European Approach

The European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes (EA) was  designed to ease the accreditation of joint programmes that are offered by  different HEIs from different EHEA countries. The advantage of the EA is that the number of programme reviews for accreditation purposes may be reduced in case member states recognize the EA. Overall, the criteria do not  differ from the usual criteria for international programme accreditation in the  EHEA as they are based on the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) as well as on the Qualifications Framework for EHEA. Since the EA is designed to facilitate integrated approaches to quality assurance of joint programmes that genuinely reflect and mirror their joint character, there is a special focus on the specific features of joint programmes. In the light of these criteria, it is obvious that a programme review according to the European Approach is based on agreed tools of the EHEA. Specific national criteria are not part of an assessment procedure according to the European Approach.

For more information regarding the European Approach can be found in our manual.