İstanbul Okan University

In accordance with the regulation on Academic Evaluation and Quality Improvement issued by the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) in 2005, the Commission for Academic Evaluation and Quality Improvement in Higher Education (YÖDEK) was established by the Inter-University Council on September 30, 2005. Following the establishment of this commission, the Academic Evaluation and Quality Commission (ADEK) was formed at Istanbul Okan University on December 24, 2014.

The Council of Higher Education (YÖK) published the “Higher Education Quality Assurance Regulation” on July 23, 2015. Subsequently, on November 23, 2018, the “Higher Education Quality Assurance and Higher Education Quality Council Regulation” was revised. Our university established the Quality Commission and initiated its activities on June 27, 2016.

As part of the preparatory work for the Strategic Plan, on December 21, 2020, the chair of the Quality Commission gathered opinions and suggestions from the units associated with the Quality Commission members. To guide the preparation of the Strategic Plan, oversee the main stages and outcomes of the strategic planning process, and ensure active participation in the planning process, it was decided to establish a ‘Strategic Plan Preparation Commission’.

During the Quality Commission meeting held on March 4, 2021, the decision to establish the Strategic Plan Preparation Commission was finalised, and all our units and stakeholders were informed about the matter through our website.

The Strategic Plan Preparation Commission held its first meeting online on March 11, 2021. Following subsequent meetings, during the Quality Commission meeting held on May 10, 2021, the Quality Commission members were informed about the prepared strategic plan. Based on data obtained from the situational analysis of the current strategic plan (2016-2020), strategic goals and objectives were determined using the drafts prepared by the Strategic Plan Preparation Commission. Upon completing all stages, the draft of the strategic plan was submitted to the Rector and Vice Rectors for their opinions. After evaluating the received suggestions and feedback, the draft was finalised, and the strategic plan covering the years 2021-2025 was submitted for approval to the Senate on December 22, 2021, and afterward to the Board of Trustees.

The University’s Quality Commission continues its activities based on the “Istanbul Okan University Quality Assurance Directive” established in accordance with the “Higher Education Quality Assurance and Higher Education Quality Council Regulation”.

The responsibilities of the Quality Commission encompass the following tasks:

• Establishing the institution’s internal and external quality assurance systems, which are related to leadership, management and quality, education and training, research and development, and community contribution activities. These systems are formed within the framework of the university’s strategic plan and objectives.
• Identifying institutional indicators and presenting related activities to the Istanbul Okan University Senate for approval.
• Conducting internal evaluation studies,
• Preparing the Institutional Internal Evaluation Report containing the results of institutional evaluation and quality improvement studies and sharing it publicly on the institution’s website,
• Making necessary preparations for external evaluations,
• Providing all necessary support to the Higher Education Quality Council and external evaluation organisations.

An institutional quality policy encompassing internal and external stakeholders was established and submitted for the approval of senior management. Following revisions deemed necessary by senior management, the Istanbul Okan University Quality Policy was approved by the Rector and published on the university’s shared file server and official website.