Please click here for easier viewing in your browser.
***Subscribe to ENQA Newsletter***
Message from the President
Dear colleagues,
Welcome to the second ENQA newsletter of 2014. I would like to update you on two important developments within the Association.
The proposal for the revised version of the “Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area” (ESG) was discussed at the Bologna Follow-up Group (BFUG) meeting on 9-10 April in Athens, Greece. Following discussions at the meeting, the ESG Steering Group was asked to produce written proposals on how the suggested changes might be integrated into the revised ESG and to carry out a survey targeting the BFUG members to gain an understanding of the level of consensus on the proposed changes. This survey has now been completed and the outcome was discussed by the ESG Steering Group at a meeting in Brussels on 25 June. The revised draft will be submitted to the BFUG Secretariat for discussion at the next BFUG meeting in Rome on 18-19 September. We remain hopeful that the Ministers responsible for higher education will adopt the revised ESG at the Bologna Ministerial conference in Yerevan, Armenia in 2015.
At the annual ENQA Members’ Forum in St. Petersburg on 24-25 April, we had the opportunity to get input from the members on the development for the next Strategic Plan for the association to cover the period 2016-20. This proved to be a very helpful exercise for the Board and assisted in our deliberations at the Board’s Strategic Planning Day on 19 June, following the ENQA Board Meeting in Madrid the day before. We look forward to preparing a draft plan for comment by members before the end of the summer. Members will also have a further opportunity to contribute to the draft plan at the General Assembly in Zagreb in October of this year.
I look forward to your continued engagement with and contributions to the development of the new plan which will provide a platform for the further development of our association.
Padraig Walsh, President of ENQA
News from ENQA
Latest updates on the ENQA membership issues
At its meeting of 24 April, the ENQA Board agreed to renew the full membership of the Institutional Evaluation Programme (IEP). IEP, which is an independent membership service of the European University Association (EUA), is a full member of ENQA since 2000. > More
New ENQA policies on the pre-screening of SERs and the publication of follow-up reports
At its meeting on 24 April, the Board discussed the process of ENQA-coordinated reviews and adopted two new policies. > More
ENQA seminar on QA Agencies ways to comply with the ESG in an international setting
The ENQA seminar on “European QA agencies’ ways to comply with the ESG in an international perspective, adhering to the European dimension: shaping the future together” took place on 2-3 June 2014 in Brussels, Belgium, on the premises of Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel (HUB) and was co-organised with the Quality Assurance Unit of the Flemish Higher Education Council (VLUHR QAU). > More
ENQA Secretariat news
We are pleased to announce that, Nathalie Lugano, ENQA Project Manager, gave birth to a healthy baby boy, named Alessio, on 23 May 2014 and will be on maternity leave until January 2015. > More
News from ENQA Members and Affiliates
How should the UK’s transnational education be quality assured in the future?
This was the question posed to UK universities and colleges, students, and government bodies in a consultation earlier this year. The UK Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) has now published the findings: 69% of respondents agreed that quality assurance of transnational education (TNE) should be strengthened in the light of the rapid growth in UK higher education delivered overseas. > More
Quality and Qualifications Ireland Review of Reviews Report 2014 published
The Review of Reviews Report is the outcome of a unique and innovative system review commissioned by the Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) and carried out by an expert independent review team. > More
Methodology and policy dimension of impact analysis discussed at the IMPALA Seminar
In the framework of the EU-funded IMPALA project, the Evaluation Agency Baden Wuerttemberg (evalag) and the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) co-organised a European seminar on “Impact Analysis of External Quality Assurance in Higher Education Institutions: Methodology and Its Relevance for Higher Education Policy”, which took place on 19-20 May in Mannheim, Germany. > More
ACSUCYL launches its first evaluations for the accreditation of official degrees
During the final quarter of 2013, the Quality Assurance Agency for the University System in Castilla y León (ACSUCYL) conducted the first evaluations ever for the accreditation of official university degrees in Spain. > More
EUA’s Institutional Evaluation Programme is celebrating its 20th anniversary
To mark the milestone of 20 years of its activities, the Institutional Evaluation Programme (IEP) is organising an event in Brussels on 18 September 2014 to reflect on its impact and input into shaping the European Higher Education Area. > More
ACSUG and USC training seminar for Uzbek universities
Within the framework of the TEMPUS project “Sustainable Agrarian Management Studies for Uzbekistan” (SAMUz), the Agency for Quality Assurance in the Galician University System (ACSUG) and the Santiago of Compostela University (USC) have joint forces to support the establishment of quality assurance procedures in Uzbek universities. > More
