Quality Assurance Projects and Events
SEQA-ESG project
‘Supporting European QA Agencies in meeting the ESG’ (SEQA-ESG) project was launched in June 2020. The main objective of the project is to support European QA agencies and national authorities in six countries (Albania, the Czech Republic, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, and Slovakia) to establish a quality assurance system in line with the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG), which is one of the Bologna Process key commitments.
More specifically, the project aims to achieve:
- legal frameworks in line with ESG compliance;
- alignment of the QA processes to the ESG peer-review method;
- connection of national criteria with the ESG;
- appropriate methods and criteria for the involvement of peer reviewers; and
- stakeholder involvement in external QA.
Activities:
To reach the objectives, the following activities are foreseen in the project:
- Peer counselling in the six countries, gathering national authorities, the agency and key stakeholders. The key outcome of the activity is a national action plan for QA development (six in total).
- Peer support workshops on four key themes (QA methodology, QA criteria, review experts and stakeholders). The workshops target all QA agencies from the six partner countries (total of 25 people/workshop).
- Staff exchanges between agencies (six in total), with multiplier presentations upon return, and
- Creation of agency action plans for a review against the ESG (six in total).
ENQA is the coordinator of this project: https://www.enqa.eu/projects/supporting-european-qa-agencies-in-meeting-the-esg-seqa-esg/
For more information about the SEQA-ESG project please contact qa.mfhea@mt
SEQA-ESG National Action Plan – Malta
The Malta national action plan identifies priority areas and related objectives, which are intended to direct the activities of the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA) in the coming year. In line with the Authority’s aim of developing and enhancing quality assurance in the Maltese higher education sector, the national action plan includes the alignment of the agency’s core procedures with the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG).
A working group of 8 people was set up by the MFHEA early in 2021 to contribute to an initial draft, in line with the Authority’s 2030 Strategic Vision for Further and Higher Education in Malta. A variety of stakeholders drawn from different sectors of society were invited to discuss the Authority’s short and long-term objectives for sustaining and developing quality standards in Malta’s further and higher education areas.
The implementation roadmap for the action plan will include a detailed timeline, outlining the responsibilities and personnel involved as well as planned outcomes to ensure that the Authority reaches its stated objectives.
Read the report here.
SEQA-ESG peer learning workshops
The 1st SEQA-ESG thematic peer learning workshop discussed the alignment of processes and methods to ESG. The workshop took place on the 18th and 19th October 2021.
The 2nd SEQA-ESG peer learning workshop ‘National Criteria and the ESG’ was implemented online on 29 and 30 November 2021.
SEQA-ESG Workshop: Peer review Experts
The 3rd SEQA-ESG peer learning workshop “Peer review experts” was held in Montenegro on 12th and 13th May 2022. The MFHEA presented a poster addressing the challenges related to peer review experts. View poster here.
SEQA-ESG Workshop: Stakeholder involvement
The 4th SEQA-ESG peer learning workshop “Stakeholder involvement” was held in Malta on 28th and 29th June 2022. The workshop addressed the involvement of stakeholders at all levels, and through a number of the agencies’ activities. This includes their involvement in the governance and work of the agency, but also their participation in the design of methodologies and criteria for EQA.
The presentations included examples from the hosts (Malta, Moldova, Slovakia). Mr Lawrence Azzopardi, Head of Accreditation, Licensing, Validation and Quality Assurance, presented the MFHEA’s examples of reaching compliance with ESG 3.1.
Training for Peer Reviewers on FHE Provider EQA Audits
Online session on Monday 28th September 2020
- Introduction to the Quality Assurance in Higher Education by Dr Anca Prisacariu
The sessions will give participants a thorough understanding of terminology and conceptualisation, the history and evolution of quality assurance in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), as well as its impact on the National Quality Assurance Framework for Further and Higher Education (NQAF) in Malta.
- Contextualising the National Quality Assurance Framework (NQAF) by Ms Edel Cassar
The presentation will give a brief outline of the background (leading) to the NQAF and the importance of quality assurance audits and peer reviewers.
- The National Quality Assurance Framework for Further and Higher education (NQAF) and the 11 Standardsby Dr Anca Prisacariu
The presentation will give detailed information about the 11 Standards. It will list the Standards and focus on Standards 1 – 11, whereby licensed institutions by the NCFHE agree to undergo an External Quality Assurance Audit, which verifies that their Internal Quality Assurance mechanisms are in place and fit for purpose.
- Preparation for an EQA Audit visit as an EQA Panel Member by Ing. Pierre Dalmas
Preparing for the meeting with the Provider and the scoping visit; conducting interviews on the on-site audit visit; psychological preparation, roles of the different team members, attitude, rigour. Essential skills for the Chair of the Review panel.
- Assessing Quality Assurance in Diverse Contexts – sharing audit experiences by Dr Anca Prisacariu
Scope and focus of the External Quality Audit; dealing with subjectivity, triangulation, observation, etc.