EQAR NEWSLETTER - MARCH 2025

Register Committee approves applications of two agencies

The first Register Committee (RC) meeting of 2025 took place online on 13 and 14 March. The Register Committee discussed and took note of several change reports and eligibility applications and approved two applications for inclusion on the Register, finding that the following agencies operate in substantial compliance with the ESG:

AIC – Academic Information Centre (Latvia)
AIC reports in DEQAR
ANVUR – Italian National Agency for the Evaluation of Universities and Research Institutes

⇒Check out the full decisions of the Register Committee on our website

⇒ More about the March 2025 RC meeting

Revised Policy on the Use and Interpretations of the ESG

Following the consultation launched last year on the Policy on the Use and Interpretation of the ESG (U&I), the revised version of the document has now been published. The Register Committee took into account comments and suggestions that were provided by review agencies, review panel members, review coordinators and former RC members.

The Policy assists applicant QA agencies, review panels and the Register Committee itself when interpreting the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG). The document supports a common understanding, without being exhaustive or exclusive, simply aiming to increase transparency, awareness and consistency within the decision-making process of the Register Committee.

The first version of the document came to light in 2013, followed by a second and third version in 2015 and 2020. The latter took into account the new practices and approaches in external quality assurance (including those developed as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic and also the developments in higher education). Having gained new insights from considering more than 50 new applications since the 2020 revision, the Register Committee proposed a set of revisions to the U&I to reflect the precedents in its decision-making.

To further promote and elaborate on the policy, EQAR organised a webinar at the end of February. Around 120 people joined the webinar during which the revisions were clarified per standard and participants were given ample time for questions.

⇒ Download the revised policy and find out more about the background and webinar

Guiding Questions for Panels: external quality assurance of activities in development

The Register Committee has published guiding questions that can be used as an aiding tool by external review panels, when reviewing activities within the scope of the ESG that at the time of the site visit have not been launched yet, but are in a planning or pilot phase.

The reasoning behind this document is that in between the cyclical reviews, agencies often introduce new activities and/or revise existing ones and report these changes to EQAR (via change reports). Assessing compliance of these newly introduced or revised activities without an in-depth external review can however be challenging for the EQAR Register Committee.

Since the external reviews are an excellent opportunity for the Register Committee to gain insight in an activity before listing it on the Register, the RC finds it beneficial to include the pilot activities in the external reviews, even if they have not been launched in their final form yet. The reflections of the panel will not impact the judgement of compliance by the Register Committee.

⇒ Find out more about the essence, the rational and added value

⇒ Download the Guiding Questions

Launch of new DEQAR API

Following the expansion of DEQAR with information on certified micro-credentials and other providers, EQAR launched the new version of the Application Programming Interface (API).

The main changes for agencies uploading their reports in DEQAR focus on simplifying the process and enhancing efficiency in line with the system’s recent expansion, with updates reflected in the API, webform, and CSV formats.

All programmes/micro-credentials will now be formally classified systematically, according to type and level. There will be a better overall synchronisation, resulting in a more efficient and user-friendly experience for managing reports. Data management will also be improved and the duplication of reports will be avoided.

To prepare and inform EQAR-registered agencies on the planned changes, EQAR organised a webinar in December 2024, with 73 participants from 45 EQAR-registered QA agencies attending.

⇒ Check out the changes and benefits on our website, conveniently displayed in a table

Update Warsaw General Assembly

EQAR members gathered in Warsaw for the 24th EQAR General Assembly at a truly unique venue, the National Stadium, on 25 February 2025. The event was hosted by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, in the framework of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU.

The General Assembly kicked off by adopting the agenda, the minutes from the previous meeting, the accounts 2024, and the Work Plan for 2025-2026. The GA also took note of the Annual Report and the Progress Report for 2023/24.

In addition to the Thematic Session on EQAR’s contribution to the ESG revision process, there were also several appointments and nominations. The GA approved, among others, the nominations of the Register Committee, which included five re-nominations and five new ones.

Newly approved were Rihards Blese, Esther Huertas Hidalgo, Geneviève Le Fort, Petri Mantysaari and Liv Theresa Muth. Their two-year term starts on 1 July 2025. Eltjo Bazen, Sandra Bezjak, Irina Duma, Patricia Georgieva and Lewis Purser were renominated, also for a two-year term.

⇒ Find out more about the General Assembly, including the other appointments, on our website

Publication Annual Report

Right after the General Assembly in Warsaw, the Annual Report 2024 was published on our website. Last year was an eventful year in which a lot was accomplished, despite several challenges.

The year ended on a high note, with excellent financial results, the DEQAR milestone of 100 000 reports reached and our new Director at the helm.

Also, throughout the year, four Register Committee meetings took place (including two online), one online Members’ Dialogue was organised, one General Assembly was held in Brussels, and two online Extraordinary General Assemblies were convened. Additionally, seven papers/statements were published, the QA-FIT project was completed and a new Strategy for 2024-2028 was adopted.

⇒ Check out our Annual Report for a complete overview of our activities and accomplishments, including key statistics and financial statements

Newcomers webinar

Our first-ever newcomers webinar took place mid February. The webinar targeted our members, more specifically the recently appointed representatives of our members.

Ten newly appointed delegates (one of our social partners and nine of our governmental members) joined the event. It was an opportunity for them to get to know EQAR and its objectives, background (including a short Bologna history), structure, the Register Committee, the ESG, DEQAR, the EHEA, the Key Commitments and what to expect at our General Assembly and Members’ Dialogue. For us it was an opportunity to get to know our new delegates just in time before the EQAR General Assembly.

We plan to organise another Newcomers Webinar next year, or, in case there is a high demand, earlier.

Check out the presentation of the webinar on our website