Database of Precedents

Application	Initial
Review	Full, coordinated by ENQA
Decision of	27/06/2025
Standard	3.5 Resources
Keywords	staff's competences, human resources
Panel conclusion	Partial compliance
Clarification request(s)	–
RC decision	Partial compliance

“The Register Committee acknowledged that the agency has increased the number of employees and drafted new plans for staff development since the panel’s site visit. The Register Committee, however, could not verify whether the human resources, including their competence profiles and professional expertise, are fit for purpose of implementing the agency’s new approach in the foreseeable future.”

Full decision: see agency register entry

Application	Initial
Review	Full, coordinated by ENQA
Decision of	25/10/2022
Standard	3.5 Resources
Keywords	shortage of staff positions addressed
Panel conclusion	Partial compliance
Clarification request(s)	Panel (05/10/2022)
RC decision	Compliance

“24. The review panel noted a lack of human resources at GAC's disposal, leading to staff having to prioritise initial accreditation in their work, with reaccreditation procedures taking longer than they should in turn.

25. In its comments on the review report, GAC informed EQAR that a staff increase by 9.25 FTE was now confirmed.

26. The Register Committee sought clarification from the panel on the resources in light of this increase. The Committee understood that this staff increase would address the resourcing in quantitative terms, but that the positive impact of this would remain limited as long as the reservations about the organisation of the Council's work remain, as noted under ESG 2.5.

27. In light of the staff increase, the Register Committee considered that GAC now complies with standard 3.5, while noting that the serious concerns stated under standard 2.5 relate to the question whether GAC effectively deploys its resources, especially in terms of organising the Council's work.”

Full decision: see agency register entry

Application	Initial
Review	Full, coordinated by ENQA
Decision of	18/03/2021
Standard	3.5 Resources
Keywords	Human resources
Panel conclusion	Partial compliance
Clarification request(s)	–
RC decision	Compliance

“According to the panel’s analysis the allocation of the budget has not been made considering the agency’s real financial needs and its Strategic Plan for 2019-2023. The panel further expressed concern regarding the sustainability of agency’s processes as they do not rely on permanent professional staff, but almost entirely on the ‘voluntary’ nature of the work of evaluators and staff seconded to the agency. In its statement to the review report THEQC responded that it had made its budget plan within the scope of Strategic Planning in Public Institutions, following the Law on Public Finance Management and Control (No. 5018). The agency added that the strategic plan also includes a budget, which can be provided at request. In its additional representation the agency explained that the number of its permanent employees increased from 10 to 21 in over a year an a half. While the agency still has 14 staff members seconded and paid by higher education institution, the Committee concluded that human resources are nevertheless sufficient to allow THEQC to carry out its activities within the scope and in line with the ESG. Considering the additional representation and the changes to THEQC’s staffing the Register Committee concluded that THEQC now complies with ESG 3.5.”

Full decision: see agency register entry

Application	Renewal
Review	Full, coordinated by NASM
Decision of	02/11/2020
Standard	3.5 Resources
Keywords	financial sustainability (relience on its founding organisation)
Panel conclusion	Substantial compliance
Clarification request(s)	–
RC decision	Compliance

“In its last review the Register Committee noted that MusiQuE did not have sufficient firm agreements with higher education institutions to achieve financial self-sustainability and thus concluded on partially compliance. The Register Committee learned that since its last review, MusiQuE has managed to expand its activities, and to increase its annual income from its reviews and other activities substantially. MusiQuE's has also reduced its reliance on the Association Européenne des Conservatoire (AEC)’s financial support, who has been covering a high proportion of its staff costs. The Committee welcomed these positive developments and concurred with the panel's conclusion that MusiQuE complies with the standard.”

