Complaints' Policy

Individuals or organisations that have substantiated concerns about an accredited institution’s/department’s/programme’s compliance with the Agency’s external evaluation criteria and/or the ESG and/or the WFME standards may bring those to CYQAA's attention.  The scope of complaints extends beyond the above and encompasses the opportunity to address grievances pertaining to the manner in which a review is conducted or concerns regarding the processes implemented by the agency itself. These complaints can be filed by various stakeholders, including students, faculty members, staff, or any individuals directly or indirectly affected by the higher education institution or the agency overseeing its operations.

The following steps will be followed:
  1. The CYQAA Council shall consider whether a complaint is substantiated. A complaint will only be considered if it is credible, substantiated, and supported by appropriate evidence, references, examples etc. The complaints may only relate to an accredited institution’s/department’s/programme’s compliance with the Agency’s external evaluation criteria and/or the ESG and/or the WFME standards, or the integrity of the external evaluation process on the basis of which CYQAA provided accreditation to the said institution/department/programme. Concerns regarding national legislation, European Union law, or any other applicable rules shall be addressed with the competent courts or authorities.
  2. If the complaint is not substantiated the CYQAA will take no action on the complaint and inform the complainant accordingly.
  3. If the complaint is substantiated CYQAA will inform the higher education institution of the complaint and will ask the institution to provide clarifications or information related to it.
  4. If the complaint is substantiated but relates to an isolated case and does not substantially affect the institution’s/department’s/programme’s compliance with the abovementioned standards, the CYQAA Council shall issue a formal warning to the institution. The warning does not affect the accreditation status of the institution/department/programme. A formal warning statement is published on the entry of the institution/department/programme on the Agency’s website.
  5. In the case the complaint is substantiated and leads to major concerns that the accredited institution/department/programme no longer fulfils the criteria upon which accreditation was granted, the CYQAA Council shall examine, through the audit procedure, whether the Accreditation criteria continue to be met according to article 17(3)(g) of the legislation.
  6. In the case the audit procedure further substantiates the complaint and leads to major concerns that the accredited institution/department/programme no longer fulfils the criteria upon which accreditation was granted, the CYQAA Council may decide to:
    • revoke the Accreditation decision, or
    • initiate an external evaluation process of the institution/department/programme.
In the scenarios (5) and (6) the higher education institution is invited to make representation before a final decision is made. The final decision is then communicated to the institution and the complainant and it is published. 

The scope of complaints extends beyond the above and encompasses the opportunity to address grievances pertaining to the manner in which a review is conducted or concerns regarding the processes implemented by the agency itself. These complaints can be filed by various stakeholders, including students, faculty members, staff, or any individuals directly or indirectly affected by the higher education institution or the agency overseeing its operations.

Legislation

SubjectFile
The Agency
Τhe Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education and the Establishment and Operation of an Agency on Related Μatters Laws, 2015 and 2016
Private Universities
The Private Universities (Establishment, Operation and Control) Law, 2005
Open University of Cyprus
The Open University of Cyprus Laws of 2002 (234(Ι)/2002) to 35(Ι) of 2010
A Law amending the Open University of Cyprus Law 35(1) of 2010
Private Institutions of Tertiary Education
The Institutions of Tertiary Education Laws of 1996 (67(1)/1996) to 53(Ι) of 2013

Constantinos Christou

Constantinos Christou Constantinos Christou is professor of mathematics education at the University of Cyprus. He served as President of the Governing Body of the Open University of Cyprus, President of the Cyprus Council for the Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications (Ky.S.A.T.S), vice president of the Accreditation Council of Cyprus (S.Ek.A.P), and president of the Cyprus Scientific Council. He is a member of the board of “European Society for Research in Mathematics Education”. He was appointed as the president of the committee for the development of new mathematics curricula and new school textbooks in Cyprus.

He has published more than 100 books, book chapters, journal articles and conference proceedings. He participated as coordinator and partner in European research projects and was the coordinator of five other research projects funded by the University of Cyprus, the Cyprus Research Foundation and Leventis Foundation.



Selected Publications (2010-2018) 

Pittalis, M., Pitta-Pantazi, D., & Christou, C. (2018). A longitudinal study revisiting the notion of early number sense: algrebraic arithmetic a catalyst for number sense development.Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 20(3), 222-247.https://doi.org/10.1080/10986065.2018.1474533

Chimoni, M., Pitta-Pantazi, D., & Christou, C. (2018). Examining early algebraic thinking: insights from empirical data. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 98(1), 57-76.

