The two-day CIDG gathering overlapped the three-day annual conference of CHEA, where guests convened at the Capital Hilton Hotel to examine issues of societal and institutional values and emerging expectations relative to accreditation of colleges and universities.
Dr. Liviu Matei, Provost, Central European University
Around the world, schools face common challenges and some unique ones, including the role of accreditation and how it is impacted by political interference. In a panel session Thursday morning titled “Sustaining Trust, Higher Education, Quality Assurance and the Political Environment,” Dr. Liviu Matei of Central European University (CEU) in Hungary said the role of accreditation in inspiring confidence in an institution is important in that region.
“It does a lot for the self-confidence of our people,” said Matei, the private graduate school’s provost and pro-rector. “It means a lot to our people. Accreditation helps us to build trust and maintain trust. We see it as a means to self-improvement.”
CEU was founded by Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros and is funded by an $880-million endowment he provided that allows students to attend free of charge. It was chartered in the United States and is institutionally and programmatically accredited by Hungarian and American entities.
While American accreditation can be beneficial in terms of rankings and research grants, suggesting “a degree of expertise” in social sciences that adds to a college’s prestige, accreditation by countries in Europe signals that a school is worthy to apply for certain grants in those countries, said Matei.
