International quality standards are evolving, but England is watching from the sidelines

There’s been a general assumption that higher education in England should really be compliant with the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (the ESG).

It was noted by the House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee that England’s non-compliance with these international standards was causing problems – for providers looking to recruit internationally, or for those working in partnership with overseas providers.

A change of government means that the UK is once again considering resetting its relationship with Europe. It feels like this presents an opportunity to think again about why these standards are important.

Area studies

The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) was brought into being by the Bologna Declaration in 1999. It comprises the governments of the 49 member states, and consultative members representing main stakeholder groups. All key decisions are made by Ministers in conference. Ministers from the Westminster government represent England, Wales and Northern Ireland, while Scotland has separate membership and therefore can send its own Ministerial delegation. For context, this ENQA briefing note explains how the EHEA works.

At the core of the EHEA are three key commitments: degree structures built on a three-cycle system, a common qualifications framework, and a credit transfer and accumulation system; recognition of qualifications in line with the Lisbon Recognition Convention; and “creating a quality culture through quality assurance in line with the ESG”.

The most recent ministerial meeting was held in Tirana, Albania in May 2024 where the key commitments of the EHEA were reaffirmed in a ministerial communique, which emphasised the importance of the ESG in promoting trust and transparency within and between higher education systems. The Communique also set out plans for the evolution of the ESG:

To keep them in line with ongoing developments, challenges and expectations we invite the authors of the ESG to propose a revised version by 2026 to the BFUG, to be adopted by us at our 2027 Ministerial conference…

(Here the authors are the so-called E4 group, the European Association for Quality Assurance in HE (ENQA); the European Universities Association (EUA); EURASHE; and the European Students’ Union (ESU). The E4 will consult with Business Europe, Education International and EQAR.)

Reform

So, what does this reform programme look like? And will it affect the areas where England is currently non-compliant with the key commitment on quality assurance, and make the compliance map turn green again?

It’s too early to be sure. For the last three years, ENQA has co-ordinated an EU funded project called Quality Assurance Fit for the Future (QA-FIT) in conjunction with the other members of the E4 and EQAR. This project has seen widespread consultation amongst governments, HEIs, students’ unions and quality assurance agencies. While Scotland responded to the consultation, the UK government didn’t and only three UK HEIs did. An open webinar on Tuesday, 10 September (at 9:00 – 11:00am UK time) will provide an overview of the main project findings and the next steps for revision of the ESG.

What is clear, though, is the UK Government’s commitment to, in the words of the Tirana Communiqué,

…the seamless mobility of students and staff…

…supporting transnational cooperation…through better implementation of the key commitments….

…and continuing to promote the use of quality assurance and transparency tools, such as DEQAR.

We … ask the BFUG and its working structures to continue to develop and strengthen dialogue and collaboration with macro regions…. This includes…alignment and mutual understanding of quality assurance principles.

promote more robust and transparent quality assurance of transnational education delivered worldwide, in line with the ESG, to protect the interests of students

(The background to growing international demands for more robust quality assurance of TNE are set out in some detail in this paper.)

Delivery

These are strong words and delivering on them relies on a commitment by EHEA countries to the common principles and practices of the ESG, as a framework that facilitates trust and transparency in QA, and by consequence supports mobility and recognition to the benefit of students and staff.

In fact, the influence of the ESG now extends beyond the EHEA. ENQA has collaborated with regional partners in development of the African Standards and Guidelines and the ASEAN Quality Assurance Framework, and is currently working with partners in Latin America on mapping the ESG with the SIACES principles. This means that over 140 countries are adopting broadly similar approaches for QA with a shared ambition for transparency, mobility and the delivery of transferable qualifications at a global scale.

In this increasingly global quality assurance approach, the most adopted features of the ESG include: the universality of peer reviews of autonomous HEIs; transparency through full public reporting of quality assurance processes; inclusion of students at all levels of quality assurance practice; and independence of quality assurance agencies.

Because of the global traction of these principles, there is no prospect of any of these being rolled back as the ESG are revised. To do so would be to disadvantage the mobility of students and graduates, and the portability of their qualifications. In adopting these international benchmarks, nations recognise the fundamental importance of a shared approach to quality assurance in enabling the transparency, trust and mutual understanding that delivers this mobility.