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Turkish Veterinary Medicine Education Evaluation System (TVHEDS) History, Core Mission and Function
History
2010
A total of 17 Deans of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Turkey, under the leadership of the Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Ankara University, started the work of the Association to carry out evaluation and accreditation studies at national level.
The establishment of the association was prepared based on Articles 7 and 65 of the Higher Education Law No. 2547 and the regulation on "Evaluation and Quality Development of Higher Education Institutions" published in the Official Gazette dated September 20, 2005 and numbered 25942.
VEDEK, which officially started its activities on 14.06.2010 under the name of "Veterinary Medicine Educational Institutions and Programs Evaluation and Accreditation Association (VEDEK)", held its first General Assembly on 17.06.2010.
2011
On 10.01.2011, the structure, election of members and working principles of the Veterinary Accreditation Committee (VAC) were discussed at its first extraordinary General Assembly. With the 22.01.2011 dated Board of Directors' decision, "Directives of the VAC, Nomination Committee, Education Committee and Criteria Determination Committees" were adopted and entered into force. With the Board of Directors' decision dated 02.08.2011, members of the Committees and evaluators were determined. With the same decision of the Board of Directors, it was decided to apply to the Council of Higher Education for "Registration Authorization".
2012
The Council of Higher Education granted "Registration Authorization" to VEDEK for a period starting from 02.02.2012. The second Ordinary General Assembly of the Association was held on 27.04.2012.
2013
An application was made to the Council of Higher Education on 26.01.2013 for "Registration Authorization" for the second time. Starting from 19.02.2013, the "registration authorization" granted to VEDEK was extended for 2 years.
2014
The 3rd Ordinary General Assembly of the Association was held on 14.04.2014. On 04.07.2014, amendments were made to the Directives (Training, Criteria and Implementation Principles) for the Standard Assessment Processes (SDS) of TVHEDS-1.
New members were appointed to replace the Committee members whose terms expired with the decision of the Board of Directors dated 03.12.2014
2015
With the recommendation of the Council of Higher Education, "VEDEK Economic Enterprise" was established on 11.09.2015.
An application was made to the Council of Higher Education with the decision of the Board of Directors dated 29.09.2015 regarding the extension of the registration authority of VEDEK.
With the letter of VAK dated September 30, 2015 and the decision of the Board of Directors taken on the same day, Ankara, Istanbul, Bursa (Uludağ), Konya (Selçuk) Veterinary Faculties were accredited for 7 years according to TVHEDS-1.
The registration authorization granted to VEDEK by the Council of Higher Education was extended for another 2 years starting from 19.12.2015.
2016
The 4th Ordinary General Assembly of the Association was held on 19.03.2016. With the decision of the Board of Directors dated 22.10.2016, TVHEDS 2nd SDS (Self-Assessment report format; Contract text; Accreditation application form; Report A and Report B formats; Feedback form; Interim report format; Information, document and activity plans formats for institutions; Conflict of interest declaration form; Guidelines for preparing SRAs; Confidentiality and ethics declaration form; Quality policies declaration) were accepted.
With the decision of the Board of Directors dated 30.12.2016, new members were appointed to replace the Committee members whose terms had expired. Article 8 of the Education Committee Directive was amended by the Board of Directors decision dated the same date. Quality Processes Directive was adopted.
With the decision of Board of Directors dated 08.04.2016, information document for the institutions to be evaluated; Evaluation team information document; Evaluator Training feedback survey form were accepted. Confidentiality and Ethics Commitment and Conflict of Interest forms were updated.
With the letter of VAK dated 30.12.2016 and the decision of the Board of Directors on the same date, Aydın (Adnan Menderes) Faculty of Veterinary Medicine was accredited for 7 years according to TVHEDS-1.
2017
VEDEK Board of Directors decided on the 2nd Extraordinary General Assembly on 22.05.2017 and the 2nd Extraordinary General Assembly was held on 07.07.2017 to establish new directives in line with the recommendations of the Higher Education Council.
With the decision of the Board of Directors dated 11.07.2017, the structure of VAK was changed along with the Archive directive; ABK directive; Application principles directive; Criteria directive; Vedek national accreditation Basic standards; Main indicators; Working regulation. TDR report A and report B formats; Program evaluator report format; Interim report format; Internal audit performance report were revised.
Interim reports from the first four faculties accredited according to the initial evaluation processes were found positive by VAK and it was decided to continue their accreditation.
With the application made after the registration authority was transferred to the newly established Higher Education Quality Board (YÖKAK), VEDEK registration authority was extended by YÖKAK for 5 years starting from 19.12.2017.
2018
With the letter of VAK dated February 16, 2018 and the decision of the Board of Directors on the same date, Samsun (Ondokuz Mayıs) Faculty of Veterinary Medicine was conditionally accredited for 2 years according to TVHEDS 2nd SDS.
