Accreditation Council
Regulation on the CAAAE Accreditation Council
Approved by CAAAE President A. Abzhapparov on 29 December 2025.
1. General Provisions
1.1. This Regulation on the Accreditation Council of the Central Asian Association for Accreditation of Education has been developed in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Education", other regulatory legal acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan governing the accreditation of educational organisations, Order No. 482 of the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 27 September 2017 "On recognition as an accreditation body and inclusion in Register 1 of the Central Asian Association for Accreditation of Education (CAAAE)", and the Charter of the CAAAE. This Regulation is approved by the President of CAAAE.
1.2. The CAAAE Accreditation Council (hereinafter — the Council) operates in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the regulatory acts of the authorised body in the field of education, the CAAAE Charter, this Regulation, and international quality assurance standards and guidelines, including the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) and the standards of the European Network for Accreditation of Engineering Education (ENAEE).
1.3. The Council is a standing collegial body of CAAAE responsible for reviewing external evaluation materials and making decisions on the accreditation of educational organisations and/or educational programmes.
2. Competence, Rights and Duties of the Council
2.1. The Council reviews the reports of external expert panels formed and approved by the President of CAAAE.
2.2. Based on its review, the Council takes collegial decisions to grant or refuse accreditation, which enter into force by order of the President of CAAAE.
2.3. The Council reviews and approves accreditation criteria, procedures and other internal documents governing its activities, unless otherwise provided by the CAAAE Charter.
2.4. The Council considers appeals from educational organisations disagreeing with the conclusions of an external expert panel or with a decision to reject an application for professional public accreditation, in the manner established by CAAAE's internal documents.
2.5. Council members serve on a remunerated basis. Payment is made under civil law contracts concluded between CAAAE and the Council members.
3. Composition of the Council
3.1. The membership of the Council is approved by order of the President of CAAAE. The Council consists of no fewer than 9 and no more than 15 members.
3.2. The Council may include representatives of the academic community, employers, professional associations and research organisations, international experts, student representatives and other specialists with the necessary qualifications and experience.
3.3. At least one third of the Council's membership is renewed at least once every three years. The term of office of Council members is five years, renewable, but for no more than two consecutive terms. The term of office of a student member is limited to the period of their studies.
3.4. A Council member may resign voluntarily or may be removed by decision of the Council in the following cases: systematic failure to perform duties; absence without valid reason from more than three consecutive meetings, including meetings held by videoconference; actions damaging the business reputation of CAAAE or the Council; a conflict of interest preventing the objective performance of duties.
3.5. The Council comprises a Chairperson, Council members and a Secretary.
3.6. The Chairperson is elected from among the Council members by open vote by a simple majority for a term of five years, renewable.
3.7. The Secretary is appointed by order of the President of CAAAE from among CAAAE staff and does not vote.
4. Meetings and Decision-Making
4.1. Council meetings are held in person, by videoconference or in a mixed format at least twice a year, in accordance with the annual work plan approved by the President of CAAAE in agreement with the Council Chairperson.
4.2. Meetings are chaired by the Council Chairperson. In their absence, the chair is taken by a Council member designated by the Chairperson or elected by the Council members.
4.3. The President of CAAAE may attend Council meetings without the right to vote. On behalf of the Chairperson, the President of CAAAE may moderate a meeting.
4.4. The Secretary sends the meeting agenda and accreditation materials to Council members no later than seven calendar days before the meeting date.
4.5. Following each meeting, the Secretary draws up minutes recording the course of the meeting, the issues discussed, the voting results and the decisions taken.
4.6. The minutes are drawn up on paper and/or electronically, signed by the Chairperson and the Secretary, and stored in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan on archiving and records management.
4.7. A Council meeting is quorate if more than two thirds of the Council members participate, regardless of the form of participation.
4.8. Decisions are taken by open vote by a simple majority of the Council members present.
4.9. In the event of a tie, the Chairperson has the casting vote.
4.10. Based on its review of the materials, the Council may take one of the following decisions: re-accredit for a period of 7 years; accredit for a period of 5 years; accredit for a period of 3 years; accredit conditionally for a period of 1 year subject to mandatory remediation of the identified shortcomings; refuse accreditation.
4.11. The draft minutes are sent to Council members within five working days of the meeting. Comments on the draft minutes are submitted by Council members in writing within seven working days of receipt.
5. Appeals against Council Decisions
5.1. Council decisions on institutional and specialised (programme) accreditation may be appealed by educational organisations in accordance with the CAAAE appeals procedure.
5.2. Representatives of an educational organisation may attend the Council meeting at which the accreditation results of that organisation are considered, without the right to vote.
5.3. If an educational organisation disagrees with a Council decision, it may submit a written application (appeal) to CAAAE within the timeframes and in the manner established by CAAAE's internal documents.
5.4. A written application is considered within ten working days of its registration, unless a different period is established by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan or CAAAE's internal documents. A reasoned written response is sent to the applicant based on the outcome of the review.
6. Final Provisions
6.1. Amendments and additions to this Regulation are made in the event of changes to the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, international requirements in the field of education quality assurance, or CAAAE's internal documents.
6.2. Amendments and additions to this Regulation are reviewed by the Accreditation Council and approved by the President of CAAAE.
6.3. This Regulation enters into force on the day of its approval by the President of CAAAE, unless otherwise provided by the relevant order.