[1] For detailed information about YÖKAK's national evaluation programs, see https://yokak.gov.tr/degerlendirme-sureci/kurumsal-degerlendirme-programi-dokumanlar 

[2] For detailed information about UKAP, see https://yokak.gov.tr/degerlendirme-sureci/uluslararasi-kurumsal-degerlendirme-programi-dokumanlar 

2023

Quota for Women Over 34 Years of Age

As of January 1, 2023, there has been a "Women Over 34 Years of Age" quota in short-cycle and first-cycle programs accepting students through central placement at state universities for women who have reached the age of 34. This quota is available for programs other than Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Engineering, Architecture, Law and Teaching programs, which require a success ranking. Those who have previously graduated from any first-cycle program will not be able to benefit from the quotas mentioned and will not be placed in these quotas even if they choose. Those who have previously graduated from a short-cycle program will only be able to choose the quotas reserved for first-cycle programs.

Women over the age of 34 are placed with central placement in their top preferences for which placement scores are sufficient, considering the general quota (primarily) and the quota for women over the age of 34, and the above explanations. The quotas reserved for women over the age of 34 are limited. Therefore, women over the age of 34 who make all of their preferences for the most desired programs may not be placed in any program if their scores are not high. If the quotas reserved for women over the age of 34 are not filled in the central placement process or remain vacant in the registration, they are announced in the additional placement process. All general rules in the guide are also valid for women over the age of 34.

YÖK Project on the University Monitoring and Evaluation Report

The University Monitoring and Evaluation Report is a project that has been published again since 2018 to evaluate the basic service areas of universities such as scientific production, academic performance, university-sector cooperation, R&D, internationalization, community service and social responsibility.

This study aims to determine the strengths and weaknesses of universities in accordance with the specified standards. Within the scope of the 2023 University Monitoring and Evaluation Report, indicator data from the previous year were collected and shared with the public. The aim of the report is not to make a hierarchical evaluation; it is to determine the areas of universities that are open to development and to support these areas.

University Campus Mapping Project

The aim of the University Campus Mapping Project is to provide a broad perspective on the size of campuses, the fields of study they provide within (health, education, engineering, law, etc.), the distance between faculties and many other features of the regions they are located in. The project, which shows the areas where the universities' campuses and buildings are located, whether these areas are centrally located in the city or far from the center, was completed in 2023.

Cyber Security Short Cycle Programs

The Cyber Security Education Cooperation Protocol was signed between the Presidency of our Board and the Presidency of the Digital Transformation Office in October 2022. Within the scope of the said Protocol, Cyber Security Vocational Schools and short cycle programs (Cyber Security Analyst and Operator) were opened within Ankara University, Ege University, Gebze Technical University and Istanbul Technical University in 2023 YKS, and 25 quotas were allocated for each program.

Cooperation with the Presidency of Defense Industries

A cooperation protocol was signed between the Presidency of Defense Industries and the Council of Higher Education on January 10, 2023. The protocol aims to cooperate in areas such as meeting the needs of the defense industry with domestic and national resources, developing R&D and P&D-based education and research, strengthening university-industry cooperation models, and training the qualified human resources needed by the sector.

One of the most concrete examples of cooperation between the Council of Higher Education and the Presidency of Defense Industries is the KALFA program. This program was developed by the Presidency of Defense Industries and the Defense Industries Academy in order to fulfill the defense industry’s mission of “supplying sustainable qualified human resources.” The Council of Higher Education also supports the program. Processes such as preparing the program’s educational content, conducting post-education exams, and awarding certificates to those who successfully complete the program are carried out in cooperation with the Council of Higher Education and the Presidency of Defense Industries. Following the earthquake, the decision was made to first support earthquake-stricken students and graduates, and the initiation of the “KALFA Program” in this way was extremely meaningful.

With the studies carried out, it is aimed for the academic staff currently working in our higher education institutions to contribute to the defense industry sector and to train qualified young people who can take part in this sector. With the decision of the CoHE Executive Board, it has been provided to the students who take the Defense Industry 101 and Defense Industry 401 courses prepared by the Defense Industry Academy to be counted among the elective courses.

