ECAQA’s process for Appeals and Complaints

COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

1. Purpose and Status of the Commission

Complaints procedure Commission on Complaints (hereinafter – Commission) Non-for-profit «Eurasian Centre for Accreditation and Quality Assurance in Higher Education and Health care» (hereinafter – ECAQA) was established to consider complaints from both education institutions and individuals.

The primary objective is to review complaints from educational and research institutions, as well as individuals, regarding any decisions, actions, or inaction by ECAQA staff and external experts, as well as actions taken by an educational institution accredited by the ECAQA during the period following accreditation, if such decisions or actions have violated the complainant’s rights and obligations.

The Commission operates as a collegiate body of ECAQA in accordance with the Regulation.

2. Procedure for Filing a Complaint

A complaint from a legal entity must be submitted to the ECAQA in any format, in compliance with ethical standards, signed by the head of the organization or an authorized representative, and must include the organization’s name, legal and physical (if applicable) addresses, email address, reference number and date, the substance of the claims, and clearly formulated demands regarding the subject matter (issue) in dispute.

A complaint from an individual must be submitted to the ECAQA in any format, in accordance with ethical standards, signed by the complainant and including their full name, date, residential address, email address, and the substance of the complaint as it relates to the accrediting agency, the ECAQA.

The Commission considers complaints submitted by applicants in writing to the Director General of the ECAQA by e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by mail to the address listed in the “Contacts” section of the website.

3. Procedures of the Commission

• The regular members of the Commission (the chair, vice chair, and secretary) are selected based on nominations from professional associations and educational institutions and are appointed by order of the Director General of the ECAQA.
• The term of office for regular members of the Commission is five years.
• Non-regular members of the Commission, including students, are appointed upon the recommendation of the Commission Chair and confirmed by order of the Director General of the ECAQA.
• When reviewing a complaint, the Commission ensures the confidentiality of information constituting trade secrets and personal data.
• Within 30 calendar days of receiving a complaint, the Commission issues a decision containing recommendations regarding the complaint to the Director General of the ECAQA.

Complaints will not be accepted or considered in the following cases:

• the complainant is anonymous;
• the complaint is not signed by the head of the legal entity acting as the complainant;
• the substance of the issue is not stated;
• incorrect information provided by the complainant;
• content containing unethical statements;
• situations (problems) that were resolved during the EEC’s visit.

4. Composition of commission
Composition of Commission on Complaints: permanent members (order №7 dated 5.02.2026)

• Chair: Alfiya Shamsutdinova, MD, PhD, Head of the Department of Science, Deputy Director of the B. Atchabarov Research Institute of Fundamental and Applied Medicine at Asfendiyarov Kazakh National Medical University.
• Deputy Chair: Almira Zhukubaeva, MSc in Education and Psychology; Highest medical category in emergency medicine and internal medicine; First medical category in Public Health. Head of the Department of Education at National Scientific Oncology Center LLP.
• Secretary: Alibek Amandykov, MSc, PhD, Head of the Department of International Cooperation and Public Relations of ECAQA.

APPEAL PROCEDURE
1. Purpose and Status of the Commission

• The Appeals Commission of the Non-Profit Organization “Eurasian Center for Accreditation and Quality Assurance in Higher Education and Healthcare” (ECAQA) has been established to carry out this procedure.
• The Appeals Commission (hereinafter referred to as the Commission) was established to ensure the protection of the interests, guarantees, and observance of the rights of educational and scientific institutions.
• The Commission operates as a collegial organ of the ECAQA.

2. Appeal Procedure

An appeal must be submitted in the form of a written statement addressed to the Director General of the ECAQA on the institution's official letterhead and signed by the head of the institution. The statement must specify the accreditation results being contested and provide a justification for the appeal. The letter must be accompanied by documentary evidence supporting the grounds for the appeal.

3. Deadlines for Submission and Review

If an educational institution disagrees with the Accreditation Council’s decision regarding institutional or specialized (programme) accreditation, it has the right to appeal to the Commission within 7 (seven) business days of receiving written notification of the Accreditation Council’s decision.

The Commission’s decision, in writing and signed by the Director General of the ECAQA, shall be sent to the Applicant 30 (thirty) days after the appeal is filed.

The Commission’s decision is final, is issued in writing, and is recorded in the minutes, which are forwarded to the Director General of the ECAQA for information. No further appeals will be considered. Complaints regarding the outcome of the appeal will not be considered.

The Commission’s decision serves as the basis for making changes to the Register of Accredited Educational Institutions and/or Educational Programmes of the ECAQA, the EPVO of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and international education quality Registers.

4. Procedures of the Commission

• The Commission consists of 6 (six) members, including 4 (four) regular members (the Chair, a Deputy Chair selected from among foreign experts, the Secretary, and a lawyer) and 2 (two) non-regular members, including one student representative.
• The term of office for regular members of the Commission is five years.
• The term of office for non-regular members of the Commission is equal to the duration of the appeal process.

Prior to the commencement of the appeal process, all members of the Commission shall sign the Code of Ethics for Experts and the Declaration of No Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality, which they must strictly adhere to during the review and decision-making process.

5. Composition of the Commission
Composition of the regular members of the Appeals Commission (Order No. 7 dated February 5, 2026):

• Chair: Saule Esenkulova, MD, DMSc, Professor of the Department of Oncology of the Asfendiyarov Kazakh National Medical University.
• Deputy Chair: Adham Khasanov, MD, DMSc, Professor, President of the Association of Dentists of Uzbekistan, Tashkent State Dental Institute, Department of Pediatric Maxillofacial Surgery, Academician of the International Academy of Dentistry (ADI), Member of the Society of Plastic Surgeons of Uzbekistan. Maxillofacial surgeon of the highest category.
• Regular member: Sergey Ryzhkin, DMSc, Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan, Head of the Department of Radiology, Radiotherapy, Radiation Hygiene, and Radiation Safety named after Academicians A.S. Pavlov and F.G. Krotkov of the Russian Medical Academy of Continuing Professional Education (Moscow, Russian Federation), Scientific Secretary of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan, accredited expert of the Federal Service for Supervision in Education and Science (Rosobrnadzor).
• Secretary: Makpal Umarova, Head of the Accreditation and Monitoring Department of ECAQA.
• ECAQA’s lawyer.