Yalova University organised an Institutional Accreditation Programme (IAP) Introduction and Preparation Meeting to ensure the effective implementation of quality and accreditation processes and to ensure thorough preparation for the upcoming external evaluation process.
The meeting took place on Thursday, 18 September 2025, between 10:00 and 12:00 at the Mehmet Okul Congress and Culture Centre.
Delivering the opening speech at the meeting, Rector Prof. Mehmet Bahçekapılı emphasised the strategic importance of the institutional accreditation process for Yalova University. Prof. Bahçekapılı stated that accreditation efforts would strengthen the university's education, teaching and research quality at national and international levels, stressing the necessity of active participation in the process by all academic and administrative units.
Rector Prof. Bahçekapılı emphasised in his presentation, which covered the topics of ‘Introduction to the Field Visit Preparation Handbook, Introduction to the Field Visit Question and Answer Book, and Sharing the Internal Field Visit Schedule,’ that the quality assurance system in higher education is not a process limited to documents alone. Bahçekapılı noted that these documents are critical tools representing institutional culture, stakeholder participation, and a continuous improvement approach.
‘Our preparation guide clarifies the steps that units should follow, while the question-and-answer document provides a robust guide for interactions with the assessment teams during site visits. These two documents ensure a common language and institutional integrity throughout Yalova University's accreditation journey.’
It was also noted at the meeting that the handbook served as a guide for units on topics such as the field visit process, strategic plan objectives, quality organisational structure and checklists, while the question-and-answer document provided a practical preparation tool by reflecting institutional performance based on sub-criteria.
Subsequently, Vice-Chancellor Prof. Senay Yürür Karslıoğlu delivered a comprehensive presentation on the roadmap to be followed during the preparatory process. Karslıoğlu emphasised the importance of cooperation and coordination, particularly highlighting the points that academic units should pay attention to prior to field visits.
Within this scope, the standards to be applied during field visits, the evaluation criteria and the schedule were shared in detail with the academic and administrative units.
All academic and administrative representatives within the university's quality organisation structure attended the meeting in full. The programme, which was met with keen interest, concluded with a question and answer session.
