EQAR NEWSLETTER - NOVEMBER 2024
News: Aleksandar Šušnjar started as new EQAR Director | Register Committee meeting | Members' Dialogue update | Project news |
Aleksandar Šušnjar started as new EQAR Director
Aleksandar started as EQAR Director on 9 September 2024, eagerly awaited by the rest of the team and taking over from Annelies Traas who had been Acting Head of the Secretariat since the end of March 2024. Since his first day, apart from the onboarding, Aleksandar has had a very busy programme; helping prepare a Register Committee meeting, attending both a BFUG and a DGHE meeting, co-preparing two Board meetings, a Members' Dialogue, an Extraordinary General Assembly and (re)presenting EQAR at various project meetings. 
Aleksandar reflects "As I look back on these first two months as a Director of EQAR, it already seems like much more time has passed. This period has been very exciting for me, as I have been getting to know the EQAR Secretariat team, as well as unique strengths and challenges of our organisation. Now and in the coming months, it will be a priority for me to focus even more intensively on our operations and future opportunities that await. This will no doubt be facilitated by the passionate and dedicated colleagues in the Secretariat that have already made a very intense learning period in my new position a pleasant and welcoming experience. I very much cherish this feeling of team spirit and am looking forward to continuing in the same direction!"
Many of us have known Aleksandar for quite some time already, either through his work as member of the Register Committee, a position that he has had to resign from as a result of being director of EQAR, or as YUFE (European Universities Alliance) Institutional Coordinator, or through ESU, where he was a member of the QA Student Experts Pool, represented ESU in various bodies and groups related to quality assurance and conducted trainings on QA methodology.
Register Committee meeting
Members of the Register Committee (RC) gathered online for the 44th Register Committee meeting on 9 and 11 October. The Register Committee discussed and took note of several change reports and eligibility applications and approved the following application for inclusion on the Register, finding the agency operating in substantial compliance with the ESG: 
- ECAQA - The Eurasian Сentre for Accreditation and Quality Assurance in Higher Education and Health care (Kazakhstan)
The RC also discussed the recently started ESG revision process and exchanged ideas on how to include the expertise and know-how of the Register Committee. As an independent expert body responsible for maintaining the official register of quality assurance agencies that comply with the ESG, the Committee was happy to contribute to the revision process by sharing their technical expertise.
Members' Dialogue update
Shaping the future in an evolving higher education landscape. The 14th edition of the EQAR Members’ Dialogue took place online on 28 and 29 October, with 68 people attending in total, including 28 governmental members. Both current and core topics were covered during the event, including:
- The European Degree Package and EQAR’s contribution. Members reflected on the potential EQAR contributions to a variety of processes:
- Refining the European degree (label) criteria.
- Verifying the suitability of QA agencies to authorise programmes and institutions to award a European degree.
- Serving as a repository of (information about) joint programmes that award European degrees.
- The work of the European degree policy lab (expert group). - The European Approach for QA of Joint Programmes and its role within the HE Package. This session kicked off with a presentation from the European Commission followed by three practical examples (of Sweden, Austria and Una Europa).
- EQAR’s contributions to the new working cycle of the BFUG.
- The ESG revision process.
- Quality of recognition – Insights from the analysis of reports by EQAR registered agencies.
- Certifying Micro Credentials offered by Alternative Providers.
- ESG Compliance challenged by national regulations.
- Using DEQAR as a trustworthy source of information – exploring current practices (DEQAR integration and European Digital Credentials for Learning & DEQAR).
⇒ More about the Members’ Dialogue
⇒ Programme and presentations of the Members' Dialogue
Project news
1) QA-FIT - Quality Assurance Fit for the Future
The aim of the QA-FIT project is to address whether the ESG are "fit" for the future, through a comprehensive mapping exercise of the state of play of internal and external quality assurance in the EHEA. This has been done via surveys to all stakeholder groups, focus groups and multiple analyses, with EQAR being responsible for the surveys, focus groups and analyses with regard to the ministries of higher education. 
EQAR also co-organised, participated in and attended both the QA FIT webinar (on 10 September) and the QAFIT Final Conference, which took place in Brussels on 7 November. The latter event concluded the project, lead by ENQA, which had started in June 2022. Apart from various presentations showcasing the project activities and main outcomes, there were various discussions on quality assurance, the ESG and the way forward. The final project paper “Quality assurance fit for the future - Key considerations for the revision of the ESG” was presented and disseminated.
This paper, based on the main conclusions drawn from the collected data and consultations with stakeholders, reflects on some key considerations that the authors of the ESG should keep in mind during the revision process in order to support its continued acceptance and success and to help avoid unintended consequences that could arise from new or updated elements.
⇒ Read and download the final paper
2) Implementation and Innovation in QA through Peer Learning (IMINQA)
This umbrella project supports the work of the Bologna Thematic Peer Group C on Quality Assurance, focusing on the implementation of the key commitment on quality assurance in all EHEA countries. Since the start of the project in May 2022, three Peer Learning Activities (PLAs) have been organised by EQAR on EHEA policy priorities in quality assurance, all three resulting in a thematic analysis: 
- Aligning the legal framework with the ESG (i.e. EHEA key commitment).
- Cross-border QA (CBQA) and QA of transnational education (TNE).
- European Approach for QA of Joint Programmes.
The latest thematic analysis, also written by EQAR, on the implementation of the European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes (further: the European Approach) has just been published. The analysis offers an overview of the status quo in 2023 of the implementation efforts regarding the European Approach. The analysis also delves into the various national and institutional challenges as well as the complexities and opportunities associated with implementing the European Approach across the diverse national and institutional contexts in the European Higher Education Area.
EQAR is now in the process of drafting the cross-cutting policy brief, which will be based on all three thematic analyses. This will be published at the end of January 2025.
