Programs Applying for Accreditation
Programs applying for the first time for accreditation evaluation by ZİDEK in the 2025-2026 evaluation period must apply to ZİDEK until January 31, 2025 (and May 31, 2025 for second period applications)
Programs without application by January 31, 2025 for the first application period and May 31, 2025 for the second application period will not be evaluated in the 2025-2026 evaluation period.
Programs Eligible for Accreditation Application and their Related Institutions
An evaluation application for accreditation can be made for undergraduate education programs of faculties of agriculture, forestry and aquaculture that are recognized by the Council of Higher Education of Türkiye.
A program applying for the first time should have graduates before the date of application.
If a program applying for accreditation provides options to the students to complete the program, then each such option should meet all the evaluation criteria.
In an institution which is making an accreditation application for one its programs, if there are similar education programs* which issue diplomas not different than that is of the program for which accreditation application is being made then these programs shall be evaluated according to the following principles:
- The applications should be made for normal and similar education programs* separately
- The institutions should prove that each of such normal, and similar education programs meets the ZİDEK criteria, separately.
- Similar education programs, which did not undergo evaluation since they had no graduates at the time of the evaluation of the corresponding normal education programs was taking place, should apply concurrently with the next general evaluation of their normal education programs after they produce graduates, .
* Similar Education Programs: Programs which are in the same discipline as the engineering (Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture) program being applied, using a similar curriculum, and issuing the same diploma (Examples: Programs in the same discipline but instructed in another language, joint programs in the same discipline but administered jointly with another institution).
Important Dates in the Accreditation Application Process are presented below for both application periods.
2025-2026 I. APPLICATION PERIOD**
ZİDEK EVALUATION AND ACCREDITATION PROCESSES
| Tarih | İşlem |
|---|---|
| 31 January 2025* | Written and online application of Institutions to ZİDEK (Application Form in Turkish) |
| 28 February 2025 | Evaluation of applications (Accept/Reject) and informing those that are accepted regarding accreditation fee and payment conditions. |
| 1 – 31 March 2025 |
Institutions submit their official confirmation letters to ZİDEK and payments are made. |
| 1 April 2025 – 5 July 2025 | Institutions prepare their Self-Assessment Reports (SAR) and interim reports and submit them to ZİDEK online and in print. |
| 5 July 2025 – 31 August 2025 |
Start of the assembling of Evaluation Teams by Faculties of Agriculture Educational Programs Accreditation Board (ZAK) and informing institutions regarding revisions on unconformities of submitted self assessment reports and interim reports in terms of their format and/or criteria shortcomings determined during their initial screening. Return of SARs and interim reports with serious shortcomings to the institutions and informing the institutions on the decision regarding the postponing of evaluation. |
| 1 – 14 September 2025 | Submission of revised SARs and interim reports without unconformities by the institution within 15 days |
| 1 September 2025 – 31 October 2025 | Return of SARs and interim reports with serious shortcomings to the institutions and informing the institutions on the decision regarding the postponing of evaluation. Start of the evaluation process for accepted/revised SARs and interim reports, assembling and confirming Evaluation Teams, transfer of SARs and interim reports to evaluation team members and transfer of the process to the teams and evaluation of SARs and interim reports by the teams |
| 1 November 2025 – 31 December 2025 | Institution visit |
| 1 December 2025 – 31 March 2026 | Submission of the evaluation report to ZAK. Review of the report by ZAK and making the final decision. Submitting the decision to ZİDEK and the announcement of the decision |
*31 January 2025: The final date of the first application period of 2025 by which Higher Education Institutions must apply to ZİDEK for accreditation of their chosen programs.
