Estonian University of Life Sciences has been accredited for seven years

The Quality Assessment Council for Higher Education of the Estonian Quality Agency for Education (HAKA) decided to accredit the Estonian University of Life Sciences for seven years.

The international expert panel that assessed the Estonian University of Life Sciences (EMÜ) pointed out several strengths of the university. The committee highlighted the flexibility with which the recommendations of the previous institutional accreditation have been implemented. For example, the structure of the university has been reorganized. Furthermore, the academic career model has been updated. In addition, the experts highlighted practical study programmes and the correspondence of the university’s research to the needs of Estonian society.

The council recognized the well-functioning cooperation between students and academic support specialists. The university has made significant progress in raising and promoting mental health awareness. Along with better access to psychological counselling, EMÜ has created a supportive environment for the students and staff.

However, the council found that the university must pay more attention to academic ethics. For example, it would be worthwhile for the university to look for new ways to prevent and detect fraud, primarily related to the increase in digital learning and online assessments of students.

External feedback helps with changes

The rector of the Estonian University of Life Sciences, Mait Klaassen, stated that the university’s staff has done high-level work and works daily at maintaining and developing quality, despite the underfunding of higher education. “I want to thank all members of the university who were directly involved in the accreditation process, but also all others who do their daily work with dedication,” he said. “The accreditation result shows that we have done our job well.”

HAKA director Heli Mattisen commented that EMÜ’s progress in dealing with the bottlenecks of the previous institutional accreditation has been so significant that it received special recognition from international experts. “This is an excellent example of how external feedback triggers intensive and effective development activities at the university,” explained Mattisen.

All higher education institutions in Estonia must undergo institutional accreditation at least once every seven years. Institutional accreditation is an external evaluation in which the compliance of the management, teaching, and research activities and the study and research environment of the higher education institution with legislation, the goals of the educational institution, and the development plan are assessed. An international expert panel carries out the evaluation. Based on their assessment report, the Quality Assessment Council makes an accreditation decision. EMÜ passed the institutional accreditation recently in 2019. Check out the evaluation decisions and reports here.

Image: Estonian University of Life Sciences