Full decision: see agency register entry

Application	Renewal
Review	Full, coordinated by ENQA
Decision of	22/06/2020
Standard	3.5 Resources
Keywords	Allocation of resources; Financial sustainability
Panel conclusion	Substantial compliance
Clarification request(s)	–
RC decision	Compliance

“In its last decision of inclusion the Register Committee flagged AAC-DEVA’s ability to acquire and consolidate the resources required to organise site-visits as part of its periodic re-accreditation procedures. As AAC-DEVA has been able to carry out site-visits within its procedures, the flag has been addressed. The Register Committee noted that AAC-DEVA acknowledged in its SWOT analysis that it did not achieved what it aspired it set out to do in the past five years. These concerns were mainly due to the current organisational structure of the agency and lack of strategic planning which has lead to difficulties in the proper allocation of resources and development of prospective units for the full implementation of thematic analysis. In its additional representation AAC-DEVA stated that it had been able to provide all the necessary resources to set up and maintain its external QA activities and that its budget has been approved without any reductions. Concerning the problems related to the structural organisation of the agency, AAC-DEVA explained that this are addressed in the development of its Strategic Plan. ”

Full decision: see agency register entry

Application	Initial
Review	Full, coordinated by NASM
Decision of	06/06/2016
Standard	3.5 Resources
Keywords	financial sustainability
Panel conclusion	Partial compliance
Clarification request(s)	–
RC decision	Partial compliance

“The External Review Report reported that the initial costs for the setup of MusiQuE were borne by AEC, as its main founder. At the time of the review – MusiQuE did not have a sufficient amount of contracts or firm agreements with higher education institutions that would fully assure its ability to achieve self-sustainability.MusiQuE submitted the statement “Information on the financial sustainability of MusiQuE”, which included an update on the number of reviews planned and contracted for the years 2016 and 2017, as well as a financial commitment by AEC, EMU and Pearle*, for the years 2016 and 2017, applicable in case MusiQuE will not achieve self-sustainability. Beyond that, further support would be at the discretion of the organisations’ boards.The Register Committee considered that the financial commitment ensured MusiQuE’s equipment with sufficient resources for 2016 and 2017, while sustainability from 2018 onwards remained dependent on the number of reviews MusiQuE was able to carry out in practice.The Register Committee further underlined that MusiQuE is expected to make a Substantive Change Report (see §6.1 of the EQAR Procedures for Applications) in case its resource situation changes materially.”

Full decision: see agency register entry

Application	Renewal
Review	Full, coordinated by ENQA
Decision of	13/10/2023
Standard	3.5 Resources
Keywords	resources, financial independance
Panel conclusion	Partial compliance
Clarification request(s)	–
RC decision	Partial compliance

“26. The panel noted that the main challenge for NEAA remains the fact that it cannot manage its own finances in a manner that will enable NEAA to ensure the best quality of its activities. Even if the majority of the funding comes from its external quality assurance activities i.e., mostly accreditation fees, due to the strict regulations and rules defined on national level, NEAA cannot access these revenues. The Committee concurs with the panel that this could have a negative impact on the sustainability and the quality of its processes.

27. The panel underlined that despite the improvements and increase of staff members since its last review, from 8 to 19 staff members, NEAA still had a high number of vacant positions.

28. The Committee emphasised the panel’s recommendations on the need for the agency to pursue with the Ministry changes in its financial management and to continue the recruitment of new staff to ensure optimal workload and implementation of external QA processes on time.

29. In its representation, NEAA reported of a further increase in its staff (i.e., from 19 to 23 employees), with recruitment for some of these positions currently underway. The Committee noted that the agency has taken active steps addressing specific proposals to increase pay rates to the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance and the Prime Ministers office. Similar efforts are directed towards the Council of Rectors. Further, the agency stated that there are constant efforts made towards the responsible national authorities with a request to increase the budget of the agency.

30. The Register Committee welcomed the actions taken by NEAA. The Register Committee, however, noted that despite the improvements in NEAA’s permanent staff, the agency’s financial independence, due to external factors, remains constrained, and while the limitations in resources may not pose an immediate concern as to the sustainability of the agency, it may negatively impact the scope and quality of the activities undertaken by NEAA.

31. The Register Committee therefore concurred with the panel’s conclusion that NEAA complies only partially with ESG 3.5.”

Full decision: see agency register entry

Application	Renewal
Review	Full, coordinated by ASIIN
Decision of	11/03/2024
Standard	3.5 Resources
Keywords	unsustainable financing, dependency on Board members' loans
Panel conclusion	Partial compliance
Clarification request(s)	–
RC decision	Non-compliance

“the panel noted that the agency is currently dependent on

loans from its former and current Board members – circumstances that

according to agency’s accountant “raise reasonable doubt about the

continuation of the activities of EQ–Arts” (ERR, p29). At the time of taking the

decision for inclusion on EQAR, the Committee understood that the loans of

the Board members serve only as a start up funding but not as capital that

would need to be used continuously for the agency to be able to function.

