Proposal for a Council recommendation on European cooperation in quality assurance in higher education
Date: 1997-05-02
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, European cooperation, education, higher education, teaching curriculum

COMMISSION  OF THE EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

* 

•it 

Brussels,  02.05.1997 
COM(97)  159 final 

97/0121 (SYN) 

Proposal  for a 

COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION 

ON 

EUROPEAN  COOPERATION 

IN 

QUALITY  ASSURANCE 

IN  HIGHER EDUCATION 

(presented by the Commission) 

EXPLANATORY  MEMORANDUM 

I.  INTRODUCTION 

1. Quality  in  higher education  is a priority  for  the  Member  States and  for  the  higher  education 
institutions  themselves.  European  Community  encouragement,  support  and  supplementing of 
national measures can provide a substantial boost to the improvement of this quality. 

2.  The Commission Memorandum  on higher education1  and the responses of the Member States 
following an extensive debate on this subject2 stressed that quality in an increasingly  diversified 
higher  education  was an  issue  of  paramount  importance.  It  was also  recognised  that  merely 
evaluating the scientific quality of research and the quality of staff  is no longer a guarantee as to 
the  quality  of  teaching  and  that  the  assessment  of  the  quality  of  programme  organisation, 
teaching  methods,  management  methods,  structures  and  communications  are  equally 
important.  The role of quality assurance  for strategic management and  the cultural  dimension 
of  evaluation  were also highlighted.  There was a first  support  for  the  introduction  of  efficient 
and acceptable methods which are based on European co-operation and transnational exchange 
of experience and to networking of evaluation experts. 

3.  Based  on  this  response  to  the  Memorandum,  and  after several  years  of  close  co-operation 
under the  ERASMUS programme, the Council3 and the Ministers of  Education  in November 
1991  urged  Community  action  in  the  area  of  quality  evaluation  in  higher  education.  The 
ministers  felt  that  European  quality  assessment  experiments  could  enrich  the  multiplicity  of 
national  quality assurance  methods without  impinging on the competence  and  responsibilities 
of the Member States or the autonomy of higher education institutions. A Commission study4 
on  the  methods  of  quality  assessment  used  in  the  Member  States  at  the  time  provided  an 
overview  of  the  "traditional  methods"  and the  "new  methods"  of  quality  assessment  in  the 
Member  States. As this study also showed a growing interest in quality in higher education  as 
weil as common  elements in the  "new methods" already in use, the Commission  launched In 
co-operation  with  the  competent  authorities  of  the  Member  States  two  European  pilot 
projects  - one in  engineering and the other  in communication/information  or  art/design - in 
which  42  Member  State  institutions  (plus  four  institutions  from  Iceland  and  Norway) 
participated. 

4 

In  the  first  half  of  the  1990s,  when  the  Commission  launched  the  projects,  only  a  few 
European  countries  had  developed  systematic  quality  assurance  of  their  higher  education 
systems. The aim  of  the  projects was therefore  to further  raise awareness  about  the  need  to 
assess higher education in Europe, to enhance existing national procedures, to give a European 
dimension  to  quality  assessment,  to support  the  transfer  of  experience,  and  to  contribute  to 
the improvement  of  the mutual  recognition  of diplomas and study  periods by promoting co 
operation  between  Institutions and  by  reinforcing  mutual  confidence  through  understanding 
programmes taught in different  cultural contexts. 

