Quality assurance has been one of EUA’s key areas of activity since the Association was established. As the voice of Europe’s universities, EUA seeks to ensure that the views of the university sector are taken into account in European and national-level policy discussions on internal and external quality assurance. It also supports its members in developing internal quality systems and aims to promote institutional quality cultures.
With this objective, EUA carries out a variety of activities that are underpinned by the principle that the main responsibility for quality assurance lies within higher education institutions.
EUA is a recognised voice in the quality assurance debate in Europe. At the national level, the Association maintains a continuous dialogue with its collective members, the national rectors’ conferences, about developments taking place in their countries’ systems.
At the European level, a major part of EUA’s policy work related to quality assurance is done in cooperation with the E4 Group, consisting of EUA, ENQA, ESU and EURASHE.
Notably, the E4 worked in cooperation with other stakeholders (Education International, Business Europe and the European Quality Assurance Register) to develop a revised version of the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG), which were approved at the Bologna Ministerial meeting in 2015. Implementing quality assurance in line with the ESG is one of the key commitments of the Bologna Process.
In response to the questions related to the continued relevance and applicability of the ESG in the changing context of higher education and to the calls that have been made for their further revision, the E4 wrote a joint statement in 2020. In addition, EUA in the report “Micro-credentials linked to the Bologna Key Commitments” prepared as part of the MICROBOL project, has examined whether and how the ESG and other European Higher Education Area tools can be used and/or need to be adapted to be applicable micro-credentials.
The E4 Group organisations are also founding members of the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR). This is a public register of quality assurance agencies that substantially comply with the ESG. EQAR provides clear and reliable information on credible and legitimate quality assurance agencies operating in the EHEA. EUA is a member of its Executive Board and of the General Assembly. It also nominates two members of the Register Committee.
EUA is active internationally to contribute the European perspective to quality assurance discussions on the global level. Furthermore, the Association supported the development of quality assurance frameworks outside Europe, for example in Asia (SHARE), Africa (HAQAA) and the United States.
EUA has taken the lead in developing the capacity of higher education institutions to create internal quality processes and foster quality cultures and is an acknowledged expert on these topics.
The Association has worked with its members to gather information and share experience in order to empower universities to fulfil their responsibility for quality assurance. As a result, EUA has produced an extensive set of materials on these matters, most notably the “ESG part 1: are universities ready?”, “Enhancing quality: From policy to practice”, and “Student-centred learning: approaches to quality assurance”.
In addition, EUA’s Institutional Evaluation Programme (IEP) has been running since 1994 and offers enhancement-led institutional peer reviews across Europe and beyond. The Programme supports universities in developing their strategic leadership and capacity to manage change by evaluating them in the context of their own mission and goals.
EUA has worked on the topic of rankings through a number of projects and activities aimed to better understand the role and impact that rankings play for its members and informing stakeholders of the advantages and disadvantages of the various approaches. EUA continues to monitor ongoing initiatives and participate in the debate around rankings at the European and international level.
For example, in the report “Exploring higher education indicators”, EUA explored what kind of education indicators are used by external quality assurance agencies, funding mechanisms and international university rankings and whether they are fit for purpose.
The European Quality Assurance Forum (EQAF) has been co-organised by EUA, ENQA, ESU, and EURASHE since 2006 and has become the largest annual gathering of the European higher education quality assurance community and a flagship activity in this field.
EQAF bridges national boundaries by facilitating a Europe-wide discussion on current trends and forthcoming developments in research, policy and practice. EQAF provides a unique opportunity to share experiences and network with a wide range of stakeholders, including representatives from higher education institutions and quality assurance agencies, students, researchers and policy makers from across Europe and beyond.
All papers presented at EQAF are available in the EUA publications section and the contributions of EQAF 2020 on the EUA YouTube channel.
In recent years, higher education provision has been changing rapidly, including the mainstreaming of e-learning, the emergence of micro-credentials, the launch of the European Universities Initiative, and the renewed importance of the third mission of higher education institutions.
Improving the quality of teaching and learning has been at the heart of the Bologna Process reforms and continues to be of crucial importance for the further implementation of these reforms. The growth in interest in rankings, as well as recent student protests further illustrate the need for universities to reiterate their continued commitment to improving the quality of teaching and learning. Therefore EUA’s policy position has been updated to take account of recent developments and to provide a solid basis for policy work and advocacy in the years to come.
Micro-credentials have attracted interest as a means to increase the effectiveness and flexibility...
read moreThe E4 Group (ENQA, EUA, EURASHE and ESU) has issued a joint statement reinforcing the relevance of the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG). The statement, “The ESG in the changing landscape of higher education”, reinforces the purpose and...
view moreThe European Students’ Union (ESU) opened a call for 60 students for the ESU Quality Assurance Students Experts’ Pool. Students have until 3 July to fill in the application form and submit the required documents. In addition to new recruits, the call is also open to current members of the...
