It is our pleasure to announce that The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow was awarded the international accreditation from AVEPRO for a period of 5 years. This certification means that all faculties of UPJPII (Faculty of Philosophy, Faculty of History and Cultural Heritage, Faculty of Social Sciences, Faculty of Theology, Faculty of Canon Law, Faculty of Theology Section in Tarnow) and study programs conducted at them are in accordance with the Apostolic Constitution Veritatis Gaudium and the education at the units meet the highest academic standards.

The Holy See’s Agency for the Evaluation and Promotion of Quality in Ecclesiastical Universities and Faculties (AVEPRO l’Agenzia della Santa Sede per la Valutazione e la Promozione della Qualità delle Università e Facoltà Ecclesiastiche), established by the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI on 19 September 2007, is an institution connected to the Holy See, as provided by arts. 186 and 190-191 of the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus. The Agency’s duty is to promote and develop a culture of quality within the academic institutions that depend directly on the Holy See and ensure they possess internationally valid quality criteria.

The Holy See’s adhesion to the Bologna Process was determined by its desire to pursue and achieve certain objectives included in the Bologna Process, such as:

- respect for the specificity and diversity of the various university systems;

- creation of a common European Higher Education Area to encourage the involvement of university institutions in an international dimension;

- focus on quality as a value intrinsic to and necessary for research and innovation in universities.

AVEPRO’s activities are regulated by the Apostolic Constitution Veritatis gaudium and it conforms to the European Standards and Guidelines, as well as other international agreements concerning rules and procedures for the evaluation of quality in higher education.

The Agency collaborates with academic institutions in defining internal procedures to evaluate the quality of teaching, research and services, which is done through the development and use of appropriate operational tools (guidelines, questionnaires, databases, information networks, etc.). AVEPRO also organizes external evaluation procedures for individual academic institutions and arranges visits to them by experts.

In accordance with the Agency’s independent nature, it collaborates with all actors interested in the life and progress of ecclesiastical universities and faculties: the institutions themselves, the Congregation for Catholic Education, the Episcopal Conferences, all regional, national and international authorities, and all those who work in the various dioceses of countries in which ecclesiastical academic institutions are based.

To learn more about AVEPRO, please visit its official WEBSITE.

To read AVEPRO’s reports of ecclesiastical universities and faculties, please go to the REPORTS section.