Members
Benefits and services
ENQA is governed by its members, and so all members have the right to attend and vote at the bi-annual General Assembly meetings, and give input to matters related to the strategic development of the Association.
Membership criteria and fee
Membership of ENQA is open to quality assurance bodies in the area of higher education that:
- Are based in the European Higher Education Area; and
- Are compliant with the ESG Parts 2 and 3, demonstrated by an external review report or EQAR registration.
Membership is valid for five years and may be renewed by an updated proof of compliance with the ESG.
The membership fee is 5.518€ in 2026. The amount is indexed by 2% every year.
How to apply
Quality assurance agencies wishing to become a member of ENQA must first undergo an external review to assess their compliance with the ESG, which ENQA may coordinate (although agencies are free to choose another coordinating body). Further information about ENQA Agency Reviews is available here.
Decisions on membership are taken by the ENQA Board and endorsed by the General Assembly. Applications for ENQA membership should include:
- A letter indicating the motivation for becoming a member and how the applicant agency intends to contribute actively towards ENQA’s objectives; and
- A letter confirming the agency’s registration in EQAR or, for agencies not listed in EQAR, an independent external review report on the agency’s compliance with the ESG.
More information on how to become a member of ENQA is available in the document Pathways to ENQA membership (click here).
Grace period in ENQA membership
ENQA Board provides a grace period in ENQA membership for those agencies that are already members of the association and who have undergone an external review following the Guidelines for ENQA Agency Reviews.
Agencies, whose review reports are submitted for validation before the expiry of agencies’ membership in ENQA, are provided a grace period in retaining ENQA membership until the validated review report or the EQAR’s letter on Renewal of Registration reaches ENQA for the Board’s decision on membership. The grace period is valid solely for agencies renewing their membership in ENQA and enables them to keep a 5-year cycle for the external review against the ESG (see ESG 3.7).
General Complaints Policy for Third Parties
Individuals or organisations that have substantiated concerns about an ENQA member agency’s compliance with the ESG may address these to ENQA in line with the General Complaints Policy for Third Parties.
ENQA will consider complaints submitted by third parties only insofar as they relate to:
- an ENQA member agency’s compliance with the ESG;
- an ENQA member agency’s breach of ENQA’s Statutes or membership criteria;
- an ENQA member agency’s actions that are likely to prejudice ENQA’s reputation or effectiveness;
- the integrity of an ENQA-coordinated external review, ENQA validation of review report or any ENQA decision-making process that led to the agency’s admission or continued membership in ENQA.
ENQA does not have a mandate to:
- review or make any statement regarding individual accreditation, evaluation, or other external quality assurance decisions concerning specific higher education institutions or programmes, including the outcomes of such procedures;
- address complaints concerning higher education matters that fall outside the scope of the ESG;
- interpret or assure application of national legislation, European Union law, or other legal frameworks.
Full details of the principles, process and format for complaints can be found in the General Complaints Policy for Third Countries.