5th Ordinary General Assembly was held on 27.04.2018. On 31 May - 1 June 2018, as a result of the discussions with the relevant parties at the EAEVE General Assembly held in Hannover, it was decided that an observer from VEDEK would participate in the accreditation visits in Turkey to be made by this organization. With the decision of the Board of Directors dated 01.09.2018, the first observer participation was provided by EAEVE during its visit to Kayseri (Erciyes) Faculty of Veterinary Medicine on 17-21.09.2018.
With the letter of VAK dated 28.12.2018 and the decision of the Board of Directors on the same date, Elazığ (Fırat); Burdur (Mehmet Akif Ersoy) and Kırıkkale Veterinary Faculties were conditionally accredited for 2 years each according to TVHEDS- 2nd SDS.
On 05.11.2018, a working group consisting of 4 experienced TVHEDS coordinators, 5 evaluators and Quality Assurance experts and 1 team leader was established by the Board of Directors to create the TVHEDS 3rd SDS Handbook. The aim of this work is to remove the title "Quality Assurance", which was added as the 11th Standard in TVHEDS 2nd SDS and to add quality assurance parameters in each of the other 10 Standards. On the other hand, another aim is to comply with the directives of International Accreditation Agencies (such as EAEVE, AVMA, RCVS) and YÖKAK; TYYÇ, VUÇEP, OIE and ESG.
The interim report from Aydın (Adnan Menderes) Veterinary Faculty, which was accredited according to the first evaluation processes, was found positive by the VAK and it was decided to continue its accreditation.
With the decision of Board of Directors dated 28.12.2018, it was decided to replace the members whose term expired in the VAK, AUC and Criteria Committees.
2019
With the decision of Board of Directors dated 26.01.2019, the committee members whose terms of office expired were duly replaced.
On 22.03.2019, the accreditation applications of Erzurum Atatürk and Kayseri Erciyes veterinary faculties were accepted and processed.
TVHEDS 3rd SDS working group, which was established on 05.11.2018, continued and completed its work in line with its purpose, and the prepared TVHEDS 3rd SDS was opened to the opinion of internal and external stakeholders in December 2019.
As of 2019, Ankara, Istanbul, Bursa Uludağ, Konya Selçuk and Aydın Adnan Menderes are fully accredited; Samsun Ondokuz Mayıs, Elazığ Fırat, Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy and Kırıkkale Veterinary Faculties are conditionally accredited.
2020
On February 14, 2020, with the decisions of the VAK and the Board of Directors, Erzurum Atatürk and Kayseri Erciyes Universities were conditionally accredited for 2 years each according to TVHEDS-2.SDS of Veterinary Faculties.
On April 03, 2020, at the online (zoom) VAK and Board of Directors meetings of the same date; due to the pandemic, the request to postpone the revisit to Ondokuz Mayıs University Veterinary Faculty to a later date (September 2020) was accepted.
The second agenda item, the 2nd Interim Report of Ankara University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine was discussed and it was decided to continue the accreditation with the majority of votes by making the necessary warnings.
The 2nd Interim report of Istanbul-Cerrahpaşa University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine was discussed. At the end of the discussions, it was decided by majority vote to remove its accreditation by stating its primary inadequacies due to being a faculty evaluated according to TVHEDS-1st Version SDS.
The 2nd Interim Report of Bursa Uludağ University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine was discussed, and it was decided by majority vote to continue the accreditation by making the necessary warnings.
The 2nd Interim report of Konya Selçuk University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine was discussed, and it was decided by majority vote to continue the accreditation by making the necessary warnings.
On September 08, 2020, the appeal petition of Istanbul-Cerrahpaşa University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine was discussed at the VAK meeting. Since the aforementioned faculty was evaluated according to the first version of VEDEK basic standards, it was unanimously decided not to accept the objection according to the relevant paragraphs of Article 11 of the VEDEK working regulation, and if the institution applies for a new visit, it can be evaluated according to the second version of VEDEK basic standards.
The revisit of Fırat University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine was discussed. The revisit request of Fırat University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, whose membership is conditionally accepted until December 2020 according to the second version of TVHEDS, was deemed appropriate and it was decided unanimously / by majority vote to request the faculty's self-assessment report.
The feedback from 13 faculties to the Emergency Distance Education (AUÖ) evaluation survey prepared by VEDEK and sent to 28 Veterinary Faculties with current students was evaluated. A presentation was made to the members in the light of the information obtained from the survey. In this context, in the emergency distance education (AUÖ) to be started in the following period in Veterinary Faculties providing Veterinary Medicine Education; it is important that education and exams are hybrid (online and face-to-face in small groups) in order to guarantee the acquisition of the first day competencies determined by both national and international accreditation agencies in Veterinary Medicine. For this purpose, it was unanimously decided to inform the VEDEK board of directors that hybrid education and training would be more appropriate in order to write to the relevant places.