1  COM(91) 349 final 
2 

The  outlook  for Higher  Education  In the European  Community;  Responses  to the Memorandum,  Studies of 

the  Task  Force  Human  Resources,  Education  Training and Youth  M° 2, Luxembourg  1993 

3  OJNoC321,  12.12.1991, p.2 
4 

Quality  management  and  quality  assurance  in European  higher  education.  Methods  and  mechanisms,  Study 

N°  1 of the  Task  Force  Human  Resources,  Education,  Training and  Youth,  Luxembourg  1993 

5  The  pilot  projects  for the  assessment of  quality in higher education  were  conducted  in  1994 
and  1995,  in conjunction  with the competent  authorities in the Member  States,  and  focused 
on  the  assessment of  the quality of  teaching in a specific  subject area  In a selected  institution, 
but  did  not  exclude  possible  interactions  with  research  activities  and  the  management  of 
higher education  institutions. The method  was based  on the  four  principles common  to  those 
quality  assurance  systems  in  Europe  using  quality  assessment  at  the  time  the  project  was 
designed  (Denmark,  France,  the  Netherlands  and  tiie  United  Kingdom).  The  objectives, 
methods  and  organisation  of  the  projects  were  described  In the  "Guidelines  for  Participating 
Institutions",  translated  into  all  Community  languages  and  distributed  to  all  pilot  project 
participants. 

6  The outcome  of the  Europe-wide  dialogue which took  place during the  pilot projects  between 
HE institutions,  experts,  state  authorities  and  NGOs  were  included  in  the  information  note5 
presented  by Mrs. Cresson to the Community institutions along with a report  prepared  by the 
management  group  which  assisted  the  Commission  In  tiie  Implementation  of  the  pilot 
projects.  There  was  broad  satisfaction  with  the  launch  and  Implementation  of  the  European 
pilot  projects  and  a  growing  realisation  of  the  need  to  guarantee  die  quality  of  higher 
education.  Participants  resolved  both  to  continue  die  co-operation  and  exchange  of 
experience  and  to  use  the  structures  set  up  by  all  countries  for  organising  the  pilot  projects, 
irrespective of whether or not they had already a quality assurance policy. 

7  At  its meeting on  6  May  1996,  at which the  Information  note  was presented,  the  Education 
Council  appreciated  the  co-operation 
in  this  important  area  and  took  note  of  the 
Commission's  intention  to propose a Council  Recommendation with tiie orientation  described 
in the note*. 

If.  THE CONTEXT 

8  The new Chapter  3  in Title VIII of  the Treaty circumscribes tiie Community's  Important role 
In  the  development  of  quality  education  without  harmonisation  of  Segal  and  statutory 
provisions  in  the  Member  States  and  confirms  the  latter's  responsibility  for  the  content  of 
teaching  and  the  organisation  of  their  own  education  and  training  systems.  Freedom  of 
movement  in  a  single  market  requires  an  open  education  area  with  mutual  recognition  of 
qualifications,  while  quality  education  capable  of  providing  everyone  with  the  wherewithal  to 
meet  European  and  world-wide  standards  and  to  make  use  of  free  movement  within  the 
Community  needs  transnational  mobility  and  transnational  co-operation.  The  education  and 
training mobility  programmes  the  Community  has implemented  since  1986  have  increasingly 
shown  that  mobility  and  co-operation  at  the  European  level  improve  knowledge  and 
understanding  of  the  different  national  education  systems,  create  greater  transparency  and 
mutual  trust and so  help to  remove  the  barriers to  the  recognition  of  qualifications  and skills. 
However,  the  recent  Green  Paper7  of  the  Commission  on  Education,  Training  and  Research 
''Obstacles  to  Transnational  Mobility"  acknowledges  that  there  are  still  many  obstacles  to 
mobility. 

9  Quality assessment and quality assurance in higher education and transnational  co-operation in 
quality  issues stand  in this tradition  and continue  to  improve  interaction  between  freedom  of 
movement,  quality education and greater transparency and understanding. 

