External Review Of ENQA Agency Reviews
Background
In 2019, ENQA underwent an external evaluation of its agency review process. The aim of this exercise was to:
- Assess how the principles outlined in the standards of the ESG Parts 2 and 3 for quality assurance agencies are reflected in ENQA’s reviews of agencies (while adapting the standards to the context and work of ENQA); and
- Examine how ENQA procedures contribute to the improvement of the quality of work in agencies and allow for innovative approaches to quality assurance processes.
The review was coordinated by NIFU (the Nordic Institute for Studies and Innovation, Research and Education) and conducted by an international expert panel of quality assurance stakeholders.
As a basis for the review, ENQA prepared a self-assessment report. A site visit took place in September 2019, and the final report was published in December 2019.
As a result of the review, ENQA made several changes to the agency reviews:
- Revising the review methodology, including unbundling the review process from the membership decision-making; clarifying the aims and objectives of progress visits; changing the compliance assessment scale and establishing the Agency Review Committee
- Preparing a policy on internal quality assurance of ENQA Agency Reviews
- Improving the visibility of procedures for appeals and complaints.
