Arkansas Tech University’s Dr. Christine Austin has assisted the Kosovo Accreditation Agency in developing and completing a document designed to aid the Republic of Kosovo in establishing best practices in higher education.
The document is entitled “Thematic Analysis of Processes Involved in Accrediting/Reaccrediting Study Programs: A Three-Year Review of Accreditation Processes for a Study Program at Three Public and Three Private Institutions in the Republic of Kosovo.”
The report is available at https://akreditimi.rks-gov.net/wp-content/uploads/08.04.2024-KAA-Thematic-Analysis-of-Study-Programs.pdf.
Austin, director of assessment and institutional effectiveness and professor of student affairs administration at ATU, performed the work as part of a Fulbright Specialist Program award.
“I’m proud of the work I was able to do there and the new colleagues I have made,” said Austin. “Because Kosovo is a fairly new country, less than 25 years, they are doing a lot of work to bring their higher education institutions up to the standards expected by the rest of Europe. They are doing a fantastic job. I hope to return in the near future to present my work to the various higher education institutions during annual training. They are also often in need of external reviewers for degree programs and I am hopeful that we will be able to send some folks from ATU in the future.”
According to information provided by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in Washington, D.C., Fulbright Specialist award recipients are “selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, demonstrated leadership in their field and their potential to foster long-term cooperation between institutions in the U.S. and abroad.”
Austin joined the ATU faculty in 2007. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Denver and a Master of Education degree from the University of Maine.
In 2020, Austin was appointed to a four-year term on the Higher Learning Commission Institutional Action Council. According to the HLC website, the purpose of the IAC is to “conduct reviews and take actions on the majority of accreditation recommendations.”
Austin is one of more than 400 U.S. citizens who were selected to share their expertise with host institutions around the globe through the Fulbright Specialist program in 2023.
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to build lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the program, which operates in more than 160 countries worldwide.
Since its establishment in 1946, the Fulbright Program has given more than 400,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists and scientists the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.
