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Foreword and Acknowledgements by Fiona Crozier
EQAF – a report from a continuing journey into quality by EQAF 2010 Steering Committee
I. European quality assurance framework transformed to national quality assurance systems
One fleet, many ships, same destination? by Peter WilliamsFifteen Years of Quality Assurance in Europe: Lessons learnt by Andrée Sursock2005-2010: 5 years of student participation in Quality Assurance in Spain by Francesc Marc Esteve Mon, Fernando Miguel Galán Palomares and María Cristina Pastor ValcárcelNew Paradigm for Quality Assurance by Jon Haakstad
II. Institutional reality in developing quality cultures
Quality culture in higher education: from theory to practice by Dries Berings, Zjef Beerten, Veerle Hulpiau and Piet VerhesschenNo short cuts in Quality Assurance – Theses from a sense-making perspective by Oliver Vettori and Manfred LuegerCan we make the bureaucracy of monitoring the quality of a university’s learning and teaching more acceptable? by Kath HodgsonPartners or Counterparts? Student Involvement in Management and Quality Assurance at Lund University by Christian Stråhlman
This selection of papers was presented at EQAF and reflects the views of the named authors only.
This report presents findings of a preparatory survey conducted among 33 higher education institutions (HEI) who have participated in peer-to-peer counselling missions, as part of a project focused on ...
This paper presents the results of the first phase of the “Quality Assurance Fit for the Future” (QA-FIT) project, which aims to map the state of play of quality assurance in the EHEA and to criti ...
This self-assessment tool was developed by the European University Association (EUA) in partnership with the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK), the Spanish Rectors’ Conference (Crue) and the Dutch ...
In response to the Covid-19 crisis, higher education institutions around the world adjusted their activities to an emergency online mode in the first half of 2020. As institutions have the main respon ...
Micro-credentials have attracted interest as a means to increase the effectiveness and flexibility of higher education and to provide upskilling and reskilling opportunities for the labour force. ...
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 ...
There is a legitimate need for data on the performance of higher education institutions. It is important for the institutions themselves, as well as their stakeholders, including society. The use of i ...
The concept of evidence-based learning and teaching is complex and multifaceted. The EUA Learning & Teaching Thematic Peer Group on “Evidence-based approaches to learning and teaching” underst ...
Assessment is an essential and influential element in the learning journey of all students. There is commitment across universities to promoting a holistic assessment design, based on co-creation betw ...
At the centre of a student’s university experience stands the programme that they follow. Therefore, creating curricula that are fit-for-purpose is at the heart of an institution’s teaching missio ...
Ample evidence suggests that even though student-centred learning is a topic of great interest and benefit to universities across Europe and beyond, there are widespread difficulties in addressing the ...
The evaluation of learning and teaching is one central activity through which universities monitor the fitness-for-purpose of their education provision. This paper represents the outcomes of the work ...
In recent times e-learning in different forms has been integrated in a high percentage in the study offerings of HEIs in Europe. The quality assurance of this type of provision has become a concern bo ...
Quality and quality assurance (QA) is everyone’s responsibility. In a higher education institution (HEI) this includes all teaching, research and support staff. Students also play a key role mainly ...
The study is the result of a series of activities including workshops, surveys and focus groups implemented under the framework of the EQUIP project ‘Enhancing quality through innovative policy & ...
Abstract The papers describes a project which was established as an agreement of Armenian higher education (HE) stakeholders, some European universities and organization supporting students’ partic ...
Abstract The continuous process of improving ARACIS activity has two major objectives: increasing the efficacy of the process of internal and external evaluation and the development of new standards ...
Abstract The ever-changing landscape of higher education and the rapid technology advancement are leading to new ways of teaching and assessing. Accordingly, quality assurance (QA) must adapt to thes ...
Abstract 183 employees of 10 higher education departments described their own attitude and role with respect to quality and diversity. The results reveal rather low levels of involvement. Comparison ...
Abstract This paper outlines the key data and metrics that are being used to assure and assess quality and standards in United Kingdom (UK) higher education. It is a brief overview of data drive ...
Abstract We developed an analytic framework to strategically plan IQA communication, in order to increase the overall impact of IQA-output. Our paper considers traps and obstacles in communication. D ...
Abstract Student Engagement in module and programme evaluation has become a pressing issue in the quality assurance and enhancement of the higher education teaching and learning environment. ...
Abstract Employers can give a valuable insight into the employability competencies and desired improvements in the higher education quality assurance system. The main aim of the paper is to find ...
Abstract Establishing causality between internal quality review (iQR) and impact is important not only for enhancing responsible behaviour but also for demonstrating that quality assurance (QA) has v ...