Papageorgiou, E., Christou, C., Spanoudis, G., Demetriou, A. (2016). Augmenting intelligence: Developmental limits to learning-based cognitive change. Intelligence, 56, 16-27.

Zachariades, T., Christou, C., & Pitta-Pantazi, D. (2013). Reflective, systemic and analytic thinking in real numbers. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 82(1), 5 – 22, doi:10.1007/s10649-012-9413-y

Pittalis, M., & Christou, C. (2013). Coding and decoding representations of 3D shapes. Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 32, 673-689. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmathb.2013.08.004

Chrysostomou, M., Pitta-Pantazi, D., Tsingi, C., Cleanthous, E. Christou, C. (2013). Examining number sense and algebraic reasoning through cognitive styles. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 83(2), 205 – 223, doi:10.1007/s10649-012-9448-0

Kontoyianni, K., Kattou, M., Pitta-Pantazi, D., & Christou, C. (2013). Integrating mathematical abilities and creativity in the assessment of mathematical giftedness. Psychological Assessment and Test Modeling, 55(3), 289-315.

Pitta-Pantazi, D., & Christou, C. (2011). The structure of prospective kindergarten teachers’ proportional reasoning. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 14(2), 149 – 169. doi:10.1007/s10857-011-9175-y

Pitta-Pantazi, D., Christou, C., Kontoyianni, K., & Kattou, M. (2011). A model of mathematical giftedness: Integrating natural, creative and mathematical abilities. Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 11(1), 39 – 54. doi:10.1080/14926156.2011.548900

Pitta-Pantazi, D., & Christou, C. (2010). Spatial versus object visualisation: The case of mathematical understanding in three-dimensional arrays of cubes and nets. International Journal of Educational Research, 49(2-3), 102 – 114. doi:10.1016/j.ijer.2010.10.001

Pittalis, M., & Christou, C. (2010). Types of reasoning in 3D geometry thinking and their relation with spatial abilities. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 75(2), 191-212. doi: 10.1007/s10649-010-9251-8

Evaggelos Drimpetas

drimpetasEvaggelos Drimpetas is an economist and a faculty member (Professor) at the Department of Economics in the Democritus University of Thrace. In the past, he served as head of the Economic Department and today he holds the position of dean of the School of Social, Political and Economic Sciences.

He graduated from the Economics Department of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and continued his postgraduate and doctoral studies in University of Sorbonne, Paris.

He has published five books and he is the author of an important number of articles in refereed journals in the areas of finance, capital markets and corporate governance. Pr. Drimpetas worked as an expert of the European Commission and during his service he participated as a member in several committees.

He was also a member of various committees and administration boards in both public and private sector. Today, he is a member of the council of Cyprus Agency of Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education (CYQAA)

George K. Christophides

Professor George K. Christophides is Chair of Infectious Diseases and Immunity and Director of the Vector Immuno-Genomics and Infection Laboratory (VigiLab) at Imperial College London. He received his PhD from the University of Athens in 2000 and moved to the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) as a Marie Curie Fellow and later as a staff scientist. He joined Imperial College as a Senior Lecturer in 2005 where he became Professor and Chair in 2011. Since 2013, he is also Adjunct Professor at the Cyprus Institute.

Professor Christophides is among world leaders in the fields of insect innate immunity and vector-borne diseases, publishing a series of benchmark papers that contributed to the advancement of these fields. He pioneered the field of mosquito functional genomics and has been centrally involved in sequencing the genomes of disease vector mosquitoes. He has extensive experience in management and coordination of large and international research projects and served as advisor to WHO, the EFSA and other organisations. He is member of various Committees and Institutes, and he is elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology. Since July 2015, he is a Senior Investigator of the Wellcome Trust, from where he received a major award to study the interactions between malaria parasites and their mosquito vectors, and a Special Visiting Fellow of the National Council of Scientific and Technological Development of Brazil.

Throughout his career, Professor Christophides has significantly contributed to teaching and training of young scientists. At Imperial College London, he is currently lecturing undergraduate and postgraduate students pursuing a career in Biological Sciences, Biochemistry and Medicine, while he is an invited speaker in many additional Higher Education Institutions in the United Kingdom and worldwide. He has also supervised the Master’s and Doctoral theses of several young scientists.

Professor Christophides is involved in various public engagement projects. He has written several articles in newspapers, participated in documentaries and has been frequently interviewed by the international press and media.

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