Former president of CTI elected as new President of ENAEE
Professor Dr. Bernard Remaud was recently elected as the new President of the European Network for Accreditation of Engineering Education (ENAEE). > More
NEWS from ENQA Partners
ESU contribution to the EC proposal for a European Area of Skills and Qualifications
On 30 April, the European Students’ Union (ESU) published its position on the European Commission’s proposal for a European Area of Skills and Qualifications (EASQ), as part of a public consultation process on learning outcomes and quality assurance. > More
2014 INQAAHE Forum discussed partnerships in QA
This year’s INQAAHE Forum took place in Tallinn, Estonia on 26-28 May. More than 130 participants from nearly 60 countries were represented at the Forum entitled “Partnerships in Quality Assurance in Higher Education”. > More
2nd EUA Funding Forum on efficient and sustainable funding of European HE – register now
The registrations for the 2nd European University Association Funding Forum are now open. The Forum will take place on 9-10 October at the University of Bergamo, Italy. > More
EQAR Members’ Dialogue and RIQAA Dissemination Conference – book the dates
The European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education will be organising this year’s Members’ Dialogue in conjunction with the final dissemination conference of the Recognising International Quality Assurance Activity in the EHEA (RIQAA) project. > More
CEENQA General Assembly in Pristina elected new Board
The 2014 Central and Eastern European Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (CEENQA) events took place in Pristina, on 23- 24 May hosted by the Kosovo Accreditation Agency (KAA). > More
The CeQuInt project Pilot Procedures are currently being implemented
Certificate for Quality in Internationalisation (CeQuInt) is a three year project co-funded by the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Union, which intends to develop a methodology to assess the quality of internationalisation. > More
ECA: Collection of good practices in assessing joint programmes published
In April 2014, the European Consortium for Accreditation (ECA) published a set of good practices concerning joint programmes in a publication entitled Joint Programme Checklist: inspired by quality assurance. > More
Changing the trajectory – quality for opening up education
The jointly-organised EFQUEL Innovation Forum (EIF) 2014 and International Learning Innovations and Quality (LINQ) Conference took place in Crete on 7-9 May. > More
Policy Developments and projects
European Ministers call for cross-border quality assurance
On May 20th, the Council of the European Union adopted Conclusions on quality assurance on quality assurance supporting education and training. The conclusions, which follow the two reports on quality assurance published this year by the European Commission, welcome the “progress achieved in developing a culture of continuous quality enhancement in education and training systems across Europe – although in varying degrees due to different starting points”. > More
A new global university ranking has been launched
U-Multirank, which assesses the performance of higher education institutions worldwide, and aims to produce multi-dimensional listings rating universities on a wider range of factors than existing international rankings, was launched in May 2014. > More
Eurydice report: information gaps holding back higher education in many EU countries
The European Commission Eurydice Network has recently published a new report on Modernisation of Higher Education in Europe: Access, Retention and Employability. The report investigates government policy and institutional practice for widening access to higher education, increasing the numbers of students that stay in and complete higher education, and giving guidance to students for entering the labour market. > More
EC report: State of the Art Review of Quality Issues related to Open Educational Resources
In May 2014, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), in collaboration with the European Foundation for Quality in e-Learning (EFQUEL), published a report on State of the Art Review of Quality Issues related to Open Educational Resources. > More
Avenue De Tervuren 36-38 – BTE 41040 Brussels, Belgium
TEL: +32 2 735 56 59
FAX: +32 2 735 61 53
SECRETARIAT@ENQA.EU
Table of Contents
Message from the President
News from ENQA
News from ENQA Members and Affiliates
News from ENQA Partners
Policy Developments and Projects
Upcoming ENQA Events
Associated Events
Publications
Upcoming ENQA Events
EQArep PROJECT FINAL CONFERENCE
23 September 2014
Brussels, Belgium
More information here.
ENQA 2014 General Assembly
16-17 October 2014
Zagreb, Croatia
More information here.
QACHE European Experts & Gulf Regional Forums
5-6 November & 19-20 November 2014
London, UK & Bahrain
More information here.
EQAF 2014
13-15 November 2014
Barcelona, Spain
More information here.
Associated Events
“HIGHER EDUCATION AS COMMERCE” – A3ES & CIPES CONFERENCE
9-11 October 2014
Porto, Spain
More information here.
Publications
<a style="word-wrap: break-word; -ms-text-size-adjust: 100%; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; color: #002776; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;" href="http