The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education in Andorra (AQUA) participated in the General Assembly of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), held from October 23-25 in Malta and hosted by the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA). This event brought together agencies from across Europe to discuss “Quality Assurance Beyond the ESG” and explore future trends in higher education standards.
Taking advantage of this international gathering, AQUA signed a collaboration agreement with some European quality assurance agencies that share our mission and objectives. The agreement was formalized between AQUA and the Cyprus Agency of Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education (CYQAA), the Icelandic Agency for Quality Assurance (IAQA), the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA), and the Agency for Control and Quality Assurance of Higher Education (ACQAHE).
The purpose of this agreement is to strengthen joint efforts and improve the quality of higher education through various initiatives. The main commitments include:
- Mutual understanding: Promote an understanding of each agency's quality assurance methods, as well as their systems and criteria, to improve educational standards.
- Information exchange: Share information and best practices regarding policies, updates, and procedures of the respective higher education systems, respecting confidentiality and data protection laws.
- Staff development: Support the professional development of teams through activities such as staff exchanges, observation of review processes, and training.
- Use of each other's reviewers: Where appropriate and possible, draw on reviewers or other specialists from each other's system to strengthen the international dimension of each other's review processes.
- Project collaboration: Collaborate on projects of common interest, such as transnational education, identifying fraudulent institutions, supporting student mobility, and conducting quality assurance research.
More specifically, the ultimate objectives of this collaboration agreement are:
- Sharing information and resources on developments and practices in quality assurance.
- Exchanging experiences on academic integrity, micro-credentials, and institutional and program accreditation.
- Consulting on the improvement of accreditation standards.
- Supporting ENQA and EQAR assessments.
- Promoting mobility and training for quality experts.
- Integrating new technologies in quality assurance processes.
- Jointly organizing events on specific quality assurance topics.
This collaboration will enhance the quality of higher education in Andorra, positioning AQUA within the international quality assurance community and further advancing the excellence of the country’s educational system.