The European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education was established in 2000 as European Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education to promote European co-operation in this field. The idea for the association originates from the European Pilot Project for Evaluating Quality in Higher Education (1994-1995) which demonstrated the value of sharing and developing experience in the area of quality assurance. Subsequently, the idea was given momentum by the Recommendation of the Council (September 24, 1998) on European co-operation in quality assurance in higher education and by the Bologna Declaration (1999). In November 2004 the General Assembly transformed the Network into the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA). The European Commission has, through grant support, financed the activities of ENQA since the very beginning.

ENQA Mission Statement

The mission of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) is to contribute significantly to the maintenance and enhancement of the quality of European higher education at a high level, and to act as a major driving force for the development of quality assurance across all the Bologna signatory countries.

ENQA’s Objectives

• to encourage and develop the exchange of information and experience relating to the quality assurance of higher education, in particular on methodological developments and examples of good practice;
• to function as a policy forum, developing and proposing standards, procedures and guidelines for quality assurance;
• to fulfil requests for expertise and advice from European Ministers of Education, national and regional public authorities and other bodies associated with the European Higher Education Area (EHEA);
• to facilitate quality assurance activities in the area of transnational higher education;
• to promote the development and implementation of effective systems for quality assurance and accreditation agencies;
• to co-ordinate the management of reviews of quality assurance and accreditation agencies;
• to maintain and develop co-operation with other appropriate European stakeholder organisations;
• to contribute to the establishment of the EHEA;
• to conduct dialogues with other networks and regions.

ENQA Membership

The European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education is open for quality assurance agencies across all the Bologna signatory countries. ENQA has 2 levels of membership: Full and Full members under review. Besides, ENQA may approve affiliate requests within ENQA to the organisations or agencies with a demonstrable interest in the quality assurance of higher education. To this date there are 51 full member agencies from 28 countries and 51 agencies and organisations from 35 countries having affiliate status.

Detailed information: Note-from-the-President_141216.pdf

Website: www.enqa.eu

The Network of Central and Eastern European Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education was founded on October 13, 2001 in Krakow, Poland, after a first meeting in Budapest, Hungary the year before. CEENQA was legally registered in Düsseldorf, Germany on July 4, 2011.

The CEE Network is a non-governmental and non-profit organization. Currently it has 29 members from 20 countries.

According to its Statutes, "The purpose of the Association is the cooperation between the member organizations in the development and harmonization of their activities in the field of quality assurance and quality improvement in higher education in Central and Eastern Europe, thereby making a contribution towards the development and implementation of the European Higher Education Area".

Detailed information: http://www.ceenetwork.hu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2&Itemid=2

Website: www.ceenetwork.hu

The International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) was established in 1991. INQAAHE is a global network, which is recognized by UNESCO and World Bank, organisations active in the theory and practice of quality assurance in higher education worldwide.

INQAAHE Mission Statement: INQAAHE is a global network of quality assurance agencies in higher education. It exists to enable quality assurance agencies to share information and experiences; lead the theoretical and practical foundations of the profession; develop and promote standards of professional practice in QA; and encourage and assist continuous improvement in member agencies, including professional development and capacity-building for the benefit of HE institutions, their students and their societies

INQAAHE’s Objectives:

• to create, collect and disseminate information on current and developing theory and practice in the assessment, improvement and maintenance of quality in higher education;
• to undertake or commission research in areas relevant to quality in higher education;
• to express the collective views of its members on matters relevant to quality in higher education through contacts with international bodies and by other means;
• to promote the theory and practice of the improvement of quality in higher education;
• to provide advice and expertise to assist existing and emerging quality assurance agencies;
• to facilitate links between quality assurance agencies and support networks of quality assurance agencies;
• to assist members to determine the standards of institutions operating across national borders and facilitate better-informed international recognition of qualifications;
• to assist in the development and use of credit transfer and credit accumulation schemes to enhance the mobility of students between institutions (within and across national borders);
• to enable members to be alert to improper quality assurance practices and organisations;
• to organise, on request, reviews of the operation of members.