For the same purpose, it was unanimously resolved to inform the VEDEK Board of Directors that summer school education is not suitable for Veterinary Medicine education, considering the aforementioned features of summer school practices, the relevant regulations and the fact that the internship and internship program in Veterinary Medicine continues in the summer months, and to notify the university rectorates that have a Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.
Prof. Dr. Rıfkı HAZIROĞLU, President of the Association and VAK Board Member, gave information about the practices of international accreditation agencies in the COVID-19 process.
At the September 10, 2020 online Board of Directors meeting; the decisions of the VAK meeting held on September 08, 2020 were adopted and it was decided to make the necessary correspondence. On September 11, 2020, it was unanimously decided that President Prof. Dr. Rıfkı Hazıroğlu will make a presentation titled "VEDEK Practices in the Pandemic Process" at the online Council of Deans.
On September 28, 2020, at the extraordinary meeting of the Board of Directors held at Zoom; It was decided that the revisits of conditionally accredited faculties will be carried out face-to-face and on-site under mask, distance and hygiene conditions with a team of 3 people (previous visit team chair, VEDEK coordinator and one member), and that the visits to be made if the application is received in 2021 will be carried out face-to-face and on-site under mask, distance and hygiene conditions with a team of 3 people (Team chair, VEDEK coordinator and one member) if the pandemic conditions continue, and that the remaining 4 evaluators will carry out the visit online with meetings before, during and after the visit and prepare a report.
At the November 13, 2020 online VAK meeting, the revisit of Fırat University was discussed and it was decided that Prof. Dr. Ergun Akçay, Prof. Dr. Kadir Devrim and Assist. Prof. Dr. Arda Selin Tunç was unanimously decided to send a delegation of three people.
Mehmet Akif Ersoy University revisit was discussed and Prof. Dr. Oğuz Kul, Prof. Dr. Yılmaz Aral and Prof. Dr. Cumali Özkan were unanimously elected as members of the revisit team.
Ondokuz Mayıs University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Re-visit report was discussed.
Before starting the meeting, Prof. Dr. Tolga GÜVENÇ, a faculty member of the faculty in question, left the meeting. Afterwards, Team Chair Prof. Dr. Ergün Akçay joined the meeting and shared the views gained during the visit with the board members. Then Prof. Dr. Ergun Akçay left the meeting and the Dean of the Faculty Prof. Dr. Harun Albayrak attended the meeting and answered the questions of the board members and left the meeting. Then a vote was taken for the membership of Ondokuz Mayıs University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, and it was unanimously decided to grant full accreditation. After the voting was over, Prof. Dr. Tolga Güvenç joined the meeting. Then Dean Prof. Dr. Harun Albayrak was invited to the meeting, and he was informed.
General issues were discussed. For this purpose, firstly, the opinions of the board members about the monthly meetings with the Deans of Veterinary Faculties were listened and it was decided to continue the meetings. Then, it was unanimously decided that the notifications for the meetings will be made both by e-mail and through WhatsApp groups to be created.
At the Board of Directors meeting held on November 17, 2020 at Zoom; The Chairman of the Board of Directors shared the information that YÖKAK President Prof. Dr. Muzaffer ELMAS will make a presentation titled "Quality Assurance in Higher Education" within the scope of "Quality Assurance", which is the title of the 6th meeting to be held on Zoom on 24.11.2020 (Deans of Veterinary Faculty, VAK members and VEDEK Board members will attend). He also gave information about the letter received on 13.11.2020 that the application made by Fırat University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Dean's Office to CIMER for VEDEK accreditation decision was rejected by CIMER.
On November 13, 2020, the decisions of the VEDEK Accreditation Board made online (Zoom) were adopted. It was decided to make the necessary correspondence.
On December 14, 2020, at the Board of Directors meeting held on Zoom; the extension of the term of office of the VEDEK Accreditation Board until the next election was discussed and unanimously approved.
The election of another representative to replace the private sector representative whose term of office has expired in the VEDEK Accreditation Board was discussed and it was unanimously decided to write a letter to request a representative from the National Red Meat Council.
Prof. Dr. Rıfkı Hazıroğlu informed the board members about the ITEAC meeting.
Core Mission
It carries out the national evaluation and accreditation processes of the faculties providing Veterinary Medicine undergraduate education programs and associate and graduate programs related to this basic field with the "registration effect" received by the Higher Education Quality Board (YÖKAK).
Function
Assessment and accreditation studies are carried out with TVHEDS-SDSs covering national/international standards.