SEQ96)  800 
Minutes of the  1920th meeting of the Education Council  (SI(96)428) 
COM(96)  462 final 

The  establishment  of  permanent  quality  assessment  and  quality  assurance  mechanisms  in  the 
Member  States and the institutionalisation of  European co-operation will bring added value  for 
the  quality.  On  the  one  hand,  higher  education  institutions  in  the  Member  States  can,  with 
the heip of  NGOs  or  other  groups or  agencies, monitor  their strengths and weaknesses against 
the  aims  of  their  disciplines,  their  institutional  profiles  and  in  relation  to  European  and 
worldwide  qualification  requirements,  and  thus  safeguard  the  quality  of  the  output  of  their 
higher  education  systems.  The  resulting  flexibility  and  improvement  of  qualifications  would 
improve  freedom  of  movement.  On  the  other  hand, institutionalised  exchange  of  experiences 
and  European  co-operation 
in  quality  assessment  and  quality  assurance  will  broaden 
knowledge  of  the  situation  in  the  different  subject  areas,  understanding  of  the  programmes 
taught  across  Europe,  and  enhance  quality  assurance  mechanisms  in  higher  education 
establishments. 

Institutionalised  co-operation  in  quality  evaluation  and  quality  assurance  could  eventually 
achieve  a  judicious  blend  of  different  cultural  approaches  and  common  methodological 
elements  developed on a voluntary  basis, founded on mutual trust and knowledge. This  would 
be a big step towards overcoming obstacles to  mobility. 

10  What  is  more,  using  common  methodological  elements  does  not  imply  a  'ranking'  or  a 
common  European  standard.  Quality  evaluation  methods  are  procedural  rules  and  not 
content  rules.  That  means  they  define  the  quality  assessment  or  quality  assurance  procedure 
(whom  to  involve, what  to  look  at,  etc.)  but  do  not  establish  quality  criteria.  These  methods 
help the  players concerned to  determine  their  own strengths and weaknesses by  examining  the 
performance  in their subject areas or  their  higher education  establishments  and asking whether 
this  performance  represents  an adequate  response  to  the concrete  problems  in  the  economic, 
social and cultural  context  peculiar  to  their  HE establishments.  The judgements  on  the  quality 
of  the  institutional  response  are  made  by  the  players  themselves  and  those  whom  they  called 
in  for  their assistance. 

11  The  globalisation  of  economies, which  involves  the  intensification  of  international  competition 
through  the  emergence  of  an  increasingly  integrated  worldwide  market,  has  added  a  new 
dimension  to  the  economic,  social  and  cultural  aims  which  are  embodied  in  the  European 
Community's  developmental 
task:  This  can  be  achieved  only  if  a whole  range  of  structural 
changes  is  implemented  to  enable  the  Community  to  strengthen  its  competitiveness.  One  of 
the  overarching  objectives  for  corporate  strategies  and  public  policies  in  this  context  is  to 
exploit  the  competitive  edge associated with  the  gradual shift  to  a knowledge-based  economy. 
The  quality  of  education  and  training  thus  takes  on  a  new,  crucial  importance  for  the 
development  of  the  Community  aims.  The  White  Paper  on  Growth,  Competitiveness  and 
Employment8  invites  each  Member  State  to  take  from  the  document  the  elements  it  regards 
as making  a  positive  contribution  to  its  own  action  and  proposes  Community  action  to  give 
fresh impetus to  Europe's  competitiveness. 

12  The recent White  Paper on Teaching and  Learning9 likewise stresses that  the changes  currently 
in  progress  have  indeed  improved  everyone's  access to  information  and  knowledge,  but  have 
at the  same time  changed working systems and the  qualifications  required  so that  in-depth  re 
organisation  of  educational  resources  is necessary  to  avoid  insecurity  and  social  exclusion  in a 
knowledge-based  society  in  which  everyone's  position  will  increasingly  be  determined  by  the 
knowledge  he or  she has built up. 

8 

9 

Growth,  competitiveness  and  employment.  The  challenges  and ways  forward  into  the  21st  century,  White  Paper, 
Brussels, Luxembourg  1994 

Teaching and learning - Towards  the  learning society, White  Paper,  Brussels, Luxembourg  1995 

13  In this context, the old steering mechanisms used by public authorities h3ve to be streamlined 
to  provide  the  adaptability  required.  A  new  interpretation  of  the  autonomy  of  higher 
education institutions  is emerging which tends to  give them more leeway in the definition  of 
their tasks and the means of  performing them, including allocation of  financial resources, but 
also gives them greater responsibility for the quality of the teaching they deliver. 