INQAAHE Membership:

The membership in Network could be of three categories: Full, Associate and Affiliate.

Full Members are organisations responsible for assuring the academic quality of post-secondary institutions or education programmes other than their own (such as: accrediting agencies; evaluation agencies and similar organisations; and those bodies responsible for the external quality assurance of such agencies).

Associate Members are organisations with a major interest in evaluation, accreditation and quality assurance in higher education, but without the responsibility for assuring quality of institutions or education programmes.

Affiliates are persons with a major interest in evaluation, accreditation and quality assurance in higher education may to the Network. All members may participate in the Governing Bodies of the Network and in the General Assembly, but only Full members have the right to vote.

Today INQAAHE has 177 Full Members, 87 Associate Members and 14 Affiliates.

Website: www.inqaahe.org

The Asia-Pacific Quality Network (APQN) was founded in 2003 with the purpose of serving the needs of quality assurance agencies in higher education in a region that contains over half the world's population. APQN functions as a regional network of the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE). The The Asia-Pacific Quality Network was established with the support from World Bank and UNESCO.

APQN Mission Statement:: to enhance the quality of higher education in Asia and the Pacific region through strengthening the work of quality assurance agencies and extending the cooperation between them.

APQN’s Objectives:

• to promote good practice in the maintenance and improvement of quality in higher education in the Asia-Pacific region;
• to facilitate research in the region into the practice of quality management in higher education and its effectiveness in improving the quality of higher education in the region;
• to provide advice and expertise to assist the development of new quality assurance agencies in the region;
• to facilitate links between quality assurance agencies and acceptance of each others' decisions and judgements;
• to assist members of APQN to determine standards of institutions operating across national borders;
• to permit better-informed international recognition of qualifications throughout the region;
• to assist in the development and use of credit transfer schemes to enhance the mobility of students between institutions both within and across national borders;
• to enable members of APQN to be alert to dubious accrediting practices and organisations; and where appropriate, represent the region and promote the interests of the region, e.g. vis-à-vis other networks and international organisations.

APQN Membership:

According to the Membership Criteria, the agencies in APQN could have four levels of membership: Full Member, Intermediate Member, Associate Member and Institutional Member. Moreover, APQN also offers “Observer Status” for organizations, outside the Asia-Pacific region. Only Full and Intermediate Members are eligible to participate in the governance and administration of APQN. Associate and Institutional Members may participate in the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and other meetings of the General Council, but without the right to vote.

At this moment there are 174 member-organizations: 37 Full Members, 21 Intermediate Members, 10 Associate Members and 106 Institutional Members. In addition, there are 8 observer organizations (Croatia - 1, Germany -1, Kuwait -1, Saudi Arabia -1, Thailand -2, United Kingdom -2).

The complete list of members with the name of organization, member level, Internet- sites and other contact information can be viewed at APQN website: www.apqn.org

CHEA International Quality Group of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) was established in September 2012.

CHEA International Quality Group (CIQG) promotes understanding of ensuring international quality and promotes the high quality of higher education in today's competitive and international world.

CIQG Membership is open to higher education institutions, associations of higher education, national bodies for quality assurance and accreditation, government agencies, corporations, businesses, foundations and individuals around the world.

CHEA International Quality Group (CIQG) involves the participation of the leading global accreditation agencies.

CHEA International Quality Group (CIQG) involves the participation of the leading global accreditation agencies.

http://www.cheainternational.org

The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) is the oldest network of accrediting agencies in the world, which has been functioning for nearly 80 years.

CHEA is one of the world leaders and a national leader in the USA in the independent quality assessment and quality assurance of education.

CHEA is an independent and non-governmental association of the United States, which consists of 3,000 traditional universities, establishing quality standards and accreditation. In its turn, this Council delegates authority to 60 organizations around the world, which deal with independent quality assessment of education.

http://www.chea.org