1 October 2026: YÖK approval and e-Devlet verification for continuing education certificate programmes

What is changing?

In a letter dated 2 July 2026, YÖK informed universities that certificate programmes of continuing education centres (SEM) would be evaluated centrally. The rule covers all SEM certificate programmes starting on or after 1 October 2026 (Anadolu Agency (opens in a new tab)).

From that date, a SEM programme can only open once its content has been evaluated and approved by the YÖK Presidency against common quality criteria. The aim is for certificates of approved programmes to be verifiable on the e-Devlet Gateway (turkiye.gov.tr), Turkey's e-government portal.

The full text of YÖK's letter has not been published. The information here is based on news coverage and university announcements; details should be confirmed with your institution's Personnel Department and YÖKSİS notices.

Why was the rule introduced?

News coverage highlights three reasons (memurlar.net (opens in a new tab)):

• Certificate inflation: Programmes of very different length and content issuing similarly named certificates.
• Fake documents: Printed or PDF certificates being easy to imitate.
• Content and duration debates: No common measure of academic quality or instructor qualification.

How is the application made?

The application is entirely electronic, through YÖKSİS (YÖK's higher education information system):

1. The Personnel Department assigns the "Certificate Programme Application Officer" role in YÖKSİS to the SEM staff member who will handle applications.
2. The officer follows Unit Operations → Academic Unit Tree Management System (ABAYS) → Application → Certificate Programme Application in YÖKSİS.
3. Programme information (aims, content, duration, instructor details, assessment method and similar) is entered and submitted to YÖK.
4. The YÖK Presidency evaluates the programme against common quality criteria and approves suitable programmes.
5. The approval information (approval number and date) is linked to the programme, which can then open.

Programmes that meet the quality criteria can also be structured as micro-credentials. Here the SEM rule meets the Micro-credentials Procedures and Principles: the same programme can be both a YÖK-approved SEM programme and a credit-bearing micro-credential carrying the Annex 1 fields.

Who does what inside the institution?

Writing the same programme information differently in the YÖKSİS application, on the certificate and in the e-Devlet query creates inconsistencies and correction work later. Keeping the programme as a single record and producing every output from it is recommended.

What does verification on e-Devlet mean?

News coverage reports that certificates of approved programmes will, for the first time, be issued centrally by YÖK on the e-Devlet Gateway, and that public bodies and employers will be able to verify them electronically (ogretmenlersitesi.com (opens in a new tab)).

To read this correctly it helps to know how e-Devlet document services work. e-Devlet is not a document store. When a citizen queries a document, e-Devlet asks the issuing institution's query service and displays the answer. That service is opened under a Service Integration Protocol (opens in a new tab) signed between the institution and TÜRKSAT, the operator of e-Devlet. Barcoded documents can also be checked through e-Devlet Document Verification (opens in a new tab).

Which system will answer queries under YÖK's central arrangement (YÖK's own service or the institution's) is not yet public. Institutions are advised to be ready for both, to generate certificate numbers from a single source and to keep participant lists in structured form.

Points not yet public

Preparation checklist for SEMs

1. Confirm that the application officer's YÖKSİS role has been assigned.
2. Collect programme information (learning outcomes, duration, assessment method, success criteria, instructor details) in a structured template; the same information will be used in the application and on the certificate.
3. Link the approval number to the programme and add a control that prevents SEM certificates from unapproved programmes.
4. Define attendance and pass thresholds per programme; directives differ (attendance is 70% in the ITU SEM Directive (opens in a new tab) and 80% for a certificate in the EGESEM Directive (opens in a new tab)).
5. Generate certificate numbers from one source and record who approved each certificate and when.
6. Offer a way to verify certificates outside e-Devlet too; many employers will want to check a certificate directly by link or QR code (How to verify a certificate).

DijiUni produces a YÖKSİS-ready programme package, records the YÖK approval number on the programme and the badge, blocks SEM certificates from unapproved programmes and provides the query service e-Devlet calls on behalf of the institution. DijiUni does not replace YÖK approval and does not upload documents to e-Devlet; see Why DijiUni?.