Department of Legal Service and International Cooperation of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan information on the execution of measures provided for in subparagraphs 1), 2) and 3) of this paragraph.
3. Control over the execution of this order shall be entrusted to the Vice Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan B.A. Asylov.
4. This order shall be enforced upon expiry of ten calendar days after the date of its first official publication.
|
Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan |
E. Sagadiyev |
| Appendix 1 to the order of Vice-Minister dated October 4, 2021 № 499 |
Requirements for the accreditation body in the field of higher and postgraduate education
Footnote. The order has been supplemented by Appendix 1 in accordance with the order of the Acting Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 04.10.2021 № 499 (shall be enforced after the day of its first official publication); is in the wording of the order of the Acting Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 11.06.2025 № 302 (shall be enforced upon expiry of ten calendar days after the date of its first official publication).
1. To have the status of a legal entity.
2. To be a member of the registers and/or associations of accreditation bodies of the member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (hereinafter - the OECD), including the European Quality Assurance Register, and/or to have a full membership in 2 (two) or more associations (networks) of accreditation bodies.
3. To have the resources necessary to fulfill the obligations for accreditation of organizations of higher and/or postgraduate education (hereinafter - OHPE), educational programs:
1) an information system (website), which provides the necessary information on accreditation for users in three languages (Kazakh, Russian, and English). For foreign accreditation bodies, it is sufficient to have a page on the website in English with information on the accreditation of Kazakhstani OHPE;
2) at least 3 (three) full-time staff members holding an academic degree of Doctor of Science or Candidate of Science and (or) the Ph/D/Doctor of Science in the specialty;
3) availability of a system of advanced training in the field of quality assurance for the involved experts, employees, and trainees.
4. To have experts with an academic degree of Doctor of Science or Candidate of Science and/or with the degree of Ph/D/Doctor of Science in the specialty and/or representatives of the professional community with experience in the field of institutional and specialized accreditation or in the field of training specialists of the accredited OHPE as members of the expert commission.
Kazakhstani accreditation bodies shall include 1 (one) or more than 1 (one) foreign expert in the expert commission. The number of Kazakhstani experts participating in accreditation conducted by a foreign accreditation body is not more than 25 % (twenty-five percent).
The expert commission consists of representatives from among senior students having a certificate of advanced training in the field of institutional and/or specialized accreditation of OHPE. The level of education of students involved in the expert commission:
1) corresponds to the specialty(cluster) of an accredited educational program;
2) not lower than the level of education for which specialized accreditation is carried out.
5. To have standards (regulations) for accreditation of higher and postgraduate education that establish requirements for the accreditation procedure in accordance with international standards and guidelines for ensuring the quality of higher and postgraduate education in the European Higher Education Area (ESG).
The standards shall take into account the specifics of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of higher and postgraduate education, including the standard of teacher education, requirements for educational programs of higher and postgraduate education in the form of online training.
6. Accreditation procedures provide for visiting the accredited OHPE in an offline format for at least 3 (three) days for institutional and at least 2 (two) days for specialized accreditation with the participation of at least 4 (four) experts per 1 cluster.
This requirement does not apply during a state of emergency of natural or technogenic origin, or during restrictive measures, including quarantine, within the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
7. To have a development program and/or an organization's strategy developed taking into account strategic and program documents in the field of higher and postgraduate education.
8. To have the following published information in the accreditation body's information system (website):
1) on accreditation of the OHPE and (or) the educational program (certificate of accreditation, external audit reports), including decisions on postponement and extension of the accreditation period, taken during a state of emergency of a natural or technogenic origin, restrictive measures, including quarantine in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan (no later than thirty working days from the date of making the decision);
2) annual analytical information on the main results of the accreditation body's activities;
3) on the system of professional development in the field of quality assurance of the involved experts, employees and trainees of the accreditation body;
4) standards (regulations) for accreditation of higher and postgraduate education;
5) the development program and/or strategy of the accreditation body (approved for publication-for foreign bodies);
6) areas of training for which the accreditation body accredits educational programs;
7) documents on internal quality assurance of the accreditation body;
8) an automated service (Registry) search for data on institutional and specialized accreditation.
9. To have registration in the information system of the authorized body in the field of science and higher education, "Unified Platform of Higher Education" for entering data on institutional and specialized accreditation carried out by the accreditation body.
| Annex 2 to the Order № 629 of the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated November 1, 2016 |
Rules for recognition of accreditation bodies in the field of higher and postgraduate education, including foreign ones
Footnote. Appendix 2 is in the wording of the order of the Acting Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 11.06.2025 № 302 (shall be enforced upon expiry of ten calendar days after the date of its first official publication).