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read moreEUA’s Institutional Evaluation Programme (IEP) is now accepting registrations for the 2020-2021 round. IEP offers comprehensive, improvement-oriented institutional evaluations conducted by a team of experienced higher education leaders. The evaluation process and resulting report and...
view moreIn the light of coronavirus pandemic, both the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR) and the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) have issued statements and actions of support for quality assurance agencies and the higher education sector...
view moreThe fourth edition of the G3 Quality Symposium will take place on 28 – 30 October 2020 at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) in Brussels. Organisers invite interested participants to submit communication proposals by 30 April 2020 under the topic of "challenges and strategies” through four...
view moreThe Slovak Accreditation Agency for Higher Education is looking for international evaluators to take part in the upcoming evaluation and accreditation procedures at Slovak universities and schools of higher education. Assessors from among teachers, scientists, employers, quality system experts,...
view moreThe 2019 European Quality Assurance Forum (EQAF) is taking place this week at Technical University Berlin in Germany. More than 500 participants are attending the event, which runs from 21-23 November. It focuses on how quality assurance can support higher education institutions in meeting...
view moreThe Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NOKUT) organises the final dissemination seminar of the Erasmus+ Refugees and Recognition – Toolkit 2 (REACT) project on 17 January 2020 in Brussels. The project has identified possible pathways for the admission of refugee students in...
view moreThe Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NOKUT) organises a webinar on 19 November from 12:00 to 14:00 to present the results of the testing performed at higher education institutions in Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Ireland. The webinar is organised within the...
view moreThe Database of External Quality Assurance Results (DEQAR) has grown significantly since its launch in May 2018 and now contains more than 40 000 reports on higher education programmes and institutions in the European Higher Education Area. A new public interface was also unveiled earlier in...
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read moreThe partners of the project ‘Linking academic recognition and quality assurance’ (LIREQA) have published recommendations on how fair and effective academic recognition practices can be supported through internal and external quality assurance. Separate recommendations are aimed at...
view moreEUA’s Institutional Evaluation Programme (IEP) is now accepting registrations for the 2019/20 round of evaluations. IEP offers comprehensive, improvement-oriented institutional evaluations conducted by a team of experienced higher education leaders. The evaluation process and resulting...
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read moreEUA’s Institutional Evaluation Programme (IEP) underwent an external review coordinated by the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) in 2018. As a result, on 21 February, the ENQA Board reconfirmed IEP’s membership for the next five years. The ENQA review panel...
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read moreEUA’s Institutional Evaluation Programme (IEP) evaluated nine Montenegrin higher education institutions in 2018. Based on the individual evaluation reports, IEP published in December a system review report, which examines common issues and challenges amongst the nine institutions and...
view moreThe European Union and African Union Commissions have announced the publication of the African Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance (ASG-QA), under the Harmonisation of African Higher Education Quality Assurance and Accreditation (HAQAA) Initiative. EUA has been pleased to be part of the...
view moreThe annual European Quality Assurance Forum (EQAF), co-organised by ENQA, ESU, EUA and EURASHE...
view moreENQA - the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education, is organising a workshop on quality assurance of student-centered learning and the role of students in assessing it. The workshop will take place 10-11 December at the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA...
view moreEUA’s has completed the evaluations of all public higher education institutions in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The evaluations took place during the years 2016-2018 at the joint request of the institutions and the Ministry of Education and Science as part of the...
view moreGathering feedback is a key element in internal quality assurance. However, “closing the feedback...
read moreFair recognition in the European Higher Education Area can only be fully achieved if practices in...
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read moreMicro-credentials are growing exponentially in popularity, attracting the interest of various...
read moreThe Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG)...
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read moreCross-border quality assurance has been slow in the making over the past two decades. However, as...
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read moreReports produced by quality assurance agencies can be used in many ways, including in...
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read moreThe EUA Thematic Peer Group on the evaluation of learning and teaching has enhanced a student...
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read moreBy Tia Loukkola, Director of Institutional Development and senior quality assurance expert at the...
read moreWith the academic year now in full swing, and most university rankings published – the latest...
read moreIdentical sessions on 1 (14.00 CET) and 2 February (09.00 CET) 2021 In response to the Covid-19 crisis higher education institutions have adjusted and...
Read moreDue to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 European Quality Assurance Forum was organised in the form of online sessions. This decision was taken with the health...
Read moreFollowing measures adopted across Europe to minimise health risks associated with the current coronavirus outbreak, EUA has decided with much regret to...
Read morePapers presented at EQAF are available in the EUA publications section, photos are available here. The European Quality Assurance Forum (EQAF) provides...
Read moreWebinar co-hosted by EUA, ENQA and EQAR A recording of the webinar is available on the EUA YouTube Channel.An important factor in smooth and efficient...
Read moreA new standard for internal quality assurance systems included in the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area...
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Read moreThe European Quality Assurance Forum (EQAF) provides a platform for discussion, professional development and exchange of experiences among the main...
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