Adult education is provided by:

• school for adults and other institutions within theschool education system which are governed by the school education legislation, and are subject to pedagogical supervision exercised by the school education authorities; and
• entities operating outside the school education system in accordance with the legislation on economic activity or employment and the labour market.

Different quality assurance arrangements are in place in these two 'sub-sectors' of adult education.

In addition to schools for adults, the adult education subsector within the school education system includes continuing education institutions and vocational training centres which provide continuing education in non-school settings. The aims, arrangements and recent reforms in the area of quality assurance for schools for adults and the above-mentioned adult education institutions are the same as in school education for young people (see Chapter ‘Early Childhood and School Education’). The only additional arrangement is that adult education institutions other than schools may apply on a voluntary basis for accreditation to the Head of the Regional Education Authorities (REA) (kurator oświaty) (see Approaches and Methods of Quality Assurance in Adult Education and Training).

There are no national regulations or official documents setting aims or laying down quality assurance arrangements for entities which provide adult or continuing education in non-school settings, outside the education, as part of their economic activity or labour-market training activities. Such providers do not undergo compulsory external evaluation and may design independently their internal quality assurance approaches. However, like adult education institutions within the school education system, they may voluntarily apply for accreditation to the Head of the REA. The provisions of the Act on the Value Added Tax serve as a financial incentive for such providers to apply for accreditation as vocational training and retraining services accredited by the Head of the REA are exempt from the VAT. Thus, accredited providers can reduce costs and increase their competitiveness on the education and training market.

Responsible bodies

In the case of both schools for adults and institutions providing adult education in non-school settings within the school education system, the responsible bodies are the same as in school education; see chapter 11.1 Quality Assurance in Early Childhood and School Education.

There are no external quality assurance bodies for entities providing adult education as part of their economic activity or labour-market training activities. Such entities may autonomously establish bodies responsible for internal quality assurance in accordance with their internal regulations.

Regardless of that, the Heads of the Regional Education Authorities (REAs) (kurator oświaty) are the bodies which grant accreditation to institutions within and outside the school education which provide adult education in non-school settings. The Head of the REA is not independent from the national authorities. The REAs are a unit of government administration at province level, and their head is appointed and dismissed by the Minister of Education and Science at the request of the governor of a given province (who is the head of the government administration body at province level) (for details, see Chapter 11.1).

The Head of the REA appoints an accreditation panel, provides administrative support to the panel and takes a decision to grant or refuse accreditation at the end of the accreditation process. Accreditation decisions are based on an evaluation carried out by an accreditation panel. Additionally, in the case of adult education institutions within the school education system, the Head of the REA also takes into account findings from pedagogical supervision which includes, among other things, external evaluation (see the introductory section to Chapter 11).

Approaches and methods of quality assurance

In the case of schools for adults and institutions providing adult education in non-school settings within the school education system, external and internal quality assurance approaches are the same as for school education - see chapter 11.1 Quality Assurance in Early Childhood and School Education.

There are no quality assurance regulations for entities providing adult education in non-school settings outside the school education system, as part of economic activity or labour-market training activities. They do not undergo mandatory external evaluation and adopt independently their internal quality assurance arrangements.

As explained in the previous sections, both institutions within the school education and entities outside the system which provide adult education in non-school settings may apply on a voluntary basis for accreditation granted by the Head of the REA.

Accreditation of adult education in non-school settings

The arrangements for accreditation are laid down in the legislation. Accreditation covers a specific type of continuing education / training programme or course. These may include: a vocational qualification course; vocational skills course; general competences course; theoretical training programme for juvenile workers; and any other course providing knowledge, developing vocational skills or upgrading vocational qualifications. Accreditation confirms that the programme or course concerned complies with certain requirements and quality standards for education or training.

Accreditation can be granted to institutions / entities which:

• have provided education or training activities in non-school settings for at least 3 years;
• have in place an internal quality assurance system and improve the system on a regular basis;
• provide teaching / training and learning facilities and resources;
• have qualified staff;
• implement curricula, as laid down by law, for a given type of education / training;
• provide conditions for practical vocational training (applicable to the accreditation of vocational qualification courses and vocational skills courses);
• ensure safety and hygiene for the provision of a given type of education or training;
• provide learning resources / materials to learners.

Evaluation is conducted by an accreditation panel appointed by the Head of the REA. The panel consists of:

• two representatives of the Head of the REA, appointed from among REA staff, with one of them chairing the panel;
• one representative of the regional labour office (for accreditation to be granted to a public adult education institution administered by district authorities) or the district labour office (for other types of institutions or entities);
• one representative of employers’ organisations selected by the Head of the REA from among candidates proposed by employers’ organisations.

At the request of the chair of the panel, the Head of the REA may also appoint an expert in a given field as a member of the accreditation panel.

The procedure for accreditation is laid down in the legislation. An accreditation panel analyses the application and supporting documents (the founding act, the statutes, a self-evaluation report), conducts a site visit to the sites where education or training is provided, and prepares a report which is submitted to the Head of the REA.

The self-evaluation of the institution / entity and the evaluation conducted by the accreditation panel address the following aspects or criteria, described in greater detail in the legislation:

• experience in continuing education in non-school settings: education or training provided for at least 3 years;
• internal quality assurance system: an internal quality assurance system; innovative curricular, methodological and organisational approaches; quality monitoring tools, quality improvement mechanisms and quality evaluation tools; use of evaluation findings in redesigning curricula and organisational arrangements for education or training;
• teaching / training and learning facilities: premises, teaching / training and learning resources; library;
• teaching / training staff: qualifications, appraisal and continuing development / in-service training;
• curricula, teaching / learning materials and conditions for education or training: the institution’s / entity’s own and other curricula and their compliance with the legislation; use of ICT; curriculum components (incl. entrance requirements for learners; aims of education or training; description of learning outcomes; course load; timetable; reading list; learner assessment methods); the institution’s / entity’s own and other teaching / training materials; conditions for practical vocational training; safety and hygiene conditions for education or training;
• documentation: arrangements for keeping, and elements of, education- or training-related documentation.

The Head of the REA grants or refuses accreditation based on the evaluation conducted by the accreditation panel and, in the case of institutions within the school education system, on findings from pedagogical supervision, including external evaluation (see the introductory section to Chapter 11).

Where it is found that an accredited provider no longer fulfils the accreditation requirements, the Head of the REA instructs the provider to eliminate the shortcomings identified and may also instruct the provider to carry out a self-evaluation. If shortcomings are not eliminated within the specified timeframe, the Head of the REA may withdraw accreditation.