The representatives of the National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency (NEAA) arrived at AUBG last Thursday to review the undergraduate Business Administartion (BUS) program and meet with the students. The goal of the meeting was to hear the students’ opinions about the quality of education and to discuss their extra-curricular activities. The NEAA should look at the procedures of the Business Department and then apply the criteria used during the accreditation of Bulgarian universities, said Lucia Miree, former chair of the Business department. “What they need to understand is that our students learn in different ways.”  The NEAA reviews documents, discusses teaching and research with faculty, talks about alumni placement and MBA students, Miree said. Its members are also interested in the transfer of credits to EU institutions, extracurricular activities and clubs at AUBG.

“This kind of visits are an exchange of ideas and experience between the traditional state universities and our university,” said Miroslav Mateev, a professor at the BUS department. There may be two main areas of concern regarding the program : the number of elective courses and the state exams, he said. “We have to find the most appropriate way [for state examination] in the form of a questionnaire or business case,” said Mateev, “we did it two years ago, and the students were not so happy to have a full exam in the end of their education.”

The accreditation will give us the chance to prove that we are [among] the best [in Bulgaria]” - business professor Miroslav Mateev.

After visiting AUBG, the NEAA representatives visited the Elieff Center in Sofia to perform accreditation of its MBA program. This MBA program does not correspond to the Bulgarian standards, said Mateev, and the accreditation team might have concerns about its structure. The applicants need no prior business education. They have to take TOEFL and GMAT, and should have worked in the business field for at least two years.

The accreditation team reviews the official documentation prepared by the faculty, as well as all the self-study reports. One of the things they have a particular interest in is the work study model, which gives students the chance to learn and to influence the university decisions, said Mateev.

The Business and Public Administration majors in the whole country undergo the accreditation process simultaneously. After the evaluation process ends, the Standing Committee of the national Agency for Accreditation will publish the results.

“The accreditation will give us the chance to prove that we are [among] the best [in Bulgaria],” Mateev said.