Contributing to the Development of the EHEA

Based on the mandate given by the Tirana Ministerial Communiqué of May 2024, the process of revision of the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) started in September 2024. The revision process is coordinated by the Steering Committee, composed of representatives of seven organisations active in the field of higher education: EQAR, European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), European Students’ Union (ESU), European University Association (EUA), European Association of Institutions in Higher Education (EURASHE), BUSINESSEUROPE, and Education International.

So far, the Steering Committee has held two meetings in which the overall framework and timeline of the ESG revision were discussed. Initial progress has also been made on the general and introductory part of the ESG text. The revision itself draws on extensive stakeholder consultations conducted over the past few years within the framework of the QA-FIT project (link), in which EQAR also participated as one of the project partners. The process is expected to be completed in spring 2027, when the draft of the revised ESG will be presented to EHEA Ministers for adoption at the Ministerial Conference.

EQAR contributes to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) working structures as well as to other relevant European policy developments following closely its plan of work.

In 2024, EQAR supported the implementation of EHEA reforms in the meetings of the Bologna Follow-up Group and its working structures (Thematic Peer Group on QA, Thematic Peer Group on Recognition, Working Group 1 on Monitoring the Implementation). As part of the BFUG Monitoring Working Group (WG1), EQAR contributed to the discussion on the final draft of the Implementation Report. In the meetings of the Thematic Peer Group on Quality Assurance (TPG C), EQAR contributed to the discussions on legal frameworks aligned with the ESG, cross-border QA and the European Approach, while in the meetings of the Thematic Peer Group on Recognition (TPG B) EQAR supported the discussions on digitalisation of recognition processes and the implementation of LRC principles.

Through its involvement in various projects (see also Projects below) and events, EQAR fed its expertise into relevant discussions and initiatives related to quality assurance (e.g. the proposal of a European Degree label, the possible European Approach for QA of European University alliances, the possible revision of the EU Recommendation on Quality Assurance, the European Higher Education Sector Observatory), amongst others through the EEA Higher Education Working Group and the ETER Advisory Board.

In 2024, EQAR continued to monitor developments in external QA at system level across the EHEA and to maintain the Knowledge Base of national/regional frameworks for external quality assurance through the QA FIT project survey of national ministries (see more about QA FIT here).

In the wake of the Tirana Ministerial Conference, EQAR prepared a statement to the conference calling upon ministers to fully implement the agreed European quality assurance framework and to dismantle remaining obstacles in cross-border recognition. Furthermore EQAR called upon ministers to reaffirm the automatic recognition of qualifications as a key aim of the Bologna Process to boost the mobility of students and staff, based on the robust European quality assurance infrastructure established by the ESG, EQAR and DEQAR, and to promote the use of DEQAR as well as encourage the publication of external quality assurance reports in DEQAR.

In the second half of 2024, EQAR continued its active contribution in the new working structures in EHEA. In the new working cycle EQAR will continue its participation in WG 1 Monitoring and Implementation, TPG B Recognition, TPG C Quality Assurance and also join the Task Force on the Long Term secretariat of the EHEA.

Apart from that, EQAR was also active in various task-force and peer-learning activities on digitalisation, the Diploma Supplement and micro credentials.

EQAR continued its work on integrating DEQAR data in the European Digital Credentials for Learning ecosystem. HEIs that have their reports in DEQAR can now automatically issue external QA results as EBSI-compatible Verifiable Credentials (VC). EQAR has further improved the interface to export/transfer DEQAR data to the Europass Qualifications Dataset Register (QDR).

In 2024 the availability of cross-border external quality assurance (QA) with an EQAR-registered agency remained unchanged from the previous years. Higher education institutions in 21 higher education systems in EHEA (shown on the map as dark blue) are eligible for cross-border QA, while 13 other (shown as medium dark blue) allow recognition of procedures with EQAR-registered agencies under certain conditions.  DEQAR data also show that in 2024 there was a  decrease in the number of CBQA results comparing with 2023, however at the time of writing the report some agencies are in the process of publishing reports for 2024 and these number will change.

Despite the slow pace of development in legal frameworks on the openness to cross-border QA, we see that some countries are working towards opening their systems to cross-border QA in the coming years.

More information on the cross-border external QA activities of EQAR-registered agencies can be consulted on our website here.

