The establishment of the European Higher Education Area has been vital in the process of internationalisation, bringing the focus on the necessity to have common standards and guidelines for higher education.
To this end, ENQA was first established in 2000 as the European Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education to promote European cooperation in the field of quality assurance in higher education. In 2004, it became the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education with the aim to contribute to the maintenance and enhancement of the quality of European higher education, and to act as a major driving force for the development of quality assurance across all the Bologna Process signatory countries.
ENQA is a membership association which serves and represents its members at the European level and internationally. ENQA members are quality assurance organisations from the European Higher Education Area that operate in the field of higher education.
AVAP achieved ENQA membership in July 2022, and to this end we have undergone a process that includes the following parts:
- Self Assessment Report: The first main stage of the review process is the production of an analytical self-assessment report (SAR) by the agency under review.
- External Evaluation: The external review is conducted by a panel consisting of a review chair, review secretary and two (exceptionally three) more panel members. The task of the review panel is to evaluate the agency’s activities and provide their view on whether it is acting in compliance with the ESG. This is done by thorough assessment of the SAR and additional material such as the website and requested documents, and a site visit to the agency.
- Expert Panel Report: The panel drafts an external review report, which includes evidence and analysis regarding the agency’s compliance with the ESG. For each standard, the report will provide a judgement of compliant, partially compliant or non-compliant. The report will also include recommendations, commendations and suggestions for further development. The agency is given two weeks to review the draft report for factual corrections and then it is scrutinised by the ENQA Agency Review Committee for clarity and consistency. The review report is considered to be final once validated by the Committee. The report and statement from the Committee will be published on ENQA’s website. The agency can then use the external review report to apply for ENQA membership or EQAR listing.
More information on the complete process undergone by AVAP may be found here:
Being AVAP part of ENQA, the following step to be internationally recognized was to be listed in the EQAR Register. AVAP is proud to officially annouce that is now listed in the EQAR Register (European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education). EQAR is the EHEA’s official register of Quality Assurance Agencies, listing those that substantially comply with the European Standards and Guidelines (ESG).
AVAP has achieved an important milestone in its history by joining EQAR in February 2023. This achievement has been the result of years of work and dedication by AVAP. The entry in the EQAR register is a recognition of the quality and excellence of the agency’s work in the field of higher education evaluation and foresight.
EQAR is an independent, non-profit organisation that aims to promote quality assurance in higher education in Europe. To this end, it sets rigorous and transparent standards for the evaluation and accreditation of quality assurance agencies in higher education. Spanish regulations require agencies to be listed in the EQAR register in order to have full competence in quality management in higher education. From now AVAP will be the agency in the Valencian Community with full competences for the verification of new degrees, modification of study programmes and institutional accreditation, apart from those that had been carrying out.
- More information on the complete process to be listed in EQAR may be found here: