The Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA) published the Guidelines for External Quality Assurance Audits of Further Education Institutions and Further Education Centres.

The guidelines are intended to support Further Education Institutions and Further Education Centres (hereafter referred to as FEIs) in preparing for the External Quality Assurance (EQA) audits conducted by the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA).

The procedures presented are contextualised and respect the national and European standards for internal quality assurance (IQA). Self-evaluation is the central element in QA procedures and serves as the backbone of an institution’s QA process. This implies that institutions must learn how to engage with, review and evaluate their IQA policies and procedures. Only in this way will providers develop a quality assurance culture, strategy and approach. This will prepare them to be able to handle an external quality assurance audit which will identify good practices and room for improvements to enhance the student learning experience.

The procedures also acknowledge the role that the MFHEA has in this regard and the legal parameters in which it operates. Given that QA has a dual function – that of quality control and accountability – both the internal and external quality assurance procedures need to be taken extremely seriously.

Read the full guidelines here.