Chapter 1. General provisions
1. These Rules for the recognition of accreditation bodies in the field of higher and postgraduate education, including foreign ones (hereinafter – the Rules), have been developed in accordance with subparagraph 19) of paragraph 15 of the Regulation on the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, approved by Resolution № 580 of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated August 19, 2022 (hereinafter - the Regulation on Ministry) and shall determine the procedure for recognition of accreditation bodies, including foreign ones.
2. The following terms are used in these Rules:
1) an accreditation body – a legal entity that conducts institutional, and/or specialized (program) accreditation of organizations of higher and/or postgraduate education based on accreditation standards (regulations);
2) accreditation standards (regulations) – documents of the accreditation body establishing requirements for the accreditation procedure;
3) Register of accredited organizations of higher and (or) postgraduate education (hereinafter - Register 2) – a list of accredited organizations of higher and (or) postgraduate education;
4) an authorized body in the field of science and higher education (hereinafter – the authorized body)- the central executive body of the Republic of Kazakhstan carrying out management and inter-sectoral coordination in the field of higher and postgraduate education;
5) accreditation of organizations of higher and postgraduate education – the recognition procedure of compliance of educational services with the established accreditation standards (regulations) by the accreditation body in order to provide objective information about their quality and confirm the existence of effective mechanisms for its improvement;
6) Register of recognized accreditation bodies in the field of higher and postgraduate education (hereinafter - Register 1) – a list of national and foreign accreditation bodies formed by the authorized body in the field of science and higher education, included in the registers and (or) associations of accreditation bodies of the member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (hereinafter - OECD);
7) Register of accredited educational programs of organizations of higher and (or) postgraduate education (hereinafter - Register 3) – a list of accredited educational programs (specialty) of organizations of higher and (or) postgraduate education;
8) institutional accreditation – a procedure for evaluating the effectiveness of the internal quality assurance system processes in organizations of higher and/or postgraduate education in accordance with the declared status and established accreditation standards (regulations);
9) specialized (program) accreditation – a procedure for assessing the quality of individual educational programs implemented by organizations of higher and/or postgraduate education;
10) Republican Accreditation Council – a body, making decisions on the activities of accreditation bodies;
11) Working body of the Republican Accreditation Council (hereinafter - the Working Body) – a structural subdivision of the authorized body, ensuring the Council's activities and maintenance of the Register 1 (in accordance with Annex 1 to these Rules), Register 2 (in accordance with Annex 2 to these Rules) and Register 3 (in accordance with Annex 3 to these Rules) in the Unified platform of higher education (hereinafter - the UPHE);
12) information system of the authorized body – a Unified platform of higher education.
Chapter 2. Procedure for recognition of accreditation bodies in the field of higher and postgraduate education, including foreign ones
3. An accreditation body in the field of higher and postgraduate education, including a foreign one, to confirm its compliance with the Requirements for an accreditation body in the field of higher and postgraduate education approved by this order (hereinafter - the Requirements), for passing the recognition procedure, shall submit the following documents to the working body through the UPHE:
1) an application in accordance with Annex 4 to the Rules;
2) notarized copies of the constituent documents. When submitting documents in foreign languages, a notarized translation into Kazakh or Russian is required;
3) a document confirming the inclusion of the accreditation body in the registers and/or associations of accreditation bodies of the OECD member states, or a link to the website where the accreditation body included in the European Quality Assurance Register (The European Quality Assurance Register) is presented (hereinafter-EQAR), and (or) full membership in 2 (two) or more associations (networks) of accreditation bodies;
4) documents confirming the availability of resources specified in paragraph 3 of the Requirements;
5) a list of experts who meet item 4 of the Requirements;
6) accreditation standards (regulations) of the accreditation body that establish requirements for the accreditation procedure;
7) development program and/or strategy of the accreditation body.
Documents submitted to the UPHE shall be signed with the electronic (digital) signature of the legal representative of the accreditation body.
4. The Working body within 5 (five) working days, shall verify in the EHEA the completeness of the submitted documents of the accreditation body in accordance with paragraph 3 of these Rules.
When the accreditation body submits a complete set of documents, the Working body in the UPHE shall accept the documents.
5. If the documents specified in paragraph 3 of these Rules are incomplete, the Working body shall send the documents submitted to the UPHE for revision. Refinement shall be carried out within 5 (five) business days.