14  Experience  in  the  Member  States  and  during  the  European  pilot  projects  have  shown  that 
besides  giving  higher  education  institutions  evidence  of  their  own  performance,  quality 
evaluation  and quality  assurance  procedures  can promote  the  self-critical  capacities  of  these 
institutions and their ability to reorganise their output so that it better meets the needs of their 
economic,  social  and  cultural  environment.  This  can  be  considered  as  a  first  step  to  the 
development  of  coherent  strategies  of  quality  assessment  and  quality  assurance  In  higher 
education  establishments  as a  part  of  a  more  wide-ranging  development  of  their  ongoing 
capacity for innovation in the sense of "learning organisations". 

Some Member  States and/or  higher education  institutions  search systematically for  methods 
to  promote  this  development  as part  of  an  overall  strategy  for  redefining  the  relationship 
between  HE  institutions,  state  and  society.  The  capability  of  these  institutions  to  respond 
appropriately  and quickly  to  the  complex  changes taking place  in  their  environment  can be 
improved  by helping them to  become self-critical  and develop a capacity  for  self-correction. 
Quality  assessment  and  quality  assurance  procedures  could  for  instance  not  only  help  to 
reconcile  European academic traditions with the need to strengthen competitiveness, but also 
to  establish  a 'holistic'  higher  education which  fulfils  not  only  economic  but  also social and 
cultural needs. 

15  The  European  citizen  is  interested  in  accountability  not  only  as a  tax  payer  and  the  main 
contributor  to  the  State  funding  of  higher  education,  but  also  as  a  sometimes  fee-paying 
student. Young people have the right to know the quality level of courses available in order  to 
make an informed choice and obtain the right qualifications. 

III.  LEGAL BASIS FOR THE  RECOMMENDATION 

16  The means available to  the  European Community  to  fulfil  the general objectives  include  the 
abolition  between  Member  States  of  obstacles  to  the  free  movement  of  goods,  persons, 
services and capital (Article  3.c  EC Treaty)  and the contribution to education and training of 
quality as well as the flowering of the cultures of the Member States (Article 3.p  EC Treaty). 

In  accordance  with  the  principle  of  subsidiarity  set  out  in  Article  3b  of  the  Treaty,  the 
Community  is to  take  action  only  if  and in  so far  as the  objectives  of  the  proposed  action 
cannot  be sufficiently  achieved  by  the  Member  States and  can therefore,  by  reason  of  the 
scale or effects of the proposed action, be better achieved by the Community. 

For the area of education and training, Articles  126 and 127 state that the Community's role 
is  to  encourage  co-operation  between  Member  States  and,  if  necessary,  to  support  and 
supplement their action while fully respecting the responsibility of the Member  States for  the 
content of  teaching and the organisation of education and training systems and their  cultural 
and linguistic diversity. 

17  The  Recommendation  respects the diversity  of  the  European education and  training systems 
and  builds  on  voluntary  co-operation  and adaptation.  Community  action  in  the  field  could 
have  an  added  value  insofar  as  the  advantages  of  co-operation  at  the  European  level, 
especially  in  quality  assessment and  quality  assurance,  cannot  be  achieved  by  one  Member 
State alone or a single group of Member States without establishing links to ail the others. The 
pace of change in this area makes permanent exchange of experience and full information  on 
all developments in the Member States necessary in order to keep up. As this exchange would 

draw on  Europe's overall  problem-solving capacity,  it could build up the momentum  and give 
a substantial and effective  boost to the quality of  European higher education. 

IV.  AIMS  AND  MEANS  PROPOSED  IN  THE  RECOMMENDATION  AND  POSSIBLE 

SYNERGIES 

18  The  Recommendation  urges  Member  States  to  consider  introducing  quality  assessment  and 
quality assurance mechanisms into their higher education systems and stresses the usefulness of 
systems  of  this  kind  and  certain  of  their  operational  principles,  without  prescribing  methods, 
structures or funding,  such arrangements remaining their exclusive responsibility. 

