In September 2018, the BFUG formally established the Thematic Peer Group C on Quality Assurance (TPG C on QA) to support the implementation of the key commitment on quality assurance within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). As reaffirmed by the EHEA ministers in the 2024 Tirana Communiqué, the key commitment to quality assurance focuses on promoting a quality culture in higher education, fostered by fit-for-purpose quality assurance processes in line with the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG).
Ministers acknowledged in the Tirana Communiqué the important contribution of the Thematic Peer Groups under the guidance of the Bologna Implementation Coordination Group in improving the implementation status of the key commitments, although, as confirmed by the 2024 Bologna Process Implementation Report, the overall implementation is still incomplete and uneven. Therefore, the ministers have committed “to ensuring that we have, or will devise, and will publish appropriate action plans to address any remaining implementation gaps.” The need to “promote more robust and transparent quality assurance of transnational education delivered worldwide, in line with the ESG, to protect the interests of students.” was also underlined.
The SIQA project is supporting the work of the TPG C on QA, building on the achievements and best practices from the IMINQA project that supported the work of the TPG C during 2022-2025. The project will focus on providing support to TPG C members through thematic peer support and learning activities, transnational dialogue, and exchange of good practice.
The project is thereby actively contributing to address the remaining gaps and challenges in EHEA countries in the implementation of the ESG and other Bologna Process commitments related to QA, such as those in the field of cross-border quality assurance (CBQA) procedures, the use of the European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes (EA) and quality assurance of transnational education.
The general objectives of the project are:
Under the project ENQA will coordinate a working group on cross-border quality assurance and prepare thematic analyses on key issues for QA in the EHEA.
ARACIS – Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education, Romania (coordinator)
ANQA – National Center for Professional Education Quality Assurance, Armenia
Hcéres – High Council for the Evaluation of Research and Higher Education, France
Cti – Commission des titres d’ingénieur, France
ENQA – European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education
EQAR – European Quality Assurance Register
Call: ERASMUS-EDU-2024-EHEA – European Higher Education Area (EHEA). This call was published to support EHEA countries to further cooperate within the Bologna process and to implement its priorities.
Duration: June 2025 – May 2028 (36 months)
For further information, please contact Elena Cirlan.
