IAAR is recognised by the World Federation for Medical Education WFME, has the status of a full member of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education ENQA and registered in the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education EQAR and, which gives IAAR the right to conduct international accreditation of medical organisations and programmes. Accordingly, all educational organisations and programmes accredited by the IAAR receive the status of an international accreditation.

International specialised (programme) accreditation in the Republic of Kazakhstan is carried out in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Education" dated July 27, 2007 No. 319-III (as amended on April 19, 2019)

According to Article 9-1 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Education”, the accreditation of the educational programme is carried out on a voluntary basis, and the organisation of education independently chooses the accreditation body.

In the Republic of Kazakhstan international specialised (programme) accreditation is fully recognised only if the accreditation body is included in the National Register of Recognised Accreditation Bodies and is included in the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education EQAR.

According to the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Education”, specialised (programme) accreditation is the process of evaluation of the quality of individual educational programme implemented by the medical educational organisation for compliance with the standards of accreditation body.

IAAR conducts international specialised (programme) accreditation of the educational programme in Kazakhstan based on international medical education standards WFME.

Independent international specialised (programme) accreditation allows:

• receive state funding based on an educational grant or state educational order;
• issue state diplomas;
• implement country agreements on the mutual recognition of academic degrees and educational credentials;
• promote the employment of graduates and their further study abroad.

Accreditation standards in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan are developed independently by accreditation bodies. IAAR Standards aimed at professional and reliable external quality assurance of medical and pharmaceutical education.

The separate Guidelines have been developed for the standards of specialised (programme) accreditation of medical education organisations, in which methodological recommendations are given on organising and conducting the self-assessment procedure, preparing and elaborating a report on the results of self-assessment.

The standards are the intellectual property of the IAAR. They are available to the public and presented on the IAAR website.

The IAAR Standards and Guidelines are subject to amendment, revision and updating, and are governed by the Instruction on the Development and Improvement of Standards, taking into account the HEIs recommendations, academic experts, employers, professional organisations.

The IAAR Standards, according to which the specialised (programme) accreditation of medical HEIs in Kazakhstan is carried out, are available on the following links: “Standards and Guidelines for International Accreditation of Basic Medical and Pharmaceutical Education Programmes (based on WFME/ AMSE/ ESG) ”, “Standards and Guidelines for International Accreditation of Master's Programmes in the Field of Healthcare (based on WFME/ AMSE/ ESG), “Standards and Guidelines for International Accreditation of Doctoral / Postgraduate Programmes in the Field of Healthcare (based on WFME/ AMSE/ ESG)”, “Standards and Guidelines for International Accreditation of Residency Programmes (based on WFME/ AMSE/ ESG)”.

What gives IAAR international accreditation?

• Obtaining a status that is recognised both in the European and in the global educational space;
• Recognition of the University diploma by foreign universities for further education (master's degree, PhD) of graduates.
• The ability for graduates to continue their studies at any universities in the world;
• Recognition of University degrees and expanding employment opportunities for graduates abroad;
• Increasing the interest of foreign students in studying at an accredited University;
• Recognition of diplomas of doctors applying for ECFMG certification;
• Opportunity to take Step 3 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®) and to obtain an unrestricted license to practice medicine in the United States (ECFMG 2023 announcement https://wfme.org/accreditation/ecfmg-2023/);
• Development of internal and external academic mobility of students and teaching staff;
• Internationalisation of educational activities of the university;
• Opportunity to compete in the international education market and meet the needs of various higher education systems;
• Confirmation of your status and compliance of the provided education with European standards;
• Publication of the External Review Reports and the decision on international accreditation in the DEQAR database of the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education EQAR.

International Specialised (Programme) Accreditation Procedure in Kazakhstan

Stages of the international accreditation process:

I. Submission of an Application by the Education Organisation;

II. Self-Assessment (Internal Assessment) of Educational Programme;

III. Site Visit of the Expert Panel to an Educational Organisation for External Evaluation;

IV.  Decision-Making on Accreditation/Non-Accreditation;

V.  Follow-Up Procedures: Post Accreditation Monitoring;

VI. Reaccreditation

• The organisation of education submits an application for international specialised (programme) accreditation addressed to the General Director of the Independent Agency for Accreditation and Rating IAAR. The application shall be accompanied by a copy of state license and supplements to the license that ensure right to conduct educational activities and a brief description of the activities of the medical educational organisation according to the declared educational programmes.
• The IAAR and the medical educational organisation decide to start the specialised (programme) accreditation procedure. A Contract is concluded between the IAAR and the medical organisation of education to conduct specialised (programme) accreditation and the assignment of the status of a candidate for accreditation.
• Management of medical educational institution and the IAAR organise training to explain the standards and procedure for the specialised (programme) accreditation to internal experts of educational institution at the special seminars on the theory, methodology and techniques of the specialised (programme) accreditation.
• The medical educational organisation independently carries out a self-assessment process according to the IAAR requirements and submits a self-assessment report to the IAAR.
• IAAR forms an External Expert Panel to carry out an assessment of the educational programme of the medical educational organisation. The expert group consists of 7 (8) experts, who are specialists in the assessment of the declared educational programme, comprising the representatives of practical health employers and students and an international expert.
• Based on the self-assessment report of the medical educational organisation, the IAAR develops recommendations on the necessity to finalise self-assessment materials, either makes a decision to conduct an external expert assessment, or due to non-compliance with the standards makes a decision about impossibility of accreditation, and terminates the Contract.
• In case the decision on continuation of accrediting procedure is taken, the Chairman of External Expert Panel and the IAAR will agree with the medical organisation of education the dates of accreditation and schedule of the panel work plan.
• The duration of the site visit of the commission is usually 3-5 days. At the end of the site visit the External Expert Panel prepares a detailed report on assessment of the educational programme of medical educational organisation, which serves as the basis for the decision on the accreditation by the IAAR Accreditation Council.
• If the Accreditation Council makes a positive decision, the IAAR sends an official letter to the medical education organisation with the results of the accreditation and a certificate of specialised (programme) accreditation with an indication of the validity period, signed by the IAAR General
• Further, the decision on accreditation of educational organisation the IAAR sends to the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan for inclusion in the Register of Accredited Educational Institutions (Register 2) and is published on the IAAR website for public information.