Abstract:

The authors published a number of papers regarding the quality in the higher education, including the accreditation of bachelor programs and master domains. These papers focused on the corresponding methodologies design and procedures implementation. This contribution deals with the problem of evaluation and accreditation of doctoral studies in Romania.

In order to produce the necessary methodologies, the first goal is to know, as well as possible, the actual state of the higher education system. The authors were involved in the design and the use off a survey regarding this subject. An analysis of the obtained results will be presented. The second necessary goal is to accurately define the targets envisaged by the higher education system. A discussion concerning this item will be presented. Based on these two types of information, the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education will be better prepared to participate, as the main actor, both in methodologies development and in procedures implementations for the accreditation of doctoral studies in Romania.

The effects of the implementation of the Bologna process for the Romanian higher education system have already been studied in the framework of few EU funded programs in which the authors of this contribution were involved. If there are also EU countries where the Bologna model has been implemented in a non-maximal way, Romania is part of the group of latest EU accession countries’ group where important efforts have been put in complying as adequately as possible, with EU directives.

The changes produced by consequence of the Bologna process implementation firstly affected bachelor studies, master studies, and following the natural order doctoral studies. This important process also included the problem of evaluation of the quality in the higher education system. Under these circumstances, we were able to study the design and development of necessary methodologies during the accreditation programs or domains, the results of the evaluation procedures’ implementation, and respectively the impact of the new accreditation methods through the higher education system at bachelor and master level. Using the experience acquired this way, and having as target to integrate the image of entire higher education system we intend to present here a similar study regarding the preliminary approaches supporting new accreditation procedures for the doctoral studies in Romania. We consider that this particular case should be interesting for entire EU communities, especially for higher education stake holders.

In order to achieve the first of the two goals mentioned in the context paragraph, The Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education produced a statistical report regarding the actual state of doctoral studies in Romania. Regarding the second of the two goals mentioned in the context paragraph, two important sources of experience are being used. The authors are members of important bodies acting in the fields related to quality in higher education and they participated in international programs dealing with subjects related to national and EU level higher education policies.

Keywords:

Accreditation, Doctoral Studies, Quality in the Higher Education.