INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION OF THE ECAQA

1. On 22 June 2022, the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) confirmed the full membership of the Eurasian Centre for Accreditation and Quality Assurance in Higher Education and Health Care in ENQA for a period of 5 years https://www.enqa.eu/review-database/external-review-of-ecaqa/

The European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) was established by the European Council Recommendation of 24 September 1998 in Helsinki by the member countries of the Bologna Process under the title of the European Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education. In November 2004, in Frankfurt (Germany), the General Assembly of the European Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education decided to rename the Network into the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA).

ENQA membership is open to quality assurance agencies from countries that have signed the Bologna Declaration. To date, ENQA members are 47 agencies and organisations from 23 countries (45 countries are signatories to the Bologna Declaration). ENQA membership has two types: membership and affiliation.

In March 2000, the General Assembly of the European Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education adopted the regulations and action plan. Since then, the European Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education has become the main organisation coordinating the work on quality assurance in higher education within the Bologna Process.

ENQA's mission is to drive the development of quality assurance in the European Higher Education Area by representing agencies internationally, supporting them nationally, and providing them with comprehensive services and networking opportunities. ENQA promotes the enhancement of quality and the development of a quality culture in higher education.

The Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) were adopted by Ministers responsible for higher education in 2005 following a proposal prepared by the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) in cooperation with the European Students' Union (ESU), the European Association of Institutions in Higher Education (EURASHE) and the European University Association (EUA).

Since 2005, considerable progress has been made in quality assurance as well as in other Bologna action lines.

Given this changing context, in 2012 the Ministerial Communiqué invited the E4 Group (ENQA, ESU, EUA, EURASHE) in cooperation with Education International (EI), BUSINESSEUROPE and the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR) to prepare an initial proposal for a revised ESG “to improve their clarity, applicability and usefulness, including their scope”.

The revision included several consultation rounds involving both the key stakeholder organisations and ministries. The many comments, proposals and recommendations received were carefully analysed and taken very seriously by the Steering Group (SG). They are reflected in the 2015 version of the ESG. The ESG 2015 were adopted by the Ministers responsible for higher education in the European Higher Education Area at the 2015 Yerevan Ministerial Conference (Armenia).

The ESG 2015, unofficial translations and further information are available at https://www.enqa.eu/esg-standards-and-guidelines-for-quality-assurance-in-the-european-higher-education-area/

How does this benefit educational organisations:

• International institutional and/or specialised (programme) accreditation status.
• Recognition of the high quality of the educational programmes of an educational organisation.
• Influence on the choice of partner HEI when implementing academic mobility.