S.L. 607.3 Art. 46Self-accrediting status.

(1) "Self-accrediting provider" status, as defined in the

First Schedule, or extension of the scope of this type of accreditation, shall only be given by means of the Act or any regulation made thereunder, or by any other law.

(2) An application for self-accrediting status as defined in the First Schedule, or for extension of the scope of this type of accreditation shall be subject to the following:

(a) only universities, higher education institutions and further education institutions accredited and licensed under these regulations shall be eligible to apply for self-accrediting status or extension of self-accrediting scope;

(b) universities or institutions applying for self-accrediting provider status or extension of the scope of this type of accreditation shall demonstrate a track record of accreditation and quality audits in at least two consecutive quality audits with respect to those types of programmes for which self-accrediting provider status is to apply: Provided that, in exceptional circumstances, the Authority may recommend that a university or institution which has no track record of prior provision of further or higher education services in Malta, be granted self-accrediting provider status. In such case, the evaluation referred to in sub-regulation (3) shall be based on a detailed plan and the application shall be assessed on whether the plan and the human and financial resources allocated by the provider demonstrate a high probability that, on establishment, the university or institution shall operate at least at a comparable standard to existing universities or institutions with self-accrediting provider status.

(3) An application for self-accrediting status or extension of self-accrediting scope shall be subject to an evaluation by a panel of external experts and such evaluation shall comply with the following:

(a) it may be limited to the broad fields of study and levels of the Malta Qualifications Framework for which the provider has a proven track record;

(b) it shall include consideration of any offshore activities of the university or institution applying for self-accrediting provider status or extension of the scope of this type of accreditation, which are required to meet relevant regulatory and reporting requirements in Malta;

(c) where the evaluation by the panel of external experts makes a proposal to the Authority for the granting of self-accrediting provider status or the extension of the scope of this type of accreditation, the report of the evaluation shall clearly state the reasons for this and shall recommend the broad fields of study and the Malta Qualifications Framework levels for which the provider has the capacity to be self-accrediting; and

(d) where the evaluation by the panel of external experts makes a proposal to the Authority against the granting of self-accrediting provider status or the extension of the scope of this type of accreditation, the report of the evaluation shall clearly state the reasons for this.