The European Quality Assurance Forum (EQAF) provides a unique platform for the higher education and quality assurance (QA) communities to monitor, shape and anticipate developments in the field. The main purpose of the Forum is to foster a dialogue on QA that bridges national boundaries and leads to a truly European discussion on QA in higher education, and to create a common European understanding of QA through discussions and networking among different stakeholder groups.

Through a mix of plenary and parallel sessions, the 2014 EQAF, entitled “Changing education – QA and the shift from teaching to learning”, will combine practice-oriented or research-based discussions that will take place in the paper sessions and workshops with presentations of current developments in quality assurance.

Student-centred learning, diversified student populations and new modes of delivery have in recent years set in motion profound changes in higher education. Students are increasingly expected to be autonomous learners, and teachers to use innovative teaching methodologies and develop assessment methods that reflect this change. As a consequence, teacher-student interaction is changing, and institutional student support services need to evolve in order to facilitate a quality learning experience. This year, the Forum will explore whether and how current QA approaches are keeping up with and supporting developments in learning and teaching.