YÖDAK was officially established with its own Law in 2005. (65/2005 Higher Education Law)
Before 2005, YÖDAK was part of the Ministry of National Education as a unit responsible from the operation of Higher Education.
In 1993, the Coordination, Evaluation and Planning Organisation was established within the Ministry of Education to oversee and coordinate the activities of newly established universities and provide licensing for new programmes.
In 2005, the Higher Education Planning, Evaluation, Accreditation and Coordination Council (Yükseköğretim Planlama, Denetleme, Akreditasyon ve Koordinasyon Kurulu - YÖDAK) was established by Law No. 65/2005 and replaced the former Organisation as an independent body with increased responsibilities for accreditation and quality assurance.
STRUCTURE OF YÖDAK:
YÖDAK is represented by the President, Vice President and 5 Full time Board Members.
Secretary General is responsible from the Administration and communication as well as coordination of the day to day activities of YÖDAK with 11 staff under his responsibility
YÖDAK is made up of the President, appointed by the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus for a four-year renewable period, two board members elected by the Universities Academic Coordination Council and two further board members chosen by the National Parliament. All members are required to be professors.
FUNCTIONS OF YÖDAK:
YÖDAK is responsible from the Planning, Evaluation, Accreditation and Coordination of Higher Education and its institutions as well as programs at all three cycles.
All new higher education institutions and new programmes proposed by existing institutions must obtain permission from the Ministry of Education prior to being established. They must then apply to YÖDAK for licencing. YÖDAK assesses the documents submitted by the institution against set criteria, most of which is based on specific academic standards. Programmes granted permission to operate are reviewed via a site visit within the first two years of being set up.
MEMBERSHIPS OF YÖDAK:
As a full member of INQAAHE since 2007, YÖDAK is committed for creating a quality culture among the Higher Education ecosystem and expand its boundries for internationalisation. As of June 2021, YÖDAK has seven international membership with prestigous QA associations worldwide.
In addition to being a; full member of INQAAHE since 2007, affiliate member of ENQA since 2007, member of UK NARIK since 2007, full member of IQA/AQAIW since 2011, full member of CEENQA since 2011, YÖDAK added two more memberships during 2021.
YÖDAK has been a member of the CIQG (CHEA International Quality Group) in the USA as of 2021. Also, YÖDAK has been accepted as an observer member for the ECA (European Consorsium for Accreditation) as of 2021. YÖDAK has also initiated the process of ENQA review during april 2021.