By Anna Gover, Director, ENQA, and Elena Cirlan, Senior Policy and Project Coordinator, ENQA
ENQA’s input to policy discussions at various levels and fora is an important, but perhaps less visible aspect of its work. The ENQA staff and Board work hard to ensure that the voice of quality assurance agencies is well-represented in key discussions and decisions, and to build strong relationships with key organisations and people, leveraging our Brussels location to facilitate easy, face-to-face contact with relevant partners.
As the designated stakeholder organisation for quality assurance agencies and consultative member in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), ENQA is an active participant in the Bologna Follow-up Group (BFUG) and its working structures (and if you’re unsure what this means, read our briefing note on the Bologna Process). During the recently completed working period, ENQA focused on ensuring that the role of quality assurance agencies is appropriately reflected in initiatives monitoring important issues, such as the social dimension and the fundamental values of higher education. Notably, ENQA highlighted the diversity of quality assurance agencies and approaches, ensuring that expectations towards them are aligned with their different remits within national systems. In the lead-up to Ministerial Conferences, ENQA contributes to the preparation of the Ministerial Communiqué. For the most recent one, ENQA successfully advocated for the inclusion of references to robust quality assurance of transnational education and the protection of academic integrity. ENQA also consults with its members to draft a message to EHEA ministers, and a delegation represents ENQA at these events. ENQA’s involvement allows us to highlight the need for national legislative frameworks to provide the necessary environment for quality assurance agencies to work in line with the ESG.
Another significant forum for discussions on quality assurance is the E4 Group, which began its collaboration in 2001. The group brings together stakeholder organisations representing quality assurance agencies (ENQA), universities (EUA), professional higher education institutions (EURASHE), and students (ESU). The E4 Group led the development of the ESG in 2005 and their revision in 2015, co-organises the annual European Quality Assurance Forum (EQAF) since 2006 and established the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR) in 2008. One of the success factors for the EHEA quality assurance framework is that it is stakeholder driven, and where our interests align joint E4 statements can send a powerful message in the sector. In the coming two years, the E4 Group, in cooperation with Business Europe, Education International, and EQAR, will revise the ESG, as mandated by EHEA Ministers.
ENQA also collaborates bilaterally with the E4 Group organisations. For example, it works closely with ESU to appoint student experts to serve as panellists for ENQA agency reviews. ESU’s President Iris Kimizoglu highlights the importance of this partnership, stating, “ENQA plays a pivotal role in shaping and advancing quality assurance across Europe. For decades, ESU has maintained a close partnership with ENQA, both within the E4 Group and through other initiatives, consistently valuing ENQA’s professionalism, expertise, and support.”
ENQA is also actively involved in policy discussions at the EU level. Although not always directly applicable for all agencies, there is a strong synergy and spillover effect into the wider EHEA. ENQA regularly attends meetings of the Directors-General in Higher Education and the European Commission’s Working Group on Higher Education, and organises an annual meeting between the E4 Group and the European Commission unit responsible for higher education. In the past year in particular, ENQA has engaged in a close and constructive dialogue with the European Commission to provide input on their proposed Council Recommendation for quality assurance and higher education, to improve its relevance for quality assurance agencies. At the same time, ENQA has worked to make the potential implications of these policy development more accessible and tangible for the ENQA membership, through a briefing note for agencies. It has also facilitated dialogue with representatives from the European Commission who also frequently attend ENQA events such as the Members’ Forum and CEO meetings.
In conclusion, through its work ENQA ensures that the voice of quality assurance agencies is well-represented in key decision-making processes. Its active participation in fora such as the E4 Group, the Bologna Process, and European Commission initiatives highlights ENQA’s commitment to shaping policy development in quality assurance. Looking forward, the Board and Secretariat are committed to further improving the visibility and accessibility of this aspect of ENQA’s work.
If there are policy topics that you would like us to explain or address in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact us.