According to the relevant legislation students attending the certified I.S.T.E. programs are entitled to state student grants ranging between €1450.00 and €2565.00, or up to €3420.00, subject to certain conditions.
The following link may offer any interested person the relevant information
Attached to the following website of the Ministry of Education and Culture are the relevant records concerning the decisions of the Council of Ministers for granting financial aid and student grants to Cypriots, Greek students or repatriated Cypriots.
The Study Program “Theology (4 Years / 240 ECTS, Bachelor’s)” is the first and only accredited and certified undergraduate Program of Studies in Theology offered in Cyprus.
The four-year undergraduate program “Theology (4 Years / 240 ECTS, Bachelor’s)” has been entered in the Register of Educationally Accredited-Certified Programs of Study I.S.T.E., with effect from the Winter Semester of the Academic Year 2015-2016, for five years. The relevant Certificate under the number 000060 and dated 29 June 2018 is available here:
Theology_Progam_of_Study_Certification
The Undergraduate Program of Studies of the Theological School of the Church of Cyprus under the title: “Theology (4 Years / 240 ECTS, Degree)” was evaluated on 5 December 2016 by a special External Evaluation Committee, according to the provisions of the relevant legislation. It was approved at the 17th session of the Quality Assurance and Certification Body of Higher Education (April 3 and 4, 2017) and was certified with its “Final Report”, File Number 7.14.248.001/I (Form 400.2), dated 6 April 2017, and published at the school.
The Final Report was prepared on the basis of Article (20) (2) (st) (i) of the “Quality Assurance and Certification of Higher Education and the Establishment of a Body for Related Laws of 2015 and 2016” [N. 136 (I) / 2015 and N.47 (I) / 2016].
On the basis of a policy decision of the Quality Assurance and Certification Body of Higher Education (CYQAA), at its 8th Summit, on July 18 and 19, 2016, an accredited-certified branch of study “is considered as having been registered as an educationally accredited-certified course of study from the beginning of the academic year in which the application was submitted for educational accreditation-certification.”
Procedure and Certification:
On September 30, 2015, the Archbishop of Cyprus Chrysostomos II, as the person legally responsible for the educational institute “Theological School of the Church of Cyprus”, submitted an application for the educational evaluation and certification of the course bearing the name: “Theology (4 Years, Bachelor’s Degree)” to the Ministry of Education and Culture, (Form M.E.C. Tertiary Education No. 13/03) based on articles 40 to 45 of the Law “ on Higher Education Institutions 1996 (67 (I) / 1996)”. With the adoption of the competencies of S.EK.A.P. by the agency CYQAA (after 5 November 2015 appointed to the Board of the Agency), the examination of all applications was suspended on 17 May 2016 until the establishment of quality criteria and indicators, including the submission of the relevant application forms on the website of CYQAA (in June 2016).
On 31 August 2016, the Archbishop of Cyprus Chrysostomos II, as the person legally responsible for the educational institution “Theological School of the Church of Cyprus”, submitted an application (Form No. 200.1), based on Article (17) of the “Quality Assurance and Certification in Higher Education and the Establishment of a Body for Relevant Laws of 2015 and 2016 “, for the evaluation and certification of the curriculum entitled “Theology (4 Years / 240 ECTS, Bachelor’s)”. This application is registered in a file with CYQAA: 7.14.248.001.
Within the scope of the powers conferred on it by the relevant legislation, the Board of the Agency established an External Evaluation Committee which, having first studied the institution’s application for evaluation and certification of the curriculum, visited the institution on 5 December 2016.
The External Evaluation Committee met with the heads of the institute, the head of the relevant department, the Coordinator of the Study Program, members of the academic staff, members of the administrative staff, students and / or their representatives and the Internal Quality Committee.
In addition, the institution’s facilities were examined (library, computer labs, research facilities, etc.), various documents were presented and/or requested, including the school’s curriculum showing the inclusion of the program in it, the curriculum vitae of the teachers in the program and their relationship to the institution as teachers, and their connection with any other duties at the institution and/or other programs.
The External Evaluation Committee documented its findings and recommendations, and drew up the External Evaluation Report in Form no. 300.1.1.