Research Universities

In line with the criteria determined by the Council of Higher Education, the rankings of the universities are announced every year before the end of the announcement year. The data announced in November 2023 were addressed in a total of 32 performance indicators and 3 dimensions (Research Capacity, Research Quality, Interaction and Collaboration). The number of indicators in the Research Capacity dimension was increased from 9 to 11. Detailed information can be accessed from the website https://www.yok.gov.tr/Sayfalar/Universiteler/arastirma-universiteleri.aspx .

Universities Focused on Regional Development

The 5th call was made by the Council of Higher Education to support the regional activities of the university and it was found appropriate to select 3 universities as Regional Development Universities among the candidates suggested by the commission at the Higher Education Executive Board dated September 20, 2023. Detailed information about the universities whose areas of expertise were determined within the scope of the project can be accessed on the https://bolgeselkalkinma.yok.gov.tr/ web page.

Specialized Universities

In order to support departments and programs that stand out with their expertise in certain scientific fields through our higher education ecosystem, to develop our qualified human resources on a national scale and to increase qualified scientific outputs on an international scale, matching has been carried out between 15 priority scientific fields and 25 universities. Detailed information can be accessed on the web page https://www.yok.gov.tr/Sayfalar/Haberler/2023/yok-15-bilim-alaninda-25-universiteye-oncelikli-alan-misyonu-verdi.aspx?s=08 .

Barrier-Free University Awards

Barrier-Free University Awards have been given since the 2018-2019 academic year. Every year, universities are evaluated by the commissions determined by the Council of Higher Education and are entitled to receive awards in the Barrier-Free University Flag, Barrier-Free University Program Medal and Disability-Friendly Individual Awards categories.

Outstanding Achievement Awards

The President gives the award of outstanding achievement to those who deserve to receive the award at the academic opening ceremony of the relevant year held in the Presidential Complex every year. The Council of Higher Education Outstanding Achievement Awards are given in 4 categories: individual, institutional, special field and special award. Detailed information can be accessed from the https://odul.yok.gov.tr/ web page.

Vocational Schools Established in Organized Industrial Zones

Within the scope of OIZ Vocational School Support; a circular is prepared by CoHE in January of each year, which determines the issues on which educational support will be provided to the Vocational Schools established in OIZs and the amount of educational support to be provided per student. In the 2023-2024 academic year, 88 programs and 5,623 students in 17 Vocational Schools established in OIZs were found appropriate to be supported.

Vocational Education Cooperation with Universities (Seven Universities in Seven Provinces)

In order to train qualified workforce, it is planned to develop a vocational education cooperation model in cooperation with İŞKUR, universities and Technopolis administrations. Vocational education courses will be organized in cooperation with universities. In the first stage, cooperation with a university in each geographical region will be ensured. Vocational Education Cooperation protocol was signed with Istanbul Technical University, Akdeniz University and Van Yüzüncü Yıl University.

2022

Research Universities

The project, which started in 2021 within the Council of Higher Education, is a program that aims to provide universities selected from among well-established universities with a more competitive structure globally by differentiating their missions in terms of research focus. The data announced in November 2022 were addressed in a total of 30 performance indicators and 3 dimensions (Research Capacity, Research Quality, Interaction and Collaboration). In addition, the number of indicators in the Research Capacity dimension was reduced from 11 to 9, and the total weight of this dimension was increased from 25% to 40%. The number of indicators in the Research Quality dimension was reduced from 11 to 10, and the weight of this dimension remained the same (40%). The number of indicators in the Interaction and Collaboration dimension was increased from 10 to 11, and the weight of this dimension was reduced from 35% to 20%. Detailed information can be accessed from the website https://www.yok.gov.tr/Sayfalar/Universiteler/arastirma-universiteleri.aspx .