19  The Recommendation  lays particular emphasis on the advantages of  European co-operation in 
quality  assessment  and  quality  assurance  in  helping  Member  States  to  meet  the  new  quality 
demands  on  education  systems.  Permanent observation  and comparison  of  the  impact  of  the 
legal  and  institutional  frameworks  on  performance  will  help  to  avoid  possible  undesired  side-
effects  of  quality  assurance  procedures  in  the  different  Member  States  and  contribute  to 
increasing  effectiveness.  Co-operation  will  also  make  it  easier  to  develop  strategies  for 
innovation in higher education systems. 

20  The  establishment  of  a  European  Network  on  quality  assurance  in  higher  education  will 
promote co-operation  between Member States and higher education institutions by supporting 
the exchange of information  and experience at European level. 

21  A  whole  range  of  mutual  catalytic  Influences  between  the  existing  Community  programmes 
promoting  co-operation  in education  on  the  one  hand,  Member  States' quallity agencies and 
the  proposed  Network  for  quality  assurance  in  higher  education  on  the  other,  are  to  be 
expected.  Activities pursued by universities,  for instance, as part of  their institutional  contracts 
under SOCRATES-ERASMUS  (e.g.  curriculum  development  or ECTS activities)  could  derive 
invaluable  additional  information  from  national  evaluation  agencies  or  evaluation  projects 
supported  by the  Quality  Assurance  Network.  Similarly,  "Thematic  Networks" which  decide 
to  implement  quality  assessment  for  their  subject  area(s)  throughout  Europe  on  the  basis  of 
their  previous  work,  could  obtain  direct  support  from  this  Network.  Vice  versa,  both  links 
could  be  a  resource  for  information  and  for  building  up  a  pool  of  international  peers  for 
quality  evaluation.  In the  long  run,  a link could  be  envisaged  with  other  activities,  e.g.  open 
and distance  learning and co-operation  between  university and the business world,  in order to 
integrate graduates in the labour market more  effectively. 

22  European  and  international  organisations  and  associations  which  are competent  and  active  in 
the  field  of  higher  education  were  involved  in  preparing  the  pilot  projects  .  A  study10 
conducted  on  behalf  of  the  Commission,  provided  a systematic  overview  of  the  activities  of 
quality  assessment and assurance implemented  by international  organisations and the  different 
projects  implemented.  While  noting  the  number  and  undoubted  merits  of  efforts  by  the 
the  quality  of  higher  education 
competent 
establishments,  the study shows that these are nonetheless one-off  initiatives.  Furthermore,  co 
operation  between  these  organisations  and  their  participation  in  the  Quality  Assurance 
Network  would  not  only  contribute  to  create  complementarity  of  interests  and  multiplier 
effects,  but  above  all  would  preserve  transparency  in  a field in  which  confusion  could  well 
reign  if  too  many  different  networks  were  to  be  working  simultaneously  on  different  aspects 
and at different levels. 

international  organisations  to 

improve 

1 ° 

"Initiatives of Quality Assurance  and Assessment of Higher Education  in Europe" - Commission  document. 

PROPOSAL 

FOR A COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION 

EUROPEAN  COOPERATION 

ÏN 

QUALITY ASSURANCE 

IN HIGHER EDUCATION 

(presented by the Commission) 

G  ^oU> 

THE  COUNCIL OF THE  EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  and  particularly  Articles 
126 and  127 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal  from  the Commission1 '/ 

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee12, 

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions13, 

Acting in accordance with the procedure referred  to in Article  189c of the Treaty14, 

Whereas a high quality of education  and training at all levels is an objective  for all Member States 
and  whereas  the  Community  is  requested  to  contribute  to  its  achievement  by  promoting 
cooperation  between  Member  States  and,  if  necessary,  by  supporting  and  supplementing  their 
action while fully  respecting their responsibility for the content of teaching and the organisation of 
the education and training systems and their cultural and linguistic diversity; 