- The Board of the Quality Assurance and Certification Body for Higher Education, at its 17th session on April 3 and 4, 2017, on the basis of Article 20 (2) (st) (i) of the “Quality Assurance and Certification in Higher Education and the Establishment of a Body for Related Laws of 2015 and 2016”, [Law. 136 (I) / 2015 and N.47 (I) / 2016], and on the basis of the recommendations of the External Evaluation Committee and the Foundation’s observations, decided that the program be certified, and that it meets the Quality Criteria in the following Evaluation Areas:
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- Quality and Effectiveness of Teaching,
- Teaching and Teaching Staff,
- Study Program and its Management,
- Research work and collaboration with teaching,
- Services and Resource Sufficiency.
According to Article (4) of the relevant legislation, it is noted that “the above Certification is valid for the period provided for by the provisions of the Law and is renewed every five (5) years, and that the procedure starts from the application of the institution, which is to be submitted at least sixteen (16) months prior to the expiry of the previous certification.”
In addition, on the basis of Article 17 (3) (f) “During the period of validity of the positive Certification decision, the Board of the Agency may, of its own accord or at the recommendation of the Minister, examine whether the Certification criteria remain valid, and if they do not then the Board of the Agency shall withdraw the Certification Decision and shall immediately inform the institution under examination and the Minister “.
The previous procedure
The Theological School of the Church of Cyprus was founded as a Private School of Tertiary Education (I.S.T.E.), according to the current legislation, by decision of the Minister of Education and Culture Kostas Kadis and, since 19 June 2015, is listed in the Register I.S.T.E. – Private Schools of Tertiary Education – M.E.C. of Cyprus, Registration Number: MoEC 7.14.10.37. The Certificate of Registration in the Register of Private Schools of Tertiary Education was issued on 22 June 2015. The relevant notification was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic on June 26, 2015, with the ΚΔΠ 221/2015. At the same time, the degree course (Program of Studies) “Theology (4 Years / 240 ECTS, Bachelor’s)” was approved, as was its functioning as a registered degree course (Program of Studies). The Undergraduate Program of Theology, “Theology (4 Years / 240 ECTS, Bachelor’s)”, has a duration of four years of normal study.
In accordance with the legislation in force at the time of the establishment of the School (19 June 2015): the procedure of educational assessment and certification of a department of an I.S.T.E. starts once the first students have been enrolled and the department begins functioning. After the registration of its first students, T.S.C.C., on 30 September 2015, submitted to the then competent Educational Evaluation and Certification Council (E.E.C.C.) an application for educational evaluation and certification of the department. It was not possible under the legislation then in force to evaluate and certify the department before its operation. This provision was differentiated by the abolition of E.E.C.C. and its replacement by the Quality Assurance and Certification Body of Higher Education (CYQAA). The State considered it necessary to create the institution of evaluation and certification in order:
- to consolidate the trust of Cypriot and foreign students in the quality of the education provided
- to establish the minimum level of education appropriate for the awarding of the corresponding qualification
- to form the basis for recognizing the equivalence-correspondence of the qualification awarded.
In accordance with the following: On Quality Assurance and Certification of Higher Education and the Establishment and Operation of a Body of Related Matters, Law 2015 (Law 136 (I) / 2015) and the Amended Law 47 (I) / 2016, a body is considered to be an independent institution once appointed by the Council of Ministers upon the recommendation of the Minister of Education and Culture. The Body CYQAA has overall responsibility for organizing and supervising the process of assessment and certification of higher education curricula. CYQAA is responsible for ensuring the quality of higher education in Cyprus and for supporting the procedures provided by the relevant Legislation for the continuous improvement and upgrading of higher education institutions and their study programs.
All certified Higher Education programs (Universities and Private Schools of Tertiary Education) are posted on the CYQAA website. You can visit the CYQAA website for more information following the link below.
- Quality Assurance and Certification Body of Higher Education (CYQAA)
Contact Information
Theological School of the Church of Cyprus
Address: Isokratous 1-7, 1016, Nicosia, Cyprus
Telephone: +357 22443055 / Fax: +357 22443050
Address: admissions@theo.ac.cy