Role of Quality Assurance in the Establishment of the EHEA presentation given at the conference ”Bologna Process Implementation in Turkey after 10 Years”, Istanbul, 15 June 2011 by Achim Hopbach President of ENQA

ENQA at a glance: Umbrella NGO for European QA agencies in HE, founded in 2000 Purpose:  as a membership organisation, to represent its members at the European level in political decision making processes;  to function as a think tank for developing further quality assurance in the EHEA;  to function as a communication platform for sharing and disseminating information and expertise in quality assurance Membership:  40 Full members, 12 Candidate members  30 Associates, 4 Affiliates

Quality assurance in the Bologna process: milestones Berlin Communiqué 2003: “Quality is at the heart of the setting up of the European Higher Education Area” Ministers agreed that by 2005 national quality assurance systems should include:  A definition of the responsibilities of the bodies and institutions involved.  Evaluation of programmes or institutions, including internal assessment, external review, participation of students and the publication of results.  A system of accreditation, certification or comparable procedures.  International participation, co-operation and networking.

Quality assurance in the Bologna process: milestones Bergen Communiqué 2005: Ministers “adopt standards and guidelines for quality assurance in the European Higher Education Area...”, which are “designed to be applicable to all higher education institutions and quality assurance agencies in Europe, irrespective of their structure, function and size, and the national system in which they are located” drafted by ENQA EUA, EURASHE, ESU” 2008: European Quality Assurance Register (EQAR) List of agencies that comply with ESG

Quality assurance in the Bologna Process: Links to other Bologna tools  QA takes into account implementation of “Bologna tools” like LO, QF, DS, recognition  QA fosters recognition of qualifications  QA fosters implementation/recognition of joint programmes  QA as precondition for eligibility of programmes for participating in exchange programmes (ERASMUS Mundus etc)

Quality assurance in the Bologna Process: Achievements ESG  foster a common understanding of QA  develop the European dimension of quality assurance, its main features being: ▸ HEIs bear the prime responsibility for quality in HE ▸ Consequently: Internal QA is the core element of QA ▸ Internal and external QA processes are interrelated ▸ All kinds of QA processes shall be enhancement oriented ▸ Diversity of approaches is respected ▸ Stakeholder and especially student involvement ▸ Quality assurance agencies are independent

Quality assurance in the Bologna Process: Achievements  Most countries now have quality assurance or accreditation systems (Some countries have incorporated ESG into national law)  Mixture of programme and institutional approaches, of accreditation and evaluation/audit approaches  Some countries are moving/have moved from programme focus to institutional focus, some moving the other way  Increasing use of European Standards and Guidelines (ESG) at institutional level

Thank your for your attention Achim Hopbach