Whereas the Council stated in its conclusions of 25  November  199115  that improving the quality 
of  teaching  in  higher  education  is a concern  shared  by each  Member  State  and  by every  higher 
education  institution  within  the  European  Community;  whereas  in  view  of  the  diversity  of 
methods used for quality assessment at national level, national experience could be complemented 
by European  experience  provided  by a limited  number of pilot projects  aimed  at establishing and 
strengthening cooperation  in this area; 

Whereas  through  developments  and  activities  in  the  Member  States  as  well  as  through 
transnational  cooperation  and  the  mobility  of  students  and  teaching  staff  (particularly  in  the 
framework  of Community programmes such as SOCRATES and especially its ERASMUS chapter) 
the awareness of European higher education institutions of the need to be able to judge the quality 
of studies available in other countries and  to compare it with that of studies available within  their 
own systems has been substantially raised; 

Whereas  one  of  the  main  issues  of  the  Commission  memorandum  on  higher  education16 
highlights  that  the  former  view  of  a  vertical  quality  hierarchy  of  educational  institutions  whose 
qualifications  are  traditionally  considered  as  different  entrance  tickets  to  society  is  becoming 
increasingly  obsolete;  whereas  the  emphasis  today  is  more  on  quality  across  the  whole  of 
education  and within each  institution; whereas quality should  be guaranteed  at all levels and  in all 
sectors, with  differences  only  in terms of  objectives,  methods  and  educational  demand;  whereas 
there  is support  for  the  introduction  of  efficient  and  acceptable  methods  of  quality  evaluation 
which  are  based  on  European  cooperation  and  transnational  exchange  of  experience  and which 
emphasise  the  importance  of  quality  assurance  for  strategic  management  as well  as  its  cultural 
dimension; 

11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 

O) No 
OJNo. 
OJNo. 

O) No C 321, 12.12.1991, p. 2 
The  outlook  for  Higher  Education  in the  European  Community;  Responses to the  Memorandum,  Studies of the 
Task Force Education Training and Youth N°  2, Luxembourg  1993 

Whereas a Commission study17  on the state of  quality  assurance in the Member  States revealed 
that  the new systems of  quality  assurance had certain  points  In common; whereas  the  two  pilot 
projects conducted subsequently were based on these core elements of  existing national systems; 
whereas they tested the common method successfully and showed that the actors in the field are 
all eager to  pursue the  exchange of  experience  during the  reorganisation  of  higher  education In 
general and the development of quality assurance In particular18; 

Whereas  higher  education  institutions  have  not  only  to  meet  the  educational  and  professional 
requirements of a world-wide 'knowledge society', but aiso to address social problems nationally; 
whereas they  aim to  guarantee the quality  of  teaching by developing new initiatives  (individually 
or on a collaborative basis within higher education associations)  in order  to give the services they 
provide the required attributes; 

Whereas m view of the ever greater constraints of global competition as well as of mass education, 
authorities  in  all  Member  States  face  the  task  to  tailor  higher  education  systems  and  their 
relationships to state and society in ways which respect existing academic  norms and values, and 
reinforce the autonomy and responsibility of higher education institutions; 

Whereas  the  discussion  of  the  Commission  communication  of  13  February  199419  has 
demonstrated that all Member States are currently considering introducing or overhauling systems 
to  improve  mutual  recognition  of  academic  or  professional  qualifications;  whereas  quality 
assurance  in  higher  education  can contribute  to  the  necessary  flexibility  and  help  to  modernise 
higher education institutions; 

Whereas the White Paper Growth, Competitiveness and Employment20 identifies as a weakness at 
European  level  the  lack  of  an  open  education  area  In  the  Community  resulting  from  an 
insufficiently  transparent  system  of  qualifications;  it  considers  the  wealth  of  nations  to  be 
increasingly based on the creation and exploitation of knowledge and states that the key elements 
in  competitiveness  include  the  quality  of  education  and  training  as well  as  the  way  in  which 
corporate strategies are able to react to the changes in society; 

