On June 11, 2025, a major seminar titled “Institutional and Program Accreditation: Criteria and Applications” was held at the invitation of Final International University. The event attracted considerable interest from faculty members, administrators, quality commission members, and students from numerous academic units at the university.

The opening speech was delivered by Prof. Dr. Hasan Ali Bıçak, Advisor to the University’s Board of Trustees and a pioneer in the field of higher education quality assurance. Bıçak addressed the importance of quality assurance in higher education and the critical role accreditation processes play in institutional development, providing important messages to the participants.

Following the opening speech, a seminar was given by Prof. Dr. Ali Bayrakdaroğlu, Advisor to the Rector responsible for Institutional Accreditation at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University and Advisor to the Board of Directors of STAR Accreditation. Prof. Dr. Bayrakdaroğlu provided a detailed explanation of the development of accreditation systems in Türkiye and globally, the role of the Council of Higher Education (YÖKAK), the structure of institutional and program-level criteria, and examples of their implementation.

During the presentation, the evaluation system encompassing the four core areas of accreditation, from leadership and management to education, and from research to social contribution, was explained with examples. Participants gained comprehensive information on how to interpret and evaluate criteria within the context of program accreditation.

The event concluded with an interactive question-and-answer session. Participants asked questions about the quality and accreditation efforts conducted at their universities and heard suggestions for solutions to the challenges they encountered in practice.