EQAR NEWSLETTER - NOVEMBER 2017
News: DEQAR project approved for EU co-funding | New staff member at EQAR Secretariat | EQAR Members' Dialogue/EQUIP Focus Group | EQAR moves offices
DEQAR project approved for EU co-funding
We are glad to an
nounce that the EQAR-coordinated project Database of External Quality Assurance Reports (DEQAR) was selected for EU co-funding under the Erasmus+ Key Action 3 Call for European Forward-Looking Cooperation Projects. With a total of 25 project partners and 4 associate partners, DEQAR promises to be an ambitious and exciting project for EQAR.
The main aim of the project is the development of a database that will enhance access to reports and decisions on higher education institutions/programmes externally reviewed against the ESG, by an EQAR-registered agency. The database is expected to enable a broad range of users, including recognition information centres (ENIC-NARICs), recognition officers in higher education institutions, students, quality assurance agencies, ministry representatives and other national authorities to satisfy their information needs and support different types of decisions (e.g. recognition of degrees, mobility of students, portability of grants/loans).
The project will kick off in November 2017. A first public preview version of the database will be available in May 2018.
Read more about the project, the project partners and timeline
New staff member at EQAR Secretariat
The EQAR Secretariat is very pleased to welcome Karl Viilmann, who will be responsible for the setup and maintenance of the database of external quality assurance results.
Karl followed his master studies in Sociology in Tallinn University and complemented his degree with European Studies (University of Tartu, Estonia). Karl held positions related to analyses and statistics in the field of education and social statistics; as statistician in Statistics Estonia and as an analyst in the National Institute for Health Development in Estonia. Until recently, he worked for the European Commission's Directorate General for Education and Culture (DG EAC), where he analysed EU member states' educational systems in the framework of the Education and Training 2020 Strategy.
EQAR Members' Dialogue/EQUIP Focus Group
The EQAR Members’ Dialogue/EQUIP Focus Group was held in Prague, hosted by the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.
The event focussed on the challenges in assuring and improving quality in Europe as well as on the challenges in QA related to meeting the expectations of the ESG identified within the EQUIP project.
Other topics at the Members' Dialogue were the discussion on the EQAR Strategy 2018-2022 and the presentation and discussion on approach to external QA and other activities by registered agencies.
To view or download presentations of the event
EQAR moves offices
On 1 October 2017, EQAR moved to new offices located on Place Luxembourg/Luxemburgplein.
The new address is as follows:
Aarlenstraat 22 Rue d'Arlon
1050 Brussels
Belgium
The office is sublet from the Netherlands House for Education and Research (Neth-ER). Next to a number of Dutch universities and smaller organisations, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is another subtenant at Neth-ER.
EQAR and the European Higher Education Area (EHEA)
EQAR was established as part of the Bologna Process to manage the EHEA's Register of agencies that are substantially compliant with the agreed Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the EHEA (ESG). EQAR aims to provide the public with clear and reliable information on quality assurance agencies operating in Europe, and thus provide a basis for international trust, recognition and cooperation.
Currently, 23 EHEA countries fully implement the key commitment that external QA is performed by agencies that demonstrably comply with the ESG, registered on EQAR. In 6 further countries, external QA is performed by ESG-compliant agencies for some, but not all higher education institutions.
Use our interactive map to learn more about the agencies agencies that have demonstrated their substantial compliance with the ESG. On the same map, you will also find information on cross border recognition (countries recognising EQAR-registered agencies as part of the national requirements for external QA), the European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes and EQAR governmental members.
