AMSE at the XIII IREG 9 Conference at Hasselt, Belgium, 23-25 May 2018, Hasselt / Belgium

The meeting was entitled “Ranking and Accreditation – two roads to the same goal?” Accreditation and ranking have been, until recently, perceived as two separate areas in the sphere of evaluation of higher education, each serving a different purpose. This perception, however, is changing. The aim of this IREG-9 Conference was to analyse the relations between accreditation and rankings in the context of challenges facing higher education and its quality.

Accreditation is focused primarily on the quality of teaching is academic and made for students and parents, while the rankings are focused on the quality of research and made for the public. Accreditation measures the quality of the inputs into education while rankings measure the outcomes of a higher academic institution. By working together, it is possible to use the best practices of both specialties to maintain strong and consistent educational standards in growing and quickly evolving landscape of higher education.

The meeting brought together leading ranking specialists whereas specialists in accreditation were underrepresented.

As an accreditation specialist, Peter Dieter could contribute important issues from the accreditation side to the audience and by doing this building a bridge between accreditation and ranking. He also gave an inside into the accreditation and rankings in medicine and introduced AMSE and its quality assurance program which was very well received.

About IREG

IREG Observatory on Academic Ranking and Excellence (IREG Observatory) is an international institutional non-profit association of ranking organisations, universities and other bodies interested in university rankings and academic excellence. Its purpose is strengthening of public awareness and understanding of range of issues related to university rankings and academic excellence.