Networks for quality assurance
We have been admitted as members of Nordic, European and global associations and organisations that are all centred around external quality assurance, accreditation and evaluation within the field of education.
See all the networks here.
The Danish Accreditation Institution has been a full member of ENQA since 2010 (at that time our institution was called ACE Denmark – Accreditation Institution). In 2016, the Danish the Danish Accreditation Institution once again underwent ENQA accreditation. We submitted our self-evaluation report in January 2016 and received the positive decision on continued membership in October 2016.
Read more about the ENQA review here
ENQA stands for the European Association for Quality Assurance of Higher Education. In brief, ENQA is an association of European quality assurance institutions within higher education.
ENQA collects information, experiences and good quality assurance practice in the field of higher education. They disseminate their knowledge to institutions working with quality assurance like the Danish Accreditation Institution. The network is also aimed at public authorities and education institutions that offer higher education programmes.
An external accreditation by an independent international panel is required before you can be registered in ENQA.
The Danish Accreditation Institution is a member of the European Quality Assurance Register, EQAR. Membership of the register means that the Danish accreditation model has achieved international approval.
Denmark is a member of the Nordic network NOQA which stands for Nordic Quality Assurance Network in Higher Education. The aim of NOQA is to create a framework for an open dialogue, sparring and knowledge-sharing between institutions that work with the quality assurance of higher education. This is brought about with the help of exchanging experience and establishing collaborative projects.
Each year, NOQA takes the initiative for a joint project with participants from all member organisations.
INQAAHE (International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education) is a global amalgamation of about 200 organisations that work with the theory and practice of quality assurance in connection with higher education programmes.
The chief purpose of the network is to collect and pass on information on current theories and practices in connection with assessing, improving and maintaining the quality of higher education programmes.
The purpose of ECA (European Consortium for Accreditation) is to analyse and communicate knowledge based on the experience and practices of member organisations in the field of quality assurance. We have begun work on two ECA projects:
Qrossroads: among other things, the Qrossroads (QR) project offers students the opportunity to search for information on accredited programmes in Europe in connection with exchange sojourns, for instance.
Audits and accrediting institutions: the project focuses on institutional accreditation and audits, including the training and use of experts, the quality assurance of internationalisation, accrediting private universities and the effects of quality assurance.
The Danish Evaluation Society (DES) is an academic community and network of professional and private individuals. DES works with evaluation, effect measurement and quantitative and qualitative analyses, etc.
Other networks
STAR – Students’ Accreditation Council
In 2014, we formed STAR – the Students’ Accreditation Council. STAR was set up to ensure ongoing dialogue on quality assurance and development between the Danish Accreditation Institution and students. STAR also provides scope for student dialogue about the quality of education – across Denmark’s student organisations, across subject fields and across different types of higher education institutions.
Learning Analytics Network
In 2017, the Danish Accreditation Institution took steps to establish a Danish network for everyone interested in Learning Analytics. The key element in Learning Analytics is use and analysis of data on students to improve their learning and education. This field has gained ground in the world of education abroad, and some Danish education institutions have started to explore the possibilities within the field. Therefore, the Danish Accreditation Institution sees a need to develop knowledge about the field and contribute to transversal discussions on the possibilities and pitfalls. On this basis, the Learning Analytics Network was established.
Projects
ESQA – Effective involvement of stakeholders in external quality assurance activities
We are currently involved as a partner in the project “Effective involvement of stakeholders in external quality assurance activities” (ESQA) led by the Romanian Ministry of National Education. The project is funded by the Erasmus+ programme Key Action 3 – Support to Policy Reform.
Project duration: 1 May 2019 – 30 April 2021.
The ESQA project aims to support the activity of the Peer Group C on stakeholders’ involvement in external quality assurance (EQA). It will explore various categories of stakeholder engagement and expectations stakeholders have towards EQA with the aim to make this engagement effective and diversified. Recommendations will be provided to the national authorities and QA agencies in terms of stakeholders’ involvement, regarding ways to strengthen dialogue and cooperation, as well for their effective involvement in QA processes. A Study and a Guideline on stakeholders’ involvement will be developed, and respectively peer-learning activities will be organised with the participation of the TPG C on QA members.
The consortium includes five QA agencies:
- the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education, ARACIS
- the High Council for the evaluation of Research and Higher education, Hcéres
- the National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency, NEAA
- the Danish Accreditation Institution, AI
- the National Agency for Quality Assurance in Education and Research, ANACEC
It also includes European stakeholder organisations representing QA agencies (the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education, ENQA), HEIs (the European Association of Institutions in Higher Education, EURASHE) and students (the European Students’ Union, ESU).
Read more on the ESQA project website