Who checks the quality of a degree?

In a nutshell

When you hold a degree from another country, someone has to be sure that it was earned in a well-run programme. In Europe that assurance works in layers: universities check their own programmes, independent agencies check the universities, and the agencies themselves are checked against the same European standards.

Those shared standards are called the ESG. An agency that meets them can be listed in a public register, EQAR – a signal that its reviews can be trusted across borders.

Sources: [1] [2]

Four principles

The ESG start from four principles:

• institutions are primarily responsible for the quality of what they offer and for assuring it;
• quality assurance responds to the diversity of systems, institutions, programmes and students;
• it supports the development of a quality culture;
• it takes into account the needs and expectations of students, other stakeholders and society.

Sources: [2]

The ESG: one set of standards

The Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area were adopted by ministers in Bergen in 2005. A revised version was adopted in Yerevan in 2015.

They were prepared by the four organisations known as the E4 group – ENQA, ESU, EUA and EURASHE – working with Education International, BusinessEurope and EQAR.

Sources: [1] [4]

Part 1: what universities do themselves

1. Policy for quality assurance
2. Design and approval of programmes
3. Student-centred learning, teaching and assessment
4. Student admission, progression, recognition and certification
5. Teaching staff
6. Learning resources and student support
7. Information management
8. Public information
9. On-going monitoring and periodic review of programmes
10. Cyclical external quality assurance

Sources: [2] [3]

Part 2: how agencies review universities

1. Consideration of internal quality assurance
2. Designing methodologies fit for purpose
3. Implementing processes
4. Peer-review experts
5. Criteria for outcomes
6. Reporting
7. Complaints and appeals

Sources: [2] [3]

Part 3: what agencies must meet

1. Activities, policy and processes for quality assurance
2. Official status
3. Independence
4. Thematic analysis
5. Resources
6. Internal quality assurance and professional conduct
7. Cyclical external review of agencies

Sources: [2] [3]

EQAR: who checks the checkers

The European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR) was established in 2007, at the London conference. It lists agencies that substantially comply with the ESG. In the Paris Communiqué of 2018 ministers made quality assurance in line with the ESG one of the EHEA's three key commitments – ideally with only EQAR-registered agencies operating in a country.

Sources: [1] [5]

Joint programmes

In 2015 ministers also adopted the European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes – a common framework for degrees run jointly by institutions in several countries.

Sources: [1]

What this means for you

• Students: the ESG expect universities to publish clear information about their programmes and to have complaints and appeals procedures.
• Universities: Part 1 is the checklist an external review will look at.
• Anyone checking a degree: an institution reviewed by an EQAR-listed agency has been checked against European standards.

Sources: [2]

In Poland

The Polish Accreditation Committee (PKA) is listed in EQAR. According to the register, its current registration is valid until 30 June 2028.

Sources: [6]

Sources

1. EHEA – Quality Assurance
2. Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the EHEA (ESG 2015)
3. Standardy i wskazówki dotyczące zapewnienia jakości w Europejskim Obszarze Szkolnictwa Wyższego (ESG) – Polish translation of ESG 2015, published on gov.pl
4. EQAR – Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance (ESG)
5. Paris Communiqué (2018), Appendix I – Support for the implementation of key commitments
6. EQAR – Register entry: PKA, Polish Accreditation Committee

Sources checked on 26 October 2026. Official documents are linked, not republished.