In the Committee’s understanding, the sustainability of the agency has

been questioned since its first review in

2018. At the time though, the

Committee believed that the agency would expand its activities (see also ESG

3.1) and strengthen its resources in the upcoming years.”

Full decision: see agency register entry

Application	Renewal
Review	Full, coordinated by ENQA
Decision of	13/12/2021
Standard	3.6 Internal quality assurance and professional conduct
Keywords	Weak management of staff development and not addressing earlier flags
Panel conclusion	Full compliance
Clarification request(s)	–
RC decision	Partial compliance

“Partial compliance due the need for a more structured management of the professional development of the staff and the lack of a comprehensive response to the issues raised in the previous external reviews (i.e. instances of partial compliance from the previous renewals of the registration: the training of experts (ESG 2.4) is still weak (a concern raised in 2011) and the publication of thematic analyses (ESG 3.4) remains not systematic (a concern raised in 2016).)”

Full decision: see agency register entry

Application	Renewal
Review	Full, coordinated by ENQA
Decision of	15/10/2021
Standard	3.6 Internal quality assurance and professional conduct
Keywords	Informal approach to IQA; Not addressing flags from previous review
Panel conclusion	Substantial compliance
Clarification request(s)	–
RC decision	Partial compliance

“AI has adopted an overall framework for internal QA, which is publicly available. The panel, however, found that agency’s approach to internal QA is often informal and flexible. This was reflected in the self-evaluation report,

which the panel found to be lacking self-reflexivity and deeper analysis of agency’s internal needs. The Register Committee noted that the agency has not addressed the issues that led to a partially compliant conclusion in the

previous decision for renewal of registration (namely ESG 2.7 and ESG 3.1).”

Full decision: see agency register entry

Application	Renewal
Review	Full, coordinated by ENQA
Decision of	05/11/2019
Standard	3.6 Internal quality assurance and professional conduct
Keywords	Efectiveness of internal QA
Panel conclusion	Full compliance
Clarification request(s)	–
RC decision	Compliance

“The development of QQI's internal quality assurance system was flagged for attention when QQI was admitted to the Register in 2015.The Register Committee noted that the panel described QQI's internal quality assurance instruments as effective. They cover all its external quality assurance processes and thus respond to the recommendation made in the last external review of QQI.While the panel noted that some future adjustments might be necessary once further external QA processes are rolled out, the Register Committee considered that the flag has clearly been addressed.The Register Committee therefore concurred with the panel's conclusion that QQI complies with the standard.”

Full decision: see agency register entry

Application	Renewal
Review	Full, coordinated by ENQA
Decision of	16/03/2020
Standard	3.6 Internal quality assurance and professional conduct
Keywords	formalisation of QA processes
Panel conclusion	Substantial compliance
Clarification request(s)	–
RC decision	Compliance

“44. The panel analysed that AHPGS has a system describing the internal QA processes, but given the agency's small size some processes were not formalised and relied on “informal procedures and tacit knowledge”.

45. The Register Committee noted the publication of AHPGS’ comprehensive internal quality assurance reports for the years 2009-2013 and 2013-2017 on its website.”

Full decision: see agency register entry

Application	Renewal
Review	Full, coordinated by ENQA
Decision of	05/11/2019
Standard	3.6 Internal quality assurance and professional conduct
Keywords	Efectiveness of internal QA
Panel conclusion	Substantial compliance
Clarification request(s)	–
RC decision	Compliance

“In its previous decision of inclusion, the Register Committee noted that the internal quality assurance system have been recently put in place, and therefore has flagged this matter for the next external review of the agency. According to the 2019 external review report of AQ Austria, the agency has clearly defined processes for all its activities and consolidated its work as a result of its internal quality assurance processes.The Register Committee therefore concluded that the flag has been addressed.”