6. After the Working body accepts the documents of the accreditation body submitted for recognition, they shall be submitted for consideration to the Republican accreditation council (hereinafter - the Council). Documents of the accreditation body for recognition shall be reviewed by the Council for compliance with the Requirements.
The Council is formed from representatives of the authorized body, the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Atameken", a public association, an association of legal entities, foreign and Kazakhstani experts. The quantitative composition of the Council includes at least 9 (nine) members. The composition of the Council shall be approved by the order of the head of the authorized body.
A meeting of the Council shall be held if there is a quorum of at least 2/3 (two-thirds) of the total number of members.
Decisions of the Council shall be considered adopted if a majority of those present at the Council meeting voted for them. If the votes of those present at the Council meeting are equal, the vote of the Chairman of the Council shall be decisive.
The minutes of the Council's decision shall be drawn up and signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the Council.
7. An accreditation body that has accredited educational programs from at least 2 (two) organizations of higher and/or postgraduate education (hereinafter - OHPE) that are included in one of the academic rankings-top 200 ARWU (Academic Ranking of World Universities), top 300 THE (Times Higher Education), top 300 QS World University Rankings (QS World University Ranking), U.S. News and World Report, Global Score from 65 (sixty-five)), shall be recognized automatically based on the decision of the Council.
For the purpose of carrying out activities for branches of foreign OHPE and foreign educational institutions in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Council's decision automatically recognizes the accreditation of a foreign OHPE received in the country of its registration. At the same time, it is required to enter the top 250 international academic rankings (ARWU Academic Ranking of World Universities), THE (Times Higher Education), QS World University Rankings, and/or the top 100 national rankings of countries OECD and/or BRICS.
8. The term of documents consideration for recognition by the accreditation body is 30 (thirty) business days from the date of acceptance of the documents specified in paragraph 3 of these Rules.
9. Based on the results of documents consideration of the accreditation body for compliance with the Requirements, the Council shall make one of the following decisions:
1) on the recognition of the accreditation body;
2) refusal to recognize the accreditation body.
The Council's decision shall be displayed in the UPHE.
10. The authorized body, based on the decision of the Council, shall issue an order on recognition of the accreditation body for a period of 5 (five) years and include it in the Register 1.
The accreditation body shall submit an annual activity report in accordance with Annex 5 to the Rules by January 31 of the year following the reporting year to the Working body. The report shall be considered at a meeting of the Council.
11. The grounds for excluding an accreditation body from the Register 1 shall be:
1) an application of the accreditation body for voluntary termination of activity, reorganization or liquidation, or exclusion from the Register 1;
2) expiration of the term of recognition of the accreditation body in the Register 1;
3) exclusion of the accreditation body from the registers and/or associations of accreditation bodies of the OECD, including EQAR, and/or full membership in associations (networks) of accreditation bodies;
4) failure to comply with paragraphs 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the Requirements and decisions of the Council;
5) detection of unreliable or distorted data submitted to the authorized body based on the results of accreditation of educational organizations and educational programs in the annual report on the activities of the accreditation body for the past period;
6) revocation of the license to conduct educational activities and/or Annexes to the license in 2 (two) or more OHPE accredited by the accreditation body;
7) establishing the facts of affiliation of the accreditation body with the accredited OHPE;
8) carrying out accreditation of OHPE and/or educational programs without visiting, except for the period of a state of emergency of a natural or technogenic origin, restrictive measures, including quarantine in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Exclusion from the Register of 1 accreditation body shall be made on the basis of a decision of the Council.
12. The Working body, based on decisions of the Council and the authorized body, shall make changes and additions to the Register 1 through the UPHE system.
13. The accreditation bodies included in Register 1 shall ensure timely updating of data on institutional and specialized accreditation in Registers 2 and 3 through the UPHE system within 10 (ten) business days from the date of making a decision on accreditation of the OPHE or educational program.
In the event of reorganization of the OHPE in the form of division/ separation/ merger/ accession/ transformation, the accreditation body shall reissue the certificate of institutional and/or specialized accreditation of this (given) OHPE for the newly created OHPE as a result of division/separation/ merger/accession/transformation, which are legal successors with the retention of the accreditation period for 10 (ten)years. working days.
In Registers 2 and 3, the accreditation body places a link to a video recording of meetings of the accreditation council for making decisions on accreditation within 5 (five) business days. The link to the video is available in the system for 1 (one) year.
