National Bodies for Quality Assurance

Mutual recognition in the field of quality assurance in higher education called for the development of clearly defined and commonly accepted evaluation and accreditation criteria and methodologies. To achieve this objective, according to the conclusions of the conference of the ministers in Berlin in 2003, national quality evaluation systems not only included the bodies responsible for this task but also specified their composition and fundamental goals.

The 2005 Bergen Communiqué stated that ‘almost all countries have made provision for a quality assurance system based on the criteria set out in the Berlin Communiqué and with a high degree of cooperation and networking.’ Most countries have an independent national body for quality assurance and this resource provides specific details about these bodies and their roles in their respective countries.