The fourth webinar of the EUA series "Toward Tirana 2024, the Bologna Process and developments in the EHEA" provided an overview of the current discussions about the future of quality assurance in EHEA. This event took place on 5 March 2024, from 14.00 to 15.00 CET.

Quality assurance has been a key pillar of the Bologna Process from its beginning and is also considered as one of its success stories. Indeed, most countries in the EHEA have now implemented a quality assurance system in line with the requirements of the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the EHEA (the “ESG”), which were first adopted in 2005 and in revised in 2015. However, in recent years higher education provision has been changing rapidly, including the mainstreaming of e-learning, the emergence of micro-credentials, the launch of the European Universities Initiative, and the renewed importance of the third mission of higher education institutions - all of which raises questions about the continued relevance and applicability of the ESG. In addition, there are pressures to widen the scope of the ESG to cover new areas such as academic values, the social dimension of higher education, and the digital and green transitions.

This webinar presented the outcomes of the Quality Assurance Fit for the Future (QA-FIT) project, which gathered data on the views and expectations of stakeholders on the future of quality assurance, as well as current discussions within the Bologna Process on the ESG beyond the Tirana Ministerial Conference.

Speakers

• Anna Gover, Director, European Association for Quality Assurance (ENQA)
• Horia Onita, President, European Students’ Union (ESU)

Maria Kelo, Director for Institutional Development at EUA, will moderate the webinar.