What is EQAA – the European Quality Assurance Agency?
EQAA is the first international quality assurance agency for higher education that offers institutional accreditation. It offers universities and other higher education institutions international institutional accreditation and programme accreditation.
EQAA is operating strictly in line with the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area, which have been developed in the context of the Bologna Process. However, EQAA offers accreditation to universities and higher education institution worldwide.
EQAA is operating in the public interest, offering its services so that universities and higher education institutions, their current and future students as well as society at large benefit. Nevertheless, EQAA is fully independent from any government or national authority and any university or higher education institution.
EQAA places a great focus on the development and further improvement of a quality culture within universities and higher education institutions. EQAA sees its role as a guide and advisor, stimulating and encouraging the improvement of the quality of teaching and learning, research and other activities of an institution. This is achieved through focussing on the institutional systems and their strategic management.
Why (choose) EQAA?
EQAA was founded in order to offer universities and other higher educations institutions a new type of accreditation. EQAA ensures that universities and higher education institutions will benefit greatly from the accreditation process. The new type of accreditation has been designed on the basis of best practices in quality assurance, but taking them a few steps further. In this way, EQAA is able to offer its accreditation with full commitment to the below features, which make EQAA unique and enhance the quality of universities and higher education institutions.
EQAA is international
In recent years, a growing number of universities and higher education institutions seek international accreditation. Yet, such an accreditation could not be obtained. The choice was limited to foreign standards and procedures as well as experts from usually one country. EQAA, however, is international and provides international services. All policies, procedures and standards have been designed with an international focus from the beginning. EQAA only works with international review teams. EQAA offers a truly international accreditation.
EQAA provides context-specific assessments
EQAA understands the context within which a university or higher education institution is operating. EQAA only works with experts who have wide-ranging international experience and knowledge of different higher education systems. EQAA also respects national regulations and ensures that these regulations are adequately reflected in the assessment.
EQAA only works with the best
EQAA has a very selective policy in terms of the renowned reviewers it is working with. For EQAA it is essential that every reviewer is an expert in the field and has the most advanced knowledge about higher education in general and quality assurance in particular. Many of the reviewers also have practical experience of leading a university or higher education institution.
EQAA places the focus on your institution
EQAA ensures that each accreditation process is given full attention and maximum support. Universities and higher education institutions applying for accreditation can be sure that they will receive the best that EQAA can offer.
EQAA provides custom-made advice
EQAA puts an emphasis on the continuous enhancement of quality and relevance. Therefore, EQAA does not use a simple checklist approach as to whether standards are met. EQAA offers each university and higher education institution comprehensive suggestions and recommendations for its further improvement, focusing on its individual characteristics.
EQAA uses the most suitable criteria
EQAA recognises the diversity of institutions, their missions and strategies. Therefore, the standards EQAA uses differentiate between universities and other higher education institutions in order to undertake an assessment against criteria that are more befitting to and aligned with the institutional reality and the specific objectives and the modus operandi of the institution.
EQAA’s Mission and Vision
Mission:
EQAA’s mission is to encourage, support and assure the continuous enhancement of quality and relevance of universities and other education institutions through a truly international, independent and objective, contextualised, transparent and rigorous quality assessment framework, providing tailor-made recommendations, involving the best experts in the field and focussing on the development of a quality culture.
Vision:
EQAA’s vision is to become the point of reference for quality assurance in the international education environment. Excellent education requires excellent quality assurance.