Important Note: Undergraduate Program applications must be done using ZİDEK Undergraduate Programs Application Form (in Turkish) to the ZİDEK Economic Enterprise office. Considering delays that might occur during posting, it is strongly recommended that, a digital copy of the application should be sent to info@zidek.org.tr
2024-2025 II. APPLICATION PERIOD**
ZİDEK EVALUATION AND ACCREDITATION PROCESSES
| Tarih | İşlem |
|---|---|
| 31 May 2025** | Written and online application of Institutions to ZİDEK (Application Form in Turkish) |
| 30 June 2025 | Evaluation of applications (Accept/Reject) and informing those that are accepted regarding accreditation fee and payment conditions. |
| 1 – 31 July 2025 | Institutions submit their official confirmation letters to ZİDEK and payments are made. |
| 1 August 2025 – 8 November 2025 | Institutions prepare their Self-Assessment Reports (SAR) and interim reports and submit them to ZİDEK online and in print. |
| 8 November 2025 – 31 December 2025 |
Start of the assembling of Evaluation Teams by Faculties of Agriculture Educational Programs Accreditation Board (ZAK) and informing institutions regarding revisions on unconformities of submitted self assessment reports and interim reports in terms of their format and/or criteria shortcomings determined during their initial screening. Return of SARs and interim reports with serious shortcomings to the institutions and informing the institutions on the decision regarding the postponing of evaluation. |
| 1 – 14 January 2026 | Submission of revised SARs and interim reports without unconformities by the institution within 15 days |
| 1 January 2026 – 28 February 2026 | Return of SARs and interim reports with serious shortcomings to the institutions and informing the institutions on the decision regarding the postponing of evaluation. Start of the evaluation process for accepted/revised SARs and interim reports, assembling and confirming Evaluation Teams, transfer of SARs and interim reports to evaluation team members and transfer of the process to the teams and evaluation of SARs and interim reports by the teams |
| 1 March 2026- 31 May 2026 | Institution visit |
| 1 May 2026 – 31 July 2026 | Submission of the evaluation report to ZAK. Review of the report by ZAK and making the final decision. Submitting the decision to ZİDEK and the announcement of the decision |
**31 May 2025: The final date of the second application period of 2025 by which Higher Education Institutions must apply to ZİDEK for accreditation of their chosen programs.
Important Note: Undergraduate Program applications must be done using ZİDEK Undergraduate Programs Application Form (in Turkish) to the ZİDEK Economic Enterprise office. Considering delays that might occur during posting, it is strongly recommended that, a digital copy of the application should be sent to info@zidek.org.tr
Accreditation Fees and Payment Schedule
For the 2025-2026 evaluation period, accreditation fees for all programs to be evaluated are presented in the table below.
| Evaluation Type | Accreditation Fees* |
|---|---|
| General Review(1) | 170.000 TRY + VAT |
| Interim Evaluation with Visit(2) | 150.000 TRY + VAT |
| Interim Evaluation with Report(2) | 130.000 TRY + VAT |
| Show Cause with Visit(3) | 150.000 TRY + VAT |
| Show Cause with Report(3) | 130.000 TRY + VAT |
* For applications from TRNC, accreditation fees are applied with a %25 increased tariff.
(1) First time evaluation programs or periodic evaluation of programs with accreditation, usually conducted every five years
(2) Evaluation of programs which were given a short term accreditation after their general review in their previous evaluation
(3) Evaluation of programs which were given a one year accreditation after their previous general review or interim evaluation
Fees for programs to be evaluated for a general review in the 2025-2026 accreditation period will be collected from the institutions according to the following schedule:
- 45% of the evaluation fee in April 2025 (August 2025 for the II. Application Period) after the assessment and acceptance of the initial application and preparation of documents needed,
- 25% of the evaluation fee in October 2025 (February 2026 for the II. Application Period) after the initial screening of self assessment reports,
- the remaining (30%) after the institution visit
ZİDEK Criteria to be used in Accreditation Evaluation
- For the evaluation of all undergraduate programs, ZİDEK Evaluation Criteria for Bachelor’s Degree Programs (Version 2.3-07.12.2021) will be used.
ZİDEK Self Assessment Report to be used in Accreditation Evaluation
- For the general review of undergraduate programs, ZİDEK Self-Assessment Report (Version 2.2-03.05.2022) document shall be used.
Important Note: It is strongly recommended to carefully review the document Issues to be Considered During the Preparation of Self Assessment Report (Version 2.1-01.01.2023).