Full decision: see agency register entry

Application	Renewal
Review	Full, coordinated by ENQA
Decision of	03/04/2019
Standard	3.6 Internal quality assurance and professional conduct
Keywords	Effectiveness of agency’s IQA
Panel conclusion	Partial compliance
Clarification request(s)	–
RC decision	Partial compliance

“When admitting SQAA to the Register, the Committee noted the 2013 panel's recommendation that SQAA systematise its internal quality assurance processes. According to the panel's report, SQAA has further systematised its internal quality assurance system.The Register Committee, however, also noted the review panel's critical appraisal of SQAA's interaction with the different stakeholders from different types of higher education institutions, and the question raised whether its quality policy was shared by all stakeholders. ”

Full decision: see agency register entry

Application	Renewal
Review	Full, coordinated by ENQA
Decision of	06/12/2018
Standard	3.6 Internal quality assurance and professional conduct
Keywords	Implementation of processes for IQA
Panel conclusion	Partial compliance
Clarification request(s)	–
RC decision	Partial compliance

“The Register Committee noted that while CAQA/NEAQA has a number of mechanisms to ensure internal quality [...] that the agency lacks formal mechanisms to act upon the external and internal feedback on a regular basis and thus foster continuous improvement. In its additional representation NEAQA stated its plans to improve communication among all stakeholders in quality assurance processes; to introduce software to support its information management processes and ensure transparency in the work of the agency.”

Full decision: see agency register entry

Application	Renewal
Review	Full, coordinated by GAC
Decision of	20/06/2017
Standard	3.6 Internal quality assurance and professional conduct
Keywords	Formalisation and efectiveness of Internal quality management system
Panel conclusion	Partial compliance
Clarification request(s)	Coordinator (20/04/2026)
RC decision	Compliance

“In its additional representation, ASIIN noted that it had formalised its internal quality management system and fully implemented its new QM manual. The Register Committee sought and received clarification from the German Accreditation Council (GAC), as the coordinator of the external review of ASIIN. GAC confirmed that it had assessed the implementation of ASIIN's QM structure as part of assessing fulfilment of a condition. In doing so, GAC found that the QM system was appropriately formalised and implemented effectively.”

Full decision: see agency register entry

Application	Initial
Review	Full, coordinated by ENQA
Decision of	12/12/2023
Standard	3.6 Internal quality assurance and professional conduct
Keywords	Closed PDCA cycle
Panel conclusion	Partial compliance
Clarification request(s)	–
RC decision	Partial compliance

“The agency is yet to demonstrate how it employs the feedback gathered through its internal

quality assurance feedback mechanisms to improve its work. In this sense, further panel insight is expected to demonstrate whether and how the agency translates this feedback into the work performed by its own staff, the members of the different bodies etc.”

Full decision: see agency register entry

Application	Renewal
Review	Targeted, coordinated by ENQA
Decision of	26/11/2024
Standard	3.6 Internal quality assurance and professional conduct
Keywords	Addressing recommendations from the previous external review
Panel conclusion	Substantial compliance
Clarification request(s)	–
RC decision	Compliance

“24. In line with the EQAR Use and Interpretation of the ESG, the Register

Committee understands that ESG 3.6. implies that previous recommendations and

instances of partial compliance have been addressed properly.

25. The Register Committee noted that ACSUG has not responded

appropriately to most of the instances of partial compliance raised in a previous

external review, and had regressed in one standard (3.1), which has negative

implications for ACSUG’s level of compliance with ESG 3.6. The Register Committee

therefore once again emphasises the recommendations delivered by the 2019 and

2024 review panel and expects that these issues are addressed in the next (full)

review of ACSUG.”

Full decision: see agency register entry

Application	Renewal
Review	Full, coordinated by ASIIN
Decision of	11/03/2024
Standard	3.6 Internal quality assurance and professional conduct
Keywords	incomplete PDCA cycle
Panel conclusion	Partial compliance
Clarification request(s)	Panel (10/12/2023)
RC decision	Partial compliance

“the panel noted that even though

the agency maintained some of its mechanisms (such as surveys for

customers and reviewers), little evidence was found regarding the utilisation

of the feedback. In the panel’s view, the internal quality assurance process is

mainly taking place in informal manner, while the internal quality assurance

cycle is yet to be closed.”

Full decision: see agency register entry

Application	Initial
Review	Full, coordinated by ENQA
Decision of	27/06/2025
Standard	3.6 Internal quality assurance and professional conduct
Keywords	consistent use of IQA tools
Panel conclusion	Partial compliance
Clarification request(s)	–
RC decision	Partial compliance

“The feedback was not collected in a regular and systematic manner – e.g., not all stakeholders having a role in the external review received surveys”

Full decision: see agency register entry