Introduction

Welcome to the website about National Qualifications Framework for Higher Education in Turkey (NQF-HETR). The purpose of this website is to share the works done on the national basis about the development of national qualifications framework for higher education with all the internal and external stakeholders. The framework mentioned here is the one that is guaranteed to be completed by Bologna Process countries in an effort to increase thetransparency, recognition and mobility in higher education systems of these countries in accordance with the objectives of Lisbon Strategy published in 2000 by European Union (EU) and with the objectives of Bologna Process in which our country was included as a member in 2001.

Qualifications for higher education mean what a person achieving any higher education degree is supposed to know, doand be competent about.

National Qualifications Framework , on the other side, expresses the qualifications for a national educational system and the relation between these. In other words, National Qualifications Framework is a system in which qualifications, which are recognized by national and international stakeholders and can be related, are structured within a certain organization. Through this system, all the qualifications for the higher education and the other learning outcomes can be explained and related to each other consistently.

The degree to which qualifications are gained is measured objectively at the end of each lesson/module as "learning outcomes".

The Importance of NQF-HETR for Higher Education

• Presents certain explanation among the degrees based on the learning outcomes;

• Clarifies the purpose and outcomes of the qualifications;

• Ensures that different qualifications may be related to one another within an entire system;

• Ensures the progress and transition among the degrees in this way;

• Presents a national modern outline that is leading the education and determined by the stakeholders' participation;

• Creates opportunity to understand, regulate and develop the current qualifications;

• Presents a content to design new qualifications;

• Enables the reform of qualifications;

• Helps developing new qualifications in accordance with the changing social needs;

• Displays the benefits and roles of qualifications for the citizens, employers and all the members of society;

• Clarifies different national roles and relations between qualifications, recognition and mobility;

• Raises the awareness of citizens and employers at national and international levels;

• Raises the attractiveness and recognition of higher education abroad.

The Importance of NQF-HETR for Students

• Helps the students to choose their educational programmes and lessons aware;

• The students know in advance what competency they will have achieving these lessons;

• Clarifies what the students will learn with the activities except from the educational programme;

• Lessens the enclosures for students' mobility and encourages the life long learning;

• Clarifies the lateral and vertical transfers between the educational degrees;

• Maintains an extensive list of all higher education qualifications and credit limits including sub qualifications;

• Helps, supports the learners and explains all the educational opportunities for them in this way.

The Importance of NQF-HETR for Employers

• Helps them to understand what to-be employee students will know, at what degree will they put these into practice and what information and competencies they will have at the end of their graduation;

• Helps them to choose employees being more aware based on the difference between the degrees and for the employability in accordance with the needs;

• Enables their participation to the development of educational programmes in their related areas and their transition of expectations.