Abstract While most of the European countries conduct accreditations, quality audits are the Finnish way to follow the Berlin conference’s demand of implementing an external quality assurance instr ...
Abstract The implementation of the Bologna reform in the Croatian context has led to a number of issues with reforming and delivering doctoral education, including a lack of research qualifications o ...
Abstract Quality assurance and enhancement is central to all higher education activities. The educational authorities in the Republic of Macedonia (RM) have tried for about a decade, to assure the qu ...
Abstract This paper session will cover how the University of Edinburgh has made improvements to data available to support quality assurance and enhancement processes using a project to develop a syst ...
Abstract Student Centred Learning (SCL) has been given a new and distinct role in the European understanding of education quality. Agencies and HEIs are in the process of discussing how the new ESG 1 ...
Abstract The paper discusses the necessity for flexibility in QA systems through a case study of a recent merger between four HEIs in Norway. It draws on experience from engineering education and sho ...
Abstract In 2017, the Swedish Higher Education Authority (UKÄ) started to pilot a new External Quality Assurance (EQA) model. The guiding principles include: a coherent model in line with ESG and a ...
Abstract The massification of higher education in Poland means that labour market outcomes of graduates are an important perspective for future students, higher education institutions as well as the ...
Abstract This paper describes the outcomes of a review of practice and related policy and procedures for annual programme monitoring. The review of practice highlighted that there was an artificial s ...
Abstract In the summer of 2016 NOKUT conducted a survey of academic teachers’ perceptions of quality in ‘their own’ educational programmes. From this survey, the theme of teacher coll ...
Abstract After the amendment of the Flemish Codex of Higher Education concerning quality assurance and accreditation in June 2015, the Flemish higher education institutions had the opportunity t ...
Abstract This paper aims at describing why and how a QA agency decided to trigger a process of in-depth reflection and consultation on its external quality assurance (EQA) practices in order to ...
Abstract Fair recognition of qualifications, periods of study, and prior learning has been one of the main objectives of the Bologna Process since its creation. The Lisbon Recognition Convention esta ...
Abstract To this date, research on the interplay between organisational structure/managerial and organisational value/psychological elements impacting educational quality enhancement is scarce. As a ...
Abstract The paper presents an overview of the upcoming ISO 21001 standard, which will be published in early 2018 as a Management System Standard for Educational Organizations. It shows how ISO 21001 ...
Abstract The Quality Assurance System for Course Units at Instituto Superior Técnico monitors the course units taught at the institution, by involving the entire academic community in the teaching a ...
The European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), European Students’ Union (ESU), European University Association (EUA), European Association of Institutions ...
Abstract When implementing a new QA system in 2014, NVAO conceived the Appreciative Approach as the underpinning philosophy of its new QA methodology. Previous QA methodologies were primarily complia ...
Abstract Many higher education institutions are revising, and in some cases reforming, their undergraduate curricula with an objective of providing a higher quality education experience to students. ...
Abstract Over the last decades higher education in Sweden has been subject to a number of different national QA systems. Now and then, they have been met with criticism. In 2012, the Swedish Associat ...
Abstract At the University of Graz (Uni Graz) one of the key quality management procedures in terms of research is peer-evaluation. After the first two cycles of evaluation, with different perception ...
Abstract In 2015, a teaching portfolio pilot project was conducted at the University of Graz. This paper aims at sharing insights and lessons learned from that project and also points at encountered ...
Abstract Core academic principles and purposes of higher education can be expressed in such terms as students’ personal development or academic identity. These are important in the Bologna pro ...
Abstract There is an increase in number of overlapping student satisfaction surveys in the higher education sector. Here we present results from a national and an institutional survey. The nati ...
Abstract The extensive establishment and development of external quality assurance agencies all over the world has created a new profession so-called the external quality assurance profession. ...
Abstract Internal quality assurance systems are expected to improve the institutions’ core mission of teaching and learning. Resorting to data gathered through an online survey, distributed in 2014 ...
Abstract In recent years the tone of voice in higher education policy in the Netherlands has changed from advocating tight control and accountability to giving more room to the ‘soft’ side of qua ...
Abstract In addition to exploring the quality culture paradox in the higher education (HE) area the paper is identifying practical ways for in-depth quality culture evolvement and change, drawing bot ...
Abstract Student satisfaction is important not only for improving learning outcomes but also for improving retention, progression and completion rates. Raising student satisfaction is strongly correl ...
Abstract This paper addresses a challenge that is often referred to in quality assurance processes: the involvement in these processes of teaching staff. The authors suggest that this challenge ...
Abstract Six quality assurance agencies have recently decided to be part of an active yet informal network (réseau FrAQ-Sup) with the goal of sharing professional experience and supporting the devel ...