In 2024, the European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes (EA) was available to higher education institutions in 21 higher education systems (map: dark blue); in six of those the European Approach is available by virtue of external quality assurance being required at institutional level only.

Despite frequent policy discussions highlighting the importance of the European Approach in the context of the European Universities initiative, there was little progress compared to 2023.

In 14 EHEA systems, the European Approach was only available to some higher education institutions or subject to specific, additional conditions (map: light blue). The map below gives an overview, the information on each country provides further details, such as an explanation of a specific legislation or the fact that higher education institutions themselves are responsible for the quality assurance of their programmes. In 16 EHEA systems, higher education institutions remain unable to use the European Approach as of 2023, creating an additional burden for those institutions when engaging in international cooperation.

EQAR has maintained a specific page on its website with a list of example cases where the European Approach was used, to allow others to draw from these experiences. Until the end of 2024, 69 external quality assurance procedures had been completed in line with the European Approach based on information available in DEQAR. This is almost twice as many as by the end of 2023, (32 reports). This increase could be connected to a general increase in these procedures in 2024 but also by the fact that one EQAR-registered agency started uploading their external review reports only as of 2024. The table below shows the agencies that have carried out those reviews. These procedures cover 31 EHEA systems (see map below).

NB: For practical reasons, EQAR is unable to keep track of European Approach reviews that have not been added to DEQAR. Some institutions have contacted EQAR regarding their European Approach accreditation not showing up in the list, EQAR has encouraged the respective agency to upload those reports manually even if it unable to upload its other external QA reports to DEQAR at this stage.

The numbers above also do not include any institutions that might have used the European Approach in their internal QA arrangements, e.g. in cases where no external programme accreditation/review is required, as there is no reporting on such cases.

SIQA – Support for the enhancement-oriented implementation of the quality assurance key commitment

Enhancing the EQAR Knowledge Base
In the SIQA project, coordinated by ARACIS, one of the objectives important for EQAR will be to update, enhance and expand the EQAR Knowledge Base. This will enhance the applicability and usefulness of the EQAR Knowledge Base for monitoring the implementation of a range of Bologna process tools and commitments related to QA, including the key commitments of external QA in line with the ESG.

⇒ Check out the country information on the EQAR Knowledge Base

Analysis of implementation and best practices of the European Approach for QA of Joint Programmes (EA)
Another task for EQAR (together with ENQA and the TPG C members) is to support the TPG C members to amend legislative frameworks to allow the European Approach for QA of Joint Programmes by conducting an analysis of implementation and best practices.

Building on other project outcomes, a comprehensive analysis will be conducted to identify gaps in the implementation of the EA, examine their underlying causes, and propose potential remedies. This analysis will be carried out through a combination of desk research and input from EHEA member states. SIQA is a three-year project and will start in September.

⇒ More about SIQA

DIGI-REQA – Digital Tools and Quality Assurance for Automatic Recognition

Connecting the AR-go tool with DEQAR
An important objective for EQAR in DIGI-REQA is integrating quality assurance data by linking AR-go with DEQAR. AR-go is the tool used for generating automated statements of comparability for the qualifications covered by the Multilateral Treaty on Automatic Recognition of Qualifications, signed and ratified by the Baltic and Benelux countries and open for signatures to others.

The project is coordinated by SKVC and the aim of the integration is to improve the digitalised services available to stakeholders covered under the Treaty, thus ensuring a more efficient and reliable recognition. DIGI-REQA is a two-year project and was launched in June.

⇒ More about DIGI-REQA

While the  TPG-LRC CoRE project was completed during the first half of 2025, a new follow-up project was already in the making:

TPG-LRC Plus – Fostering LRC implementation in the EHEA

Kicking of in September, the TPG-LRC Plus project aims, like its predecessor project, to support the implementation of the Bologna Process by focusing on the key commitment 2 on national legislation and procedures compliant with the Lisbon Recognition Convention (LRC) in the countries being part of the Thematic Peer Group B (TPG B), during 2025-2028.

The three-year project,  is coordinated by CIMEA, just like the first TPG-LRC project.

EQAR’s main contribution to the project will be to enhance the interoperability of the DEQAR as a tool for automatic recognition. EQAR is also a key partner to focus on quality assurance.

⇒ Find out more about the TPG-LRC Plus project