EQAR at a glance
In most European countries, higher education institutions or study programmes are subject to regular external review by a quality assurance agency. The European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR) is a register of such agencies, listing those agencies that have demonstrated their substantial compliance with a common set of principles for quality assurance in Europe.
These principles are laid down in the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance.
EQAR aims to provide the public with clear and reliable information on quality assurance agencies operating in Europe, and the register is therefore web-based and freely accessible.
Objectives
The Register has been established to:
- promote student mobility by providing a basis for the increase of trust among higher education institutions;
- reduce opportunities for “accreditation mills” to gain credibility;
- provide a basis for governments to authorise higher education institutions to choose any agency from the Register, if that is compatible with national arrangements;
- provide a means for higher education institutions to choose between different agencies, if that is compatible with national arrangements;
- serve as an instrument to improve the quality of agencies and to promote mutual trust among them.
Criteria for inclusion
Quality assurance agencies that wish to be included on the Register need to demonstrate that they operate in substantial compliance with the European Standards and Guidelines (ESG).
View here the criteria for inclusion to the Register of quality assurance agencies.
