The European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) is a consultative member of the Bologna Follow-Up Group.

Official website

ENQA was first established as the European Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education in 2000 to promote European cooperation in the field of quality assurance (QA) in higher education. In 2004, it became the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education. ENQA is a membership association of quality assurance organisations in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) that operate in line with the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the EHEA (the ESG). 

ENQA’s mission is to drive the development of quality assurance in the European Higher Education Area by representing agencies internationally, supporting them nationally, and providing them with comprehensive services and networking opportunities. ENQA promotes the enhancement of quality and the development of a quality culture in higher education.

More information about ENQA can be found on its website here.

Involvement in the Bologna Process

Active participation in the Bologna Follow-Up Group (BFUG) as a consultative member forms an important part of ENQA’s policymaking role. ENQA has participated in various working and advisory groups of the BFUG along the years. 

In cooperation and consultation with the other E4 members (EUA, EURASHE and ESU), ENQA had the important task of preparing the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area(ESG) which were adopted by the European ministers of education in the Bergen Summit of May 2005. In 2012, the E4, together with Business Europe, Education International and EQAR, were asked to prepare an initial proposal for revised ESG to be submitted to the BFUG. The ESG 2015 were adopted in Yerevan in May 2015. 

ENQA and the rest of the E4 are also the co-founders of the European Quality Assurance Register in Higher Education (EQAR), which was launched in 2008 at the request of European ministers of education in Bergen (2005) and London (2007). The E4 organisations are members of EQAR’s Executive Board and General Assembly and each nominate two members of the Register Committee.

ENQA contributes to the ministerial conferences by producing position papers and reports that take stock of the developments in the area of QA in the EHEA since the previous ministerial meeting.

Publications

ENQA produces publications discussing the developments in European quality assurance.