Abstract What should be taken into account when developing University Quality Assurance policies to ensure maximum engagement leading to successful implementation? How could the resistance for develo ...
Abstract The paper presents Bishop Grosseteste University’s (BGU) experience of introducing and embedding an innovative whole-University student engagement initiative into a small, traditional, Uni ...
Abstract Countries across Europe shared similarities in quality assurance in the higher education area even before the ESG. This paper explores these similarities in different contexts from a student ...
Abstract On-site visit interviews play a crucial role in external quality assurance procedures. Nevertheless, so far there seems to be little empirical research, both in linguistics, and in the field ...
Abstract 2015 is not only the 10th anniversary of the ESG and EQAF, but with the Ministerial Conference also the time for a new edition of the European Students' Union's survey “Bologna with St ...
Abstract Student participation on equal terms as partners in higher education assurance was a novel concept in the year 2000. Since its founding in 2000-08-12, the German Student Accreditation Pool ( ...
In 2012-2014, EUA was part of the stakeholder group that revised the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG). This work resulted in the current ...
EUA has a long record of working on quality assurance (QA) in Europe and has supported its members in developing their internal QA systems through a variety of activities. Many of these acti ...
Abstract The Bologna process considers a greater internationalization and cultural diversity. In virtual higher education quality is particular important but difficult to manage and to reac ...
Abstract In accordance with the HE Act, the University of Maribor has among the governing bodies also the Students’ Council that is led by the student who is a Vice-rector and has an ...
Abstract This paper will provide a theoretical contribution to current debates on quality assurance in higher education. To refine the role of audit and enhancement, it will outline the dif ...
Abstract EQuAM (Enhancing Quality Assurance Management) is a collaborative project involving European and Jordanian universities and QA agencies. It links successful aspects of the Bologna ...
Abstract This paper deals with students’ role in quality enhancement in Higher Education Institutes (HEIs). The main focus is on student feedback, where the discourse fluctuates from ...
Abstract Formative student feedback can be used to uncover problems early on and establish a collaborative learning as well as quality culture at universities. Beyond that the quality loops- app ...
Abstract Assessment in internship is an important part of the learning process aimed to provide a focus on what has been learned during the internship. Using diaries is a strategy to deepen lear ...
Abstract University of Luxembourg has recognized the difficulty of students’ course evaluation: it has replaced a formal evaluation system with a more open and flexible one, taking into ac ...
Abstract Higher Education Institutes operate in the forefront of knowledge and are entrusted with the provision of relevant knowledge, tools and methods to their customers – our society.&n ...
Abstract After the Bologna Process (2006), tutoring activities have been introduced and disseminated among most IST Programmes as a way to support expected and needed changes on the teachin ...
Created in 1994, IEP (Institutional Evaluation Programme) is an independent membership service of the European University Association (EUA) which has carried out over 300 institutional evaluations in ...
Abstract In March 2008, the EU launched the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). EIT can be said to be a “new animal” in the European educational landscape, based on the ...
Abstract Within the system of external quality assurance of the education programmes in the Spanish Higher Education system, and in its phase of ex-ante accreditation (program approval), a provi ...
Abstract We want to explore the potential impact of the internal service units on the quality culture in a higher education institution (HEI). We will describe how the service units are involved in t ...
Abstract The main aim of this paper is to bring together the conclusions drawn from an empirical study carried out with a selection of Universities and Quality Assurance Agencies (QAAs) in Bosnia and ...
Abstract In essence, quality assurance is very much a complex issue, with different perspectives, normative ideals and interpretive patterns on the nature of quality and the functions of quality assu ...
Abstract This paper addresses factors that seem important for the quality assurance system and for improvement of educational quality at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU. Furt ...
Abstract Drawing on collaboration amongst higher education institutions in nine different European countries, this paper describes mechanisms which, over the two years of the SPEAQ project, hav ...
Abstract Literature recognises that a Quality Assurance System needs to be a stable, foreseeable, consistent and coherent framework. However, if this system is to be context-sensitive, projected in t ...
Abstract Although European quality assurance (QA) can be considered a recent phenomenon, it has come a long way in a short time. Still, a large degree of heterogeneity between external QA systems rem ...
Abstract As every system also the System of Ensuring and Development of Quality of Education in WULS-SGGW is subject to constant development. The presented case study shows the changes of a system fr ...
Quality assurance and doctoral education have been elements of the Bologna Process since the 2003 ministerial meeting in Berlin, but until rather recently, they have been developing on two differ ...
Synopsis Accreditation is recognized as the most important factor in improving the quality of education in Kazakhstan. Introduced transparent standards and procedures for quality assessment are givin ...
