|
PRESS RELEASE EQAR LAUNCH EUROPEAN QUALITY ASSURANCE IN THE SPOTLIGHT RELEASE DATE: MARCH 4th, 2008 On March 4th, ESU chairperson, Koen Geven, put pen to paper and signed the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR) statutes. Together with three other leading European stakeholder organisations, ESU is proud to announce this important step towards heightened European cooperation in quality assurance. In 2005 the European Ministers of Higher Education adopted the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance (ESG) in Bergen, Norway. The EQAR will provide clear and reliable information on the Quality Assurance Agencies (QAAs) operating in Europe and complying with the above-mentioned guidelines. The E4 Group (ESU, The European University Association - EUA, The European Association of Institutions in Higher Education - EURASHE, The European Network of Quality Assurance Agencies - ENQA) established this register and will ensure its’ success. “For students, Quality Assurance has always been a crucial tool to ensure that students’ needs and expectations of Higher Education are met”. Koen Geven, ESU Chairperson 2007 Who will be on the Register? All Quality Assurance Agencies that comply substantially with the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance will feature on the register. Substantial compliance is evidenced through an external review process. Who Will Manage the Register? There will be a Register Committee - an independent body comprising of 11 quality assurance experts, nominated by European stakeholder organisations. This committee will decide on the inclusion of the quality assurance agencies. The EQAR association, that operates the Register, is managed by an Executive Board, composed of E4 representatives, and a Secretariat. What is the Role of Governments? European governments can become a member of the EQAR association in order to support the Register and be involved in its management. Together with the E4 organisations and the social partners they form the General Assembly, which will be involved in managing the association and developing application procedures to be used by the Register Committee. How will the Register improve the quality of HE? The Register provides an incentive for agencies to operate in line with the ESG. This improves the quality of HEIs and programmes indirectly by preventing dubious agencies, “accreditation mills”, from gaining credibility in Europe.
What are the benefits for mobility of students and staff?
By listing agencies that comply with the European standards, the Register creates mutual trust in the quality assurance agencies and systems in Europe. Mutual trust amongst HEIs who have been reviewed by agencies listed on the Register will increase. What are the benefits for QAAs? QAAs will be able to demonstrate their credibility at European level. Their accountability will be reinforced. What information does the Register include? - Name and contact details of the agency - Information on the external and access to the review report - Information on the sort of quality assurance it provides - Countries the agency operates in - Links to the agency’s website and further information, such as review reports published by the agency ESU has spent the last quarter of a century fighting for student rights and quality education for all. We strongly believe that this register will go a long way to ensuring that students’ basic rights to quality education across Europe are respected. We are proud to be founding parents of this project which has been a long time in the creation, and we hope that the 4th of March 2008 will be a date to remember. For more information, please contact: Bea Uhart
|
