Targeted reviews
About targeted reviews
Developed jointly with EQAR, ENQA provides QA agencies an ESG review that focuses on the agencies’ remaining challenges in reaching compliance with the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG), while at the same time further strengthening the enhancement aspect of the review, thus offering a shorter and more resource-mindful review process. Targeted reviews against the ESG are designed to result in the same type of decision on agencies’ renewal of membership in ENQA or registration in EQAR as a full review.
The targeted review will cover standards that were found partially compliant during the agency’s last review and on standards that could have been affected by recent substantive changes (e.g. organisational changes, the launch of new external QA activities). The targeted review also includes an enhancement element; the agency will be expected to reflect on its consideration of internal quality assurance (ESG 2.1) and at least one other ESG.
“The principal aim of a targeted review is to provide the agencies that have successfully undergone at least two full ESG reviews with an alternative way to assessing their compliance with the ESG.”
Focus areas
Focus areas | Applicability |
All the standards with a ‘partial compliance’ conclusion in the EQAR Register Committee’s last renewal decision, or in ENQA’s review report (relevant only for agencies that are not registered in EQAR). This applies to all external QA activities of the agency as included in the last full review against the ESG. | Applicable to all |
ESG 2.1 | Applicable to all |
One further enhancement area selected from among standards of Part 2 or 3 of the ESG that is not yet included in the targeted review (i.e., no standard with a ‘partial compliance’ conclusion from the last full review can be selected as an enhancement area) | Applicable to all |
Standards 2.1 to 2.7 for the external QA activities that were newly launched or changed since the agency’s last full review against the ESG | If the case |
Any standards affected by other substantive changes (organisational identity or structure, other fields of activity and separation of activities among themselves) | If the case |
Any other matters regarding ESG compliance that come up during the targeted review. If during the targeted review process panel members notice issues outside of | If the case |
Eligibility
The targeted review is open to all ENQA member agencies wishing to renew their membership who have been through at least two full ESG reviews, and a targeted review can be used as an alternative to a full review every ten years (with a full ESG review in between, five years after a targeted review). The procedure is available for all EQAR-registered agencies that have had at least two consecutive external reviews against the ESG that led to a registration/renewal decision by the EQAR Register Committee before engaging in the targeted review (more details are available here)
Further information
Further information on targeted reviews is also available on EQAR’s website.