Within the TST project, representatives of the Centre for Information and Recognition of Qualifications in Higher Education as a part of peer review team, together with the representative of the ENIC centre of the Netherlands visited the ENIC centre of the Republic of Moldova (MRC), to check the quality and transparency of its activities in a recognition field. The peer review team was supported by a Moldovan national expert from the National Agency for Quality Assurance in Education and Research.
The site visit was held in Chisinau on 30 June 2022. During the visit, the self-evaulation report made by the ENIC centre of Moldova was discussed. In the self-evaluation report the MRC indicated an interest in enhancing the national role of the center and the visibility and status of the national recognition service as ENIC, adding an international dimension to the QA of the recognition procedure, receiving feedback and recommendations on their recognition practices and using the peer review to obtain political support from the government for the future aligning of the national system of recognition to LRC and ENICNARIC standards.
The focus during the peer review was on the improvement of the credential evaluation procedure and the (inter)national role of the MRC as well as on the development of the MRC in order to be in line with the standards of the European Recognition Area to provide accessible services for beneficiaries from various regions of the world and fair recognition. This was in line with the focus points indicated in the self-evaluation report.
The review team was very impressed with the current scope of practices of the MRC, especially taking into account the limited number of staff involved. Many Bologna tools have already been implemented, intensive contacts with the admission officers and regional centers of education are maintained, training is provided to update the knowledge of the staff in HE, secondary education and VET, the MRC has an active role in the development of national legislation and education policies and is responsible for developing the NQF and recognition policies. Other responsibilities are the authentication of credentials from general secondary education, VET and higher education (except for Levels 8 qualifications, which are the responsibility of the Agency for Quality Assurance in Education and Research), analysis and development of bilateral agreements on international recognition.
After site visit, peer review team will publish a report with key recommendations for improving of the MRC domestic and international procedures and activites.