Universities Focused on Regional Development

It is a program to support the regional activities of universities selected (among the universities established in 2006 and later) in order to increase the contribution of universities to their regions and to encourage them to specialize in certain areas. Within the scope of the project, 4 (four) calls have been made as of 2022 and detailed information about the universities with determined areas of specialization can be accessed from the https://bolgeselkalkinma.yok.gov.tr/ web page.

Sustainable and Climate-Friendly Campus Project

On October 04, 2022, under the coordination of the Council of Higher Education, the Sustainable and Climate-Friendly Campus Creation Protocol was signed between our Presidency and the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change in order to determine and implement cooperation issues between the parties in order to create sustainable, energy-efficient, nature-compatible and environmentally friendly campuses throughout the life cycle covering site selection, design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, demolition and waste disposal in all universities, especially state universities, and to carry out sensitivity and awareness-raising studies in this area, to use energy resources and energy efficiently and effectively in universities, to prevent waste and to ensure the use of renewable energy, to alleviate the burden of energy costs on the budget, to spread zero waste practices, to protect the environment, and to support universities in accessing the necessary financing tools in the sustainable and climate-friendly campus transformation process. Within the scope of the protocol, 11 pilot universities were initially determined by the CoHE Executive Board.

Barrier-Free University Awards

Barrier-Free University Awards have been given since the 2018-2019 academic year in order to identify the work carried out to ensure the full, effective and equal participation of individuals with disabilities within the boundaries of the university campus and to reward those who are successful as well as to raise public awareness in the public.

As the Student Friendly New CoHE, within the scope of encouraging studies and projects for the solution of educational, social and cultural problems of the people with disabilities as well as their health and care-related problems, the Barrier-Free University Awards, which were given for the first time in the 2018-2019 academic year in the Barrier-Free University Flag and Barrier-Free University Program Medal categories, were expanded by adding the Disabled Friendly Individual Awards for the 2019-2020 academic year.

Vocational Schools Established in Organized Industrial Zones

In accordance with Article 15 of Law No. 7033 published in the Official Gazette dated 01.07.2017 and numbered 30111 and Article 46 of Law No. 2547, a legal regulation was made as follows: “Educational support may be provided to the relevant higher education institutions for vocational schools established in organized industrial zones from the budget allocated for this purpose to the Council of Higher Education”. With this regulation, the opening of vocational schools in OIZs has been encouraged and it is aimed for the human resources trained in vocational schools to interact with the industry. In this context, “Procedures and Principles Regarding Provision of Educational Support to Students Who Will Study in Vocational Schools Established in Organized Industrial Zones of Higher Education Institutions” was prepared and entered into force on 07.12.2017.

In order to monitor and evaluate the performance of the Vocational Schools supported by the Council of Higher Education, there are measures that are aimed at increasing practical education and employment, such as "the employment rate of graduates, the satisfaction rate of businesses that provide workplace training, and the number of projects carried out with the industry to develop students' sectoral experience". 30 performance indicators have been determined. Vocational Schools fill out the performance evaluation table containing the data related to the indicators at the end of December each year and submit it to CoHE. In 2022, the “General Evaluation Report of Vocational Schools Established in OIZs” was prepared and presented to the public based on the on-site observation and evaluation results of academicians selected from various universities and competent in their fields according to the determined indicators. ( https://www.yok.gov.tr/Documents/Yayinlar/Yayinlarimiz/2023/01-osb-lerde-kurulan-myo-lar-genel-degerlendirme-raporu.pdf )

Outstanding Achievement Awards

It was first implemented by CoHE in the 2017-2018 academic year in order to encourage scientific research, projects, theses and community service activities at universities. The President gives an outstanding achievement award to those who deserve the award at the academic opening ceremony of the relevant year held every year in the Presidential Complex.

CoHE Outstanding Achievement Awards, given by the Council of Higher Education to encourage all kinds of scientific research and studies that are original, innovative and of superior quality, in line with the mission of higher education, scientific activities carried out, and studies and applications related to supported and/or carried out scientific research and development projects, are given in 4 categories: individual, institutional, special field and special award. Detailed information can be accessed from the https://odul.yok.gov.tr/ web page.