Whereas the White Paper on Teaching and Learning21  and the premise of the  "learning society", 
on  which  it  is  based, stresses the  role  of  education  and  training as the  "main  vehicles  for  self-
awareness, belonging, advancement and self-fulfilment", and that the "individual's place in relation 
to  their  fellow  citizens  will  increasingly  be  determined  by  their  capacity  to  learn  and  master 
fundamental knowledge"; as the social and cultural functions of education and training on the one 
hand and their  economic  functions  on the other  are indlvlsibiy  linked, demands In terms  of  the 
quality of education and training are correspondingly multidimensional and vitally important for all 
European citizens; 

Whereas  the  Commission  Green  Paper22  on  obstacles  to  transnational  mobility  highlights  the 
difficulties  encountered  by  students  wishing to  pursue  their  studies  on  a transnational  basis and 
stresses that  this  type  of  mobility  is essential for  an education  of  high  quality  which  can enable 

1 7  Quality Management and quality assurance in European higher education. Methods and mechanisms, Study  N° 

1 of the Task Force Human Resources, Education, Training and Youth, Luxembourg  1993 
Information  Note  on  the  Results  of  the  European  Pilot  Projects  for  Evaluating  Quality  in  Higher  Education 
(SEQ96)  800), presented by the Commission to the Council of Ministers on 6th May  1996. 
COM(94)  596 final 

Growth,  Competitiveness,  Employment.  The  challenges  and  ways  forward  Into  the  21st  century,  White 
paper, Brussels, Luxembourg  1994, p.  80 
Teaching and learning - Towards the learning society, White Paper, Brussels, Luxembourg  > 995,  p.  16/17 
Green Paper - Education, Training, Research - The obstacles to transnational mobility. COM(96)  462  final. 

i8 

19 
20 

21 
22 

individuals  to  meet  European  and  international  standards  and  to  take  advantage  of  freedom  of 
movement within the Community; 

I.  HEREBY RECOMMENDS TO MEMBER STATES: 

A. 

to  establish,  within  their  responsibilities  for  the  organisation  of  their  higher  education 
systems,  transparent  quality  assessment  and  quality  assurance  systems with  the  following 
aims: 

to safeguard  the quality of higher education within the specific  economic,  social  and 
cultural  context  of  their  countries  while  taking  due  account  of  the  European 
dimension and of international requirements; 

- 

to help higher education institutions use quality assurance techniques as 
steering 
mechanisms  to  promote  organisational  flexibility  for  permanent  improvement  in a 
rapidly changing environment; 

to  underpin  European  and  world-wide  cooperation  in  order  to  benefit  from  each 
other's experience  for the accomplishment of the two foregoing tasks; 

B. 

to base systems of quality assessment and quality assurance on the following principles: 

Autonomy  and  independence  of  the  bodies  responsible  for  quality  assessment  and 
quality assurance 

These bodies should be autonomous and independent  in relation to the political authorities 
and  to  the  higher  education  institutions  themselves  in  relation  to  procedural  and 
methodological matters. 

Relating  evaluation  procedures  to  the  profile  of  institutions  while  respecting  their 
autonomy 

Quality assessment and quality assurance procedures should involve questions of institutional 
self understanding,  especially how they define their aims and objectives, be it at the level of 
the institution,  of the department or of the discipline,  in order to allow for  diverse educational 
responses to different societal needs. 

Internal and external  procedural  elements 

All  quality assessment and quality assurance procedures should consist of an internal,  self-
reflective component and an external component,  based on the appraisal of external experts. 

Involvement of all the players 

The  internal  element should  involve all  the  relevant players  within  the  institution  in  the 
process of self-reflexion, especially teaching staff and administrators  in charge of academic 
and professional guidance,  as well as students. 