Abstract The ORPHEUS/AMSE1/WFME2 PhD standards document, published January 2012, is a practical tool for quality assurance of PhD programmes. Another document, the new PhD principles document: &ldquo ...
Abstract Since its introduction to higher education about twenty years ago, formal quality assurance developed to an important and mostly uncontested pillar of university management. But although QA ...
Abstract In 2011-2012 Higher education institutions in Flanders started a benchmarking exercise. All of them are members of the KU Leuven Association. The ambition was to build expertise in benchmark ...
Abstract Program QA at Copenhagen Business School (CBS) faces two major challenges; (1) large number of different programs, and (2) decentralized organisation of the program area. CBS has more than 6 ...
Abstract Due to EQA and accreditation the quality of higher education programmes has increased. At least, that is what everyone hopes. In fact, little or no research is conducted in Flanders to measu ...
Abstract The foundation of the ESG was a step towards a pan-European Quality Assurances market. Nevertheless, the majority of evaluation or accreditations still remain within the national frameworks. ...
In October 2009, the European University Association (EUA), together with its partners, the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) and QAA Scotland, launched a project entitled: “ ...
The project "Examining Quality Culture in Higher Education Institutions" (EQC) aimed to provide an overview of the internal quality assurance processes in place within higher education institutio ...
The project “Examining Quality Culture in Higher Education Institutions” (EQC) aims to identify institutional processes and structures that support the development of an internal qual ...
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 growt ...
Concerns about the relationship between quality assurance processes and creativity and how quality assurance, whether internal or external, can either enhance or stifle innovative practices and&n ...
This report is the result of a four-year project, which involved 134 higher education institutions grouped in 18 networks. The major aim of the project was to identify how internal quality cultur ...
These Guidelines for Quality Enhancement in European Joint Master Programmes are addressed to all higher education institutions either considering or actually running joint programmes. It is the ...
The Institutional Evaluation Programme of the European University Association (EUA) was launched in 1993 and has evaluated over 110 universities in 35 countries. The evaluation reports ...
The EUA Quality Culture Project, funded by the Socrates Programme, was conceived to enable participating institutions to discuss how to introduce and embed a quality culture in their institutions ...
En octobre 2002, le groupe ELU (Europe Latine Universitaire) composé des Présidents et de permanents des conférences de Présidents et de Recteurs suisse, italienne, po ...
In October 2002, ELU (the Latin European Universities Group), an organisation made up of rectors and staff of Swiss, Italian, Portuguese, francophone-Belgian and French rectors’ conferences ...
On 29 April, the Register Committee of the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR) found that the European University Association’s Institutional Evaluation Programme continu ...
On 13 December, the DocEnhance project organised its final event entitled “Transferable skills in doctoral education”. One of its main outcomes was the launch of the DocEnhance Platform, which hos ...
EUA member Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) is starting the process of rectorial election by announcing an international open competition for the position of the rector on 9 January. Applications ...
The Magna Charta Observatory has launched a new initiative to invite and promote academic research on “The Responsive and Responsible University”. ...
The European University Association (EUA) is pleased to become a supporting organisation for the More Than Our Rank initiative, promoted by the International Network of Research Management Societies ( ...
EUA’s Institutional Evaluation Programme (IEP), a quality assurance agency that supports universities in enhancing their strategic leadership and ability to manage change, is now accepting registrat ...
The TPG-LRC project, aimed at promoting the implementation of procedures compliant with the Lisbon Recognition Convention, has published a guide for higher education institutions. TPG-LRC stands for ...
The STREAM online training platform, which provides training materials based on the European Recognition Manual for Higher Education Institutions (EAR-HEI manual), is open for a second round of t ...
The 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 ...
Higher education institutions in Europe are highly engaged in addressing environmental challenges through education, research and their own greening initiatives. However, sustainable procurement may b ...
A new EUA study reveals that higher education institutions in Europe are highly engaged in activities that address environmental challenges and the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ...
Sustainability is an important issue for universities. At Trinity College Dublin, the current strategic plan articulates sustainability as a priority supported by two goals: alignment to the UN Sustai ...
The EUniQ project aimed to develop in close cooperation with European Universities, a quality assurance approach for European Universities. ...
The aim of the DEQAR project was to develop a database that would enhance access to reliable information on the higher education institutions/programmes that had been subject to external quality assur ...
The Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) are the basis for quality assurance in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). ...
As in Europe, quality assurance in higher education is a policy priority in Africa at institutional, national, regional as well as continental level. ...
The EUREQA project brought together partners from the Western Balkans and the European Union to support higher education institutions in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo* in improving their ...
EUA works 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 me ...