We present to your attention the cases of the winning universities in the quality categories, which were approved by the EdNet Agency Accreditation Council and presented at the conference ‘2 Years of EdNet Independent Accreditation: Best Examples. The Path to Excellence’ on 30 November 2018.

Osh State University was awarded in the nomination ‘Quality Management in the University’!

In selecting the winner in this nomination, the EdNet Agency Accreditation Council paid special attention to four factors:

- consistent and purposeful work of the university or programme to build a logical system of quality assurance;

- the clear role and aligned work of the quality assurance department that allows for focused action for university-wide quality improvement;

- the work of the quality assurance department or similar structural unit is transparent and understandable to all structural units and contributes to the realisation of their responsibilities with a focus on quality;

- there is a clear policy on the part of the university management to ensure the quality of education.

Osh State University is an excellent example that combines all of the above!

The conference was attended by the Rector, K.A. Isakov, and the Head of the Department of Education Quality, M.A. Altybaeva.

In the nomination ‘Scientific potential as a factor in improving the quality of education’ was the Instrumentation Engineering programme of the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University!

This programme has distinguished itself from others by successful practice of how scientific achievements of the department or specific teachers should be reflected in the quality training of specialists - in the achievements of students, thus demonstrating that science should become an integral part of life not only of the university as an organisation, but also an obligatory component that directly affects the quality of training of specialists.

Nikolay Alexeevich Ragrin, Head of the Department of Instrumentation Engineering, was present at the conference.

The American University of Central Asia won the category ‘Shaping Learning Outcomes through Enabling Environments’ by a landslide!

In this case, the EdNet Accreditation Council paid special attention to the following factors:

- the policy of the university management in terms of creating a favourable environment for students;

- positive influence of the educational environment on the formation of learning outcomes for all programmes implemented at the university and the manifestation of specific results;

- continuous investment in the development of the educational environment;

- educational environment that contributes to the realisation of the HEI's mission.

In the next nomination entitled ‘Human Resource Management and Quality of Education’, the OSCE Academy in Bishkek won!

We have seen different practices of how work with teachers is carried out within universities, and when choosing the winner, we based our selection on the following criteria:

* qualitative work with teaching staff in terms of the whole cycle of teaching staff activity, from recruitment to the full realisation of their duties.

* well-delivered work with faculty that provides a clear understanding of the learning outcomes of the programme.

* a faculty performance system that allows for ongoing monitoring of faculty progress.

* the system of work with the teaching staff has a strong positive effect on the quality of training of specialists.

In the nomination ‘Innovative Curriculum’ the winner was the programme ‘Agriculture’ of Talas State University!

The criteria for this nomination were:

- to see innovations in the formation and approval of the educational programme, which directly affect the quality of learning;

- practical implementation of all conceived innovations;

- sustainability and efficiency of the realised innovations, which are reflected in the continuous support of the quality of learning;

- innovations that bring uniqueness to the educational programme.

In the nomination ‘Applied nature of the curriculum’ we won the programme ‘Restoration and Reconstruction of Architectural Heritage’ (Master's degree) of the Kyrgyz State University of Construction, Transport and Architecture named after N. Isanov.

When selecting the winner in this nomination, the Accreditation Council considered such issues as:

- how the students' practice is organised with a focus on solving real practical problems and what results it gives in the learning process?

- whether students can actually practise their theoretical knowledge.

We congratulate the winners and wish them further success!

The Psychological Service of the International University in Central Asia was presented as the winner in the nomination ‘Modernisation of the activity of additional services of the university’!

Not always in universities the activity of additional services is appreciated, especially not always it is considered as an element that can directly influence the quality of education in the university. Complementary services can play a serious role in shaping learning outcomes and can have a serious impact on student performance, as well as on the overall climate, atmosphere in HEIs.

MUCA is an example of how the proper organisation of complementary services can have a positive impact on the operation of entire educational programmes.

The educational programme ‘Construction’ (Master's degree) of the International University of Innovative Technologies, became the first in the nomination ‘Practical Integrated Education’!

When determining the winner the EdNet Accreditation Council considered the following questions:

- how the topics of students' diploma theses on the “Construction” programme are formed and how these topics reflect the needs of production.

- How the work with the bases of industrial practice is built when writing theses.

- how the interaction between students and teachers is structured to produce theses that meet the requirements of the labour market.

- examples of using the results of theses in production.

Our latest nomination is ‘Quality Transformation’, in which the Kyrgyz-Kazakh University's Economics (Bachelor's Degree) programme won!

In selecting the winner of this nomination, the EdNet Accreditation Council paid special attention to the following factors:

- how the decision for conditional accreditation affected the department staff and university administration;

- what specific steps were taken to implement the recommendations and address the observations. Point changes, which cover changes in programme content, in the work of AUP or faculty, in teaching methods, in working with stakeholders, etc.

- what transformational changes could be labelled as a result of preparation for re-accreditation;

- how the training is conducted today and whether the indicators of satisfaction with the educational process on the part of students, teaching staff, employers or other stakeholders have changed;

- what the independent accreditation process of the EdNet Agency has yielded in terms of quality.