Application process
- Overview: Application procedure
The Register Committee decides on inclusion of a quality assurance agency following a formal application. The Procedures for Applications set out the application process described below. It aims to be clear, transparent and fair.
Application documents
A complete application comprises of the following documents:
- Application Form
Please make sure that the Application Form is duly completed and signed by a person authorised to engage legally the applicant vis-à-vis third parties. - Further Information Sheet
The Further Information Sheet should be completed to provide EQAR with all necessary information to be published in case the application is successful. - No-conflict-of-interest Declaration
The No-conflict-of-interest Declaration needs to be duly completed and signed by the review coordinator, with the full CVs of all review panel members attached. - Terms of Reference of the external review
- Self-evaluation report provided for the external review
Only the report proper needs to be submitted (and thus be available in English). There is no need to submit all appendices. Please see frequent questions for further information. - External review report
The external review report is expected to be published by the applicant before making its application.
The following documents should be included where applicable:
- Applicant’s statement on the external review report
- For ENQA full members: Confirmation letter (or equivalent proof of ENQA membership); including prior correspondence between the applicant and ENQA
EQAR will publish the Register Committee's decision on the application. Otherwise, EQAR will treat all documents, except the external review report and the Further Information Sheet, confidentially and will not disclose them to third parties, unless obliged to do so by law.
Please refer to the section Application Forms to download the required forms.
Supplementary documentation
In addition to the documents mentioned above, applicants might wish to include supplementary documents in their application for inclusion on the Register. This might be appropriate especially where changes have been introduced after the completion of the external review on which the application is based, or where recommended improvements have already been implemented.
Applicants should, however, bear in mind that, as a rule, the external review report serves as the main basis for EQAR’s decision making. Therefore, supplementary documentation should be as extensive as necessary, but as concise as possible. Supplementary documentation should add to the analysis in the external review report, and should not replace it.
Language
Please note that all documents mentioned above have to be submitted in English. If original documents are in another language the applicant is expected to arrange for their translation.
Format and submission of applications
All application documents should be sent by email to:
In order to ensure proper readability across all platforms and to prevent any unintentional modifications, all documents should be sent as PDF files (Portable Document Format). Please do not use other formats.
Deadlines
The Register Committee convenes twice a year. Before each meeting there is a deadline for which complete applications must have reached the Secretariat in order to be considered at that meeting.
The next EQAR Register Committee meeting will take place on 2/3 May 2013. Applications by quality assurance agencies for inclusion on the Register have to reach the Secretariat by 4 March 2013 to be considered at that meeting.
Requests for information or clarification
Rapporteurs are assigned to each application in order to prepare the Register Committee’s deliberations. In some cases, rapporteurs might request additional information or clarification of information from the applicant before the Register Committee considers the application at its meeting.
This happens if a request can be plausibly answered in a 2 – 3 week period. If such a request is made, it usually reaches the applicant about 3 – 4 weeks after the application deadline.
If a request is referred to the review panel or coordinator, the applicant will also receive a copy for information.
Response, possibility of withdrawal
Following consideration of application by the Register Committee, the applicant will receive an official response by EQAR, normally about two months after the application deadline.
There are three possible responses:
- The Register Committee approves the application and the applicant is admitted to the Register.
The Register Committee requests further information or clarification from the applicant, the review panel or coordinator (the applicant receives a copy of any requests to the review panel or coordinator).
- The Register Committee considers rejecting the application. The applicant receives an account of the grounds for which rejection is considered and is invited to make additional representation before the Register Committee takes a final decision.
In cases 2 and 3, the application is deferred to the next meeting of the Register Committee. Applicants will have 2 – 3 months to submit additional information or make additional representation, respectively.
The applicant has the possibility to withdraw the application before the stipulated deadline. Should EQAR not receive any notice by the deadline this will be deemed a withdrawal of the application.
The Register Committee will not take any decisions on withdrawn applications, and no decision will be published.
Rejection
If an application is rejected, the applicant receives a reasoned rejection decision in writing. The rejection decision will only be published once it is final, i.e. after the deadline for appeal has passed and all appeals have been dealt with.
A re-application will normally only be possible after a 3-year period and has to be based on a new external review. If the issues that have led to rejection can likely be addressed within a shorter period of time, or if it can be verified on the basis of documentation submitted by the applicant itself whether they have been satisfactorily addressed, respectively, the rejected applicant will be invited to re-apply earlier or without a new external review. This will be specified in the rejection letter, if the case.
Publication of decisions
The EQAR Procedures for Applications foresee (since 2013) that all decisions by the Register Committee on eligible applications are published. This has been decided in the interest of greater transparency and to avoid misinformation about the reasons for the Register Committee's decisions.
Both approval and rejection decisions are published, including the same account of the reasons that the applicant receives.
Only decisions on eligible applications are published. That is, a refusal for reasons of the external review process not complying with EQAR's requirements, or the applicant not being considered eligible due to the nature of its activities, will not be published.
Rejections will only be published once they are final, i.e. when the deadline for appeal has passed or all appeals have been dealt with.
In case of approval, the applicant will be admitted to the Register of quality assurance agencies. The information will be published as provided on the Further Information Sheet.
Fees
There are two types of fees, a one-time application fee and an annual listing fee.
After submission of an application you will receive an invoice for the application fee. The application fee is not refundable (see the FAQ for further details). The application fee is not refundable.
If the application is approved, the annual listing fee must be paid for each year of inclusion on the register.
Agencies will receive an invoice for each calendar year (for the first time a few weeks after their inclusion, then in the beginning of each year) requesting payment of the listing fee for full months included on the register in the respective year.
For instance, an (EHEA) agency included from 15.4.2013 until 31.5.2015 would receive the following invoices (excl. VAT):
2013: 8 full months (May – December) > 688,00 €
2014: full year > 1.032,00 €
2015: 5 full months (January – May) > 430,00 €
Applicants that have their registered office in a state party to the European Cultural Convention will be charged a reduced “EHEA” fee. All other applicants will be charged the “Full” fee.
Since 1 January 2013, the following fees apply:
| EHEA Fee | Full Fee | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ex. VAT | incl. VAT | ex. VAT | incl. VAT | FAQ | |
| application fee | 1,032.00 € | 1,248.72 € | 2,064.00 € | 2,497.44 € | |
| monthly listing fee | 86.00 € | 104.06 € | 172.00 € | 208.12 € | |
