Lefke European University receives six-year institutional accreditation

Lefke European University (LAÜ) has received institutional accreditation following an evaluation by Germany-based Agency for Quality Assurance through Accreditation of Study Programmes (AQAS), Halkın Sesi reported. The accreditation is stated to be valid until 2032.

Unlike accreditation focused on individual academic programmes, the process assessed LAÜ’s university-wide quality assurance system and operations, according to the report.

The evaluation included a self-assessment report, reviews of documents and supporting evidence, an online site visit and an in-person visit to the university’s campus in Lefke, North Cyprus. During the in-person assessment, the AQAS expert panel met university managers, academic and administrative staff, students and other stakeholders.

LAÜ Board of Trustees Chairman Enver Öztürk said the university was the first in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to receive institutional accreditation. As the distinction is based on a statement reported by a single publication, it has not been independently established by News24.

The university is also reported to hold 32 programme accreditations from national and international accreditation bodies.

LAÜ Rector Prof. Dr. Mehmet Ali Yükselen described the accreditation as an institutional milestone and said the university would continue developing its quality assurance and continuous-improvement systems.

Halkın Sesi described AQAS’s evaluation framework as aligned with the European Standards and Guidelines for quality assurance in the European Higher Education Area. The agency was also identified in the report as a member of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) and as registered with the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR).