AEQES • Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education

AEQES is an independent, public sector agency established in 2002 by a decree of the French Community government of Belgium. Today it functions on the basis of further legislation voted in 2008. Its steering committee comprises representatives from the four sectors of higher education, as well as individuals from the students’ organisations, the trade-unions, the labour market and civil society (including quality experts from abroad). AEQES is funded by the government of the French Community of Belgium. It is operationally independent of the institutions of higher education, the ministry of higher education and the government of the French Community.

AEQES is responsible for assessing the quality of higher education (the four sectors of which include: art academies and conservatories, adult learning institutions, universities, and university colleges or “hautes écoles”) and working for its continuous improvement. The agency practices formative evaluation based on a dialogue between all stakeholders within the French Community and evaluates the programmes via on-site visits and follow-up procedures. In line with its code of ethics, it selects its experts, informs them of their mission and its context, and ensures that they can carry out their work in complete independence. This work is completed by the publication of all reports on AEQES’s website.

The agency aims to stimulate cooperation among HEIs, developing a quality culture and disseminating good practices.

AEQES’s most recent external review report can be found here.

AEQES is registered on EQAR.