By Goran Đaković, Head of Agency Reviews, ENQA
Quality assurance in higher education is not a one-off effort but a continuous journey of refinement and improvement. In the same way as QA agencies should have consistent follow-up processes for considering the action taken by higher education institutions (HEIs), ENQA has designed various measures to support agencies’ work in between their reviews. With a strong commitment to enhancement, ENQA Agency Reviews not only evaluate whether agencies meet the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) but also support the next steps in order to facilitate meaningful and impactful review cycles.
ENQA Agency Reviews consist of a comprehensive ‘wrap around’ service that support all steps from preparation to reflection and action on outcomes. The follow-up on recommendations from the review panel is facilitated through various required and voluntary mechanisms:
1. Follow-Up Reports: Tracking Progress with Precision. Two years after a full review, ENQA requires agencies to submit a follow-up report detailing how they have addressed the recommendations provided in the external review report. This serves as a checkpoint for agencies to evaluate their progress, demonstrate tangible developments, and reflect on areas that still require attention. It also reinforces a culture of accountability towards internal and external stakeholders.
2. Voluntary Progress Visits: A Focused Approach to Enhancement. For agencies seeking more enhancement-oriented and strategically driven dialogue, ENQA offers voluntary progress visits as part of the full reviews. These visits, conducted two to three years after the external review, provide a space for agencies to engage in such a dialogue that is at times difficult to achieve during the review site visits. Focused on the agency’s specific needs and priorities, progress visits provide an opportunity for an in-depth external review on key development areas, helping agencies to strategically plan their future work. Agencies are free to propose the topics that they would like to address in the progress visit, with recent examples including discussion on the agencies’ portfolio of EQA activities, engagement with stakeholders, financial sustainability, etc.
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“For AEQES, the progress visit matched an important phase of internal reflection on our external QA system. This visit not only enabled us to benefit from the experts’ views on these reflections, but also highlighted which priorities we should bear in mind when implementing our new model.” Eva Jaroszewski, Director at AEQES (Belgium) |
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3. ENQA’s Targeted Reviews’ Follow-Up Seminar: Harnessing the Benefits of Peer Learning. While the outcomes of an external review are unique to each agency, there are many commonalities in key areas for development. Follow-up seminars offer a platform for agencies to engage in discussions with peers facing similar challenges. Through structured dialogue and collaborative problem-solving, agencies can share good practices, gain new perspectives, and refine their approaches to quality assurance. Dedicated seminars are held every two to three years for agencies that underwent full reviews and targeted reviews. Following the introduction of targeted reviews in 2021, the first follow-up seminar took place in November 2024 and proved to be a valuable opportunity to discuss review outcomes and subsequent actions in collaboration with agencies at a similar stage of development, as well as discussing (new) needs of the HE sector through the eyes of external QA. Topics covered included discussions on ESG 2.2, 3.1 and 3.6 and a keynote on how can external QA contribute to change in a HEI.
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“Follow-ups are good practice, as they strengthen the developmental aspects of external QA. This is also true for agencies themselves: reflecting on the outcomes of ENQA reviews, outlining the lessons learned, giving feedback to ENQA and other agencies – this strengthens and enlarges the impact of the reviews.” Jürgen Petersen, Managing Director at AQ-Austria |
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The requirements and opportunities outlined above contribute to the added value of ENQA’s Agency Reviews, which can be summarised under three key benefits: structured and holistic approach to enhancement, peer learning and knowledge exchange, and professional and expert support for development. Looking ahead, ENQA will be reflecting on the evaluation of recent initiatives and further improvements to its Agency Reviews, based on our own external review report, which will be published in early April.