Kosovo Accreditation Agency (KAA) and WUS Kosovo on Septemer 28 2021, held the Closing Virtual Conference of the project “Support Kosovo Accreditation Agency on achieving some of the ENQA’s recommendations”, funded from the US Embassy in Pristina, through the University Support Grants Program and administered by Kosovo United States Alumni (KUSA).

The overall objective of the project was to support the Accreditation Agency in achieving the specific standard of “Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area”, as required by the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education in 2019.

The project was implemented in the period September 2020 – September 2021 and these are the main results achieved:

• Preparation of a progress report on the implementation of ENQA recommendations.
• Organizing a Conference with HEIs and various stakeholders regarding quality assurance.
• Development and publication of a report on “Recommendations for the review of standards for institutional and program accreditation by the Kosovo Accreditation Agency”.
• Development and publication of the “Manual for Internal Staff Evaluation” together with the necessary appendices;
• Trainings for KAA staff on internal evaluation.
• Preparation and publication of the “Review of good practices on the implementation of thematic analysis by accreditation agencies in several European countries “.
• Development and publication of “Guide for conducting thematic analyzes by the Kosovo Accreditation Agency”.
• Trainings for KAA staff regarding the implementation of thematic analysis.
• Two thematic analyzes developed and published on the following topics:
  • Preparing Kosovar graduates for the labor market – The perspective of employers and graduates.
  • Thematic Analysis on Institutional Accreditation of Higher Education Institutions in Kosovo.

With funding from international donors, the KAA is increasing its capacity to guarantee quality in higher education and at the same time is constantly fulfilling the recommendations for returning to the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) and the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR).

The creation of the methodology for drafting thematic analyzes has been one of the most difficult criteria to be met by the KAA for our return to ENQA and EQAR. In addition to creating the methodology, KAA and WUS Kosovo have gone one step further, preparing two thematic analyzes.

In accordance with European standards, from now on the KAA possesses the mechanism of creating thematic analyzes, depending on its needs.