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 5,304€ per 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.
Applications should be submitted to the ENQA Secretariat according to the following deadlines.
| Application method | Application deadline |
|---|---|
| Organisations already listed in EQAR | 20 days before a scheduled meeting of the ENQA board |
| Organisations not listed in EQAR but using an ENQA-coordinated external review report for their application | 40 days prior to a scheduled meeting of the ENQA Board |
| Organisations not listed in EQAR and using an external review report coordinated by an organisation other than ENQA | 40 days prior to a scheduled meeting of the ENQA Agency Review Committee |
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 will undergo an ENQA-coordinated review (i.e., a full or targeted review) following the revised Guidelines for ENQA Agency Reviews (2021), including the revised decision-making procedure (pp. 28-30).
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).
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 Complaints Policy for Third Parties.
ENQA will only consider complaints that are related to:
- a member agency’s compliance with the ESG
- the integrity of the external review and decision-making process on the basis of which the agency was admitted as a member in ENQA
Full details of the principles, process and format for complaints can be found in the Complaints Policy.