Quality in Europe

H

igher education has seen significant changes across Europe over the last several years. These are having, still today, an impact on all education systems of the continent. Among the milestones of the construction of the integrated European space of higher education (EEES) having had an impact on the European quality policy, one should note:

• the Recommendations of the Council of the European Union of 24 September 1998 on European cooperation for quality assurance in higher education (1998 - 98/561/EC) invited Member States to put in place "transparent quality assessment systems."
• In June 1999, twenty nine ministers of higher education signed the Bologna Declaration, committing to the creation of an integrated European space of higher education (EEES). This implied, among other things, the installation of a system of legible and comparable diplomas and the organisation of studies into three cycles (Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate)
• In September 2003 the Berlin communiqué specified that the primary responsibility for quality assurance is the responsibility of each institution. It recommended the assessment of programmes and teaching institutions, but also evaluation agencies. Identified there were the four principle actors in quality: ENQA, EUA, EURASHE and ESU.
• In 2005, in the Bergen communiqué, the ministers adopted the Standards and guidelines for quality management in the European space of higher education (ESG). Through the adoption of this text, the ministers accepted that the assessment of higher education is based on three inseparable phases: auto-assessment, external assessment by peers and publication of results. A new version of the ESS, reworked in order to improve clarity, applicability and usefulness was approved in Yerevan in 2015. These ESG are at the foundation of quality processes organised in European higher education
• In 2024, the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) adopted core values at the Tirana Ministerial Conference in Albania, marking a significant step forward in the promotion of the core values of higher education advocated by the Council of Europe. EHEA ministers reaffirmed their commitment to academic freedom, integrity and institutional autonomy, among other core values. These values are considered essential to fostering safe, open and inclusive educational environments that encourage critical thinking, tolerance and peaceful discourse. Other key resolutions included strengthening the three-cycle education system, improving recognition of qualifications in member states, further implementing the Council of Europe/Unesco Convention and promoting quality assurance in line with established standards. In addition, the conference stressed the need for innovative approaches to education to meet the demands of the digital and ecological transitions, ensuring that higher education remains central to the transformation of society.
  Work has officially begun on the revision of the ESG.