The event organized by Thematic Group C on Quality Assurance (TPG C) brought together in the period from June 13 – 14, 2024 in Constanta (Romania) representatives of higher education quality assurance agencies, representatives of ministries, as well as all relevant stakeholders in the quality assurance system throughout the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).
Thematic Group C was formed within the umbrella Bologna Follow-Up Group (BFUG) to fulfill one of the three key commitments arising from the Bologna reforms, which is related to the quality assurance of higher education.
Milica Kavedžić, Deputy Director of ACQAHE and representative of Montenegro in the Bologna Follow-Up Group (BFUG) presented the level of implementation of the Action Plan of Montenegro in the BFUG in the period from the renewal of Montenegro’s membership in this Group until today.
On this occasion, the Deputy Director presented the Internal Analysis of Compliance with European Standards and Guidelines (ESG) from May 2024 and highlighted the challenges that ACQAHE is currently facing, especially regarding compliance with ESG standard 3.3. which emphasizes the need to achieve independence in the work of agencies.
The Director of the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance, Cristina Ghitulica, also the Chair of the TPG C Group, presented the past achievements and plans, stating that during the Ministerial Conference in Tirana, the positive results of the work of this Group were highlighted, with the belief that this practice will continue in the coming period.
This event was also an opportunity to present the conclusions of the Ministerial Conference in Tirana, especially in the part concerning the official letter of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), which sent a request to the ministers of the EHEA countries to support quality assurance agencies on the way to fulfilling the ESG, and especially in the following three activities:
- Ensure that national legislative frameworks allow quality assurance agencies to operate in compliance with the ESG
- Enable international collaboration by reducing national-level barriers in quality assurance and higher education while enhancing transparency
- Maintain the relevance and added value of external quality assurance by allowing quality assurance agencies to implement flexible and enhancement-oriented approaches
In the second part of the Agenda, the emphasis was placed on digitization processes, the concept of the “European diploma”, micro-credentials, and it was also agreed that the priorities in the upcoming period of the Group’s work will be focused on the following topics: the European approach in ensuring the quality of joint programs, thematic analysis, digitization of processes, as well as internationalization strategies.
The event in Constanta was an opportunity for a series of bilateral meetings with representatives of agencies from Slovakia, Romania, Latvia, Austria, Lithuania and Bosnia and Herzegovina to share expertise on the way to fulfilling the ESG 3.3 standard, which refers to the Agency’s independence.