Starting from 1990, the number of higher education institutions (including private ones) and the
enrolment quotas increased rapidly, together with a large diversification of the specialisation of studies
being offered. This development led in 1993 to the elaboration and promulgation of the legal
framework for the accreditation of the higher education institutions and diplomas recognition
procedures (Law 88/1993 amended through Law 144/1999) – previous to the Education Law (Law
84/1995). The legal framework basically sets the national quality standards for higher education
providers, ensuring a quality-control over the rapid development of both public and private education.
In order to be recognised as part of the national education system, private education institutions have
to be accredited through specific procedures established by the law. Accreditation of public or private
higher education institutions is possible only through dedicated laws.
Diplomas and certificates emitted
by the accredited private or education institutions produce the same effects as the ones emitted by the
public education institutions. Organizing bodies of private education institutions are entirely responsible
of the administration and financing of the activities within the established legal framework. Tuition fees
are established autonomously by the private higher education institutions, according to the provisions
of the law.
Private education of all levels functions according to the law if:
It is organised and functions based on the non-profit principle;
It is organised based on non-discriminatory principles and rejects ideas, currents and attitudes
that are anti-democratic, xenophobic and racial;
It respects the national standards.
The accreditation procedure of higher education institutions comprises two phases:
The authorisation for provisory functioning that gives the higher education institution the right to
organise admission and to proceed with the educational process. the authorisation for provisory
functioning is issued through Decision of the Government;
The accreditation that supplementary confers the higher education institution the right to
organise the graduation, licence and/or diploma exams and to issue the diplomas recognised by
the Ministry of Education, Research and Youth. The accreditation has to be requested no later
than 2 years after the third graduation following the authorisation for provisory functioning. The
accreditation is issued through dedicated law.
According to the provisions of the law, all the higher education institutions functioning at December 22,
1989 are considered accredited and therefore have to undertake only the 5-year periodic external
evaluation. Consequently, the authorisation for provisory functioning and the accreditation have to be
requested only by the higher education institutions (public or private) organized after 1990. All the
provisions of the law regarding authorisation, accreditation and periodic evaluation apply equally to
public and private higher education institution.
Assurance of the quality of the educational process is accomplished through periodic evaluation.
Evaluation is performed at the level of the university specialisations and/or at the level of institutional
structures. The evaluation at the level of institutional structures is carried out for departments, colleges,
faculties and/or higher education institutions. The evaluation process is accomplished through internal
evaluation, within the respective higher education institution, and external evaluation accomplished by
the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in University Education (ARACIS).
The academic evaluation and the accreditation procedure are based on an assembly of general criteria
and obligatory standards. The criteria refer to the fundamental organising and functioning domains
specific to higher education: teaching staff, educational content, material basis, research activity,
financial activity, and institutional, administrative and management structures. The standards refer to
each criterion and specify the minimum obligatory levels during the evaluation and accreditation period
(these levels are differentiated for the provisory functioning period and for the period subsequent
establishment through the law). The general criteria and the basic obligatory standards are set by the
law whilst the specific criteria by reference domain and specialisation of study are established by the
evaluation commissions subordinated to ARACIS.
The authorisation for provisory functioning is withdraw through Decision of the Government for the
faculties, colleges and specialisations found below the national standards, as proved by the negative
evaluation reports of the ARACIS. The respective faculties, colleges and specialisations enter a
liquidation procedure starting with the first year of study. In case of the accredited higher education
institutions a negative report of the ARACIS for certain faculties, colleges and specialisations
determine first a warning from the Ministry of Education, Research and Youth. In case that after one
year a second negative report is issued following a second evaluation, the respective faculty, college
or specialisation enters with the first year of study in liquidation procedure through Ministerial Order.
Students from the provisory authorised higher education institutions have to take their final exams with
accredited higher education institutions, according to the provisions of the law (Law 71/1995 amended
through the Laws 64/1997, 60/2000 and 131/2000).
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