Following the 2024 external review of ENQA Agency Reviews, the ENQA Secretariat carried out a comprehensive revision of the Guidelines for ENQA Agency Reviews and related templates. The changes reflect the recommendations of the external review, insights from the annual analyses of agency reviews, and new provisions introduced in ENQA’s Statutes and Rules of Procedure approved in October 2025. The updated Guidelines were approved by the ENQA Board in December 2025 and are available here.
Key changes include:
- The Guidelines now apply to all types of ENQA Agency Reviews – full, focused and targeted. Specific provisions for focused and targeted reviews are set out in Annexes 1 and 2, respectively. Information on focused reviews (formerly partial reviews) has been updated to reflect recent agreements with EQAR on the process name and timeline.
- A new policy on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in ENQA Agency reviews has been introduced as Annex 5. The policy provides guidance for agencies, reviewers, and review coordinators on the responsible and ethical use of AI, promoting transparency and consistency throughout the review process.
- Several previously standalone documents – the ENQA Code of conduct for reviewers, Protocol for external observers and Policy on force majeure – have been integrated into the Guidelines as annexes.
- Information on applying for ENQA membership has been moved to a separate document, Pathways to ENQA membership, ensuring a clearer distinction between the review process and membership decision-making.
- In line with the decoupling of agency reviews and membership decision-making, the Guidelines now include a specific appeals and complaints procedure for agency reviews. This allows agencies to raise concerns about the review process or appeal the statement on overall ESG compliance immediately after the review concludes, and also applies to agencies undergoing ENQA-coordinated reviews without seeking ENQA membership.
- The review timeline has been shortened, with the review process now expected to take 9–11 months instead of up to 14 months.
- The definitions of the three-point compliance scale (compliant, partially compliant and non-compliant) have been refined to improve clarity, usability, and consistency of interpretation while retaining the same number of levels and requirements.
- The external review report template and guide of content for the self-assessment report have been updated with more detailed instructions on the expected content.
The updated Guidelines and related templates have been in effect since their approval in December 2025. There is a transition period until 1 April 2026, during which using the new templates, for example, for SAR drafting, remains optional. From 1 April 2026 onward, all review documents should be prepared using the new templates and comply with the updated Guidelines.