Margvelashvili M.
PhD, Professor, Head of the Sports Management Department,
Georgian State University of Physical Education and Sport

Abstract
On June 14, 2014 Georgia signed the Association Agreement with European Union. According to 361 Article of the Agreement, Georgia was obliged to conduct harmonization of National Legislation to European Union legislative acts referred to in Annex XXXII of the Agreement. The EU documents regarding qualifications and the higher education quality assurance are among them. Georgia has recently taken another step towards the European family. On December 14, 2023, Georgia granted the status of a candidate for EU membership that makes the country more responsible for fulfilling the obligations undertaken within the Association Agreement.
Higher education quality in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) is regulated according to the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG 2015), a fundamental purpose of which is to contribute to the common understanding of quality assurance for teaching and learning across borders and among all stakeholders. The standards set out agreed and accepted practice for quality assurance in higher education in the European Higher Education Area and should, therefore, be considered and adhered to by those concerned in all types of higher education provision. Its importance and usefulness is recognized and adopted by 48 European countries and proven by time.
However, in Georgia, it seems these regulations are considered insufficient for Higher Education Institutions, and along with programmatic accreditation, institutional authorization also applies. The latter is a remnant of the past, which has not yet renounced. The purpose of the proposed study was a detailed review and comparison of these two national regulations with ESG 2015. Study has revealed that some ESG 2015 standards not presented in Georgian regulations. A number of requirements are duplicated in the National institutional authorization and programmatic accreditation, which leads to putting an excessive burden on already financially weak higher education institutions, both in terms of effort and time loss and in terms of finances, since it requires the preparation of a large volume of documentation and the payment of double fees for authorization and accreditation. In addition, the National Center for Education Quality Enhancement of Georgia is a legal entity under the public law of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia that questions its independence. In the conclusion several recommendations are offered to solve these problems.

 Keywords: Higher Education, ESG 2015, Institutional Authorization, Programmatic Accreditation