The external element should be a process  of cooperative consultation and  advice between 
independent experts from outside and players from within the institution. 

Alumni, social partners, professional associations and other interested social groups could be 
included in the expert groups in order to bring relevant social and professional criteria to 
bear. 

//  is recommended to  include foreign  experts from other Member  States  in  the  groups  of 
external  experts.  They can  contribute  to  quality  assessment  and  assurance  by  providing 
experiences from abroad,  relating the observed processes  to standards prevailing  in other 
countries and by fostering cultural understanding. 

Publication of evaluation reports 

Reports  on  quality  assessment and  assurance procedures  and  their  outcomes  should  be 
published in a form  appropriate  to each Member State and should provide  a source of good 
reference material for  cooperation partners and for  the interested public. 

C. 

D. 

to ensure that follow-up  measures are taken at national or regional or other level  in order 
to enable higher education  institutions to implement their plans for improving the quality 
of studies and for integrating graduates into the labour market more  effectively. 

to  ensure  that  high  priority  Is given  by  public  authorities  and  by  the  management  of 
higher  education  institutions  to  continuous  exchange  of  experience  and  cooperation  in 
quality  assessment  and  quality  assurance  with  other  Member  States,  as  well  as  with 
international organisations and associations active in the field  of higher education; 

II.  AND,  TO THIS END, REQUESTS THE COMMISSION : 

1. 

to  support  the  establishment  of  a  "European  Quality  Assurance  Network"  of  bodies 
responsible  for  quality  assessment  and  quality  assurance,  designated  by  the  Member 
States,  and  of  organisations  and  associations  within  the  European  Community  with 
quality assessment or quality assurance experience in the field  of higher education; 

The tasks of this "Network" could include: 

a)  exchange  of  information  and  experience  through  European  conferences,  workshops 

and by using new technologies; 

b) 

technical  assistance  to individual  Member State authorities in implementing  concrete 
projects  for  establishing  or  improving  quality  assessment  and  quality  assurance 
procedures and mechanisms; 

c)  assistance  to  groups  of  higher  education  institutions  from  different  Member  States 
who  wish  to  cooperate  in  quality  assessment  or  assurance,  particularly  in  the 
framework  of  tiie  "Thematic  Networks"  under  the  ERASMUS  Chapter  of  the 
SOCRATES programme; 

d)  other  assistance  to  higher  education  institutions  including  information  on  new 
methodological  developments  and  examples  of  good  practice,  facilitating  contact 
with  international  experts  by  forming  a  "pool"  or  preparing  a  "tool  kit"  of 
methodological 
for  quality 
instruments  for  obtaining 
assessment and quality assurance procedures; 

information  necessary 

e) 

linking quality assurance with other Community activities developed  especially in the 
framework  of  the  SOCRATES  and  the  LEONARDO  DA  VINCI  programmes,  or 
with the recognition of qualifications  at European level; 

0 

preparation  of  methods  to  achieve  better  integration  of  graduates  in  the  European 
labour market; 

10 

The  "European  Quality  Assurance  Network"  will  be eligible  for financial support  in  the 
framework of the SOCRATES  and the LEONARDO  DA  VINCI  programmes, subject to 
their  objectives  and  normal  procedures.  A  tangible  business  sector  involvement  in  the 
assurance  of  quality  in  higher  education  is necessary  for  the  latter,  but  is also desirable 
for SOCRATES; 

2. 

to present every two years reports to the Council, to the European Parliament and other 
relevant  institutions  of  the  European  Community  on  the  development  of  quality 
assessment  and  quality  assurance  systems  in  the  Member  States  and  on  cooperation 
activities at European level; 

in  the  light  of  these  reports,  to  submit  appropriate  proposals  to  strengthen  quality 
assurance in higher education. 

u 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(97)159fioal 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

16 

Catalogue number  :  CB-CO-97-147-EN-C 

ISBN 92-78-18319-9 

Office  for Official  Publications of the European Communities 

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