The mission of the Institutional Evaluation Programme (IEP) is to reinforce the autonomy and strategic steering capacity of higher education institutions and to strengthen higher education systems through institutional, regional or national evaluations.

The IEP emphasises an inclusive self-evaluation process and institutional self-knowledge for improved internal governance and management as well as for external accountability purposes. The IEP reinforces internal quality processes and contributes to building the capacity of institutions to change.

The IEP evaluates higher education institutions in the context of their specific goals and objectives and actively supports them in fulfilling their public mission by providing recommendations on their institutional structures, processes, policies and culture, enabling them to perform the full range of their activities (research, teaching and learning and service to society). In doing so, IEP evaluations take into account the most recent European and international developments in higher education and research policies.

The IEP is committed to continuous improvement and adheres to good international and European practice, such as the ‘Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area’.