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Become an International External Quality Assurance Reviewer

EQ-Arts is pleased to announce that it is now welcoming applications for the 2024 edition of its highly regarded training event for international external quality reviewers. We are delighted that this is offered in its on-site format and will take place in the beautiful city of Lisbon, Portugal (at the University of Lusófona).

Our training is e​​specially designed for academic and administrative staff working in Higher Arts Education who are interested in participating in external quality assurance and enhancement review activities.

Schedule

The training event will take place from 13:00 Thursday, May 9th until 13:30, Saturday, May 11th. The training will be divided into three main sessions*.

Participants will also be expected to undertake some preparatory work in advance and to complete assigned group tasks between each day of training. 

Session 1           May 9th, 13:00 - 18:30 WET

Session 2           May 10th, 09:30 - 18:00 WET

Session 3           May 11th, 09:30 - 13:30 WET

The programme covers (inter alia):

  • Understanding the QA in the context of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and the importance of the ESG;
  • An appreciation of how the ESG is interpreted in the EQA standards applied by external quality assurance agencies;
  • The timeline of a typical external review process and the responsibilities of review team members;
  • How to formulate questions, critically assess and triangulate evidence in the process of reaching shared judgments;
  • Drafting recommendations and conditions, preparing oral feedback, and contributing to accreditation/enhancement review reports.

The training event is designed to be intensive and includes a number of simulation activities that are designed to replicate key aspects of a typical site-visit to an institution undergoing an external quality review.

* Please note that there may be some slight variations to the stated times.

Aims

The key aims of the training provided by EQ-Arts are designed to enable participants to adapt a range of their pre-existing skills in their development of a competence to work as an international peer-review expert in the field of external QA (in line with the ESG 2015 guidelines).

The training provides insight into the operation of The European Standards & Guidelines (ESG) and current developments in the area of external quality assurance and enhancement processes, as well as hands-on, practical guidance on how to participate successfully in international external QA processes.

The format of the training is designed to replicate as far as reasonably possible the preparation, teamwork, report generation, intensity of workload and complexity of tasks associated with participation in international quality assurance processes. From the beginning of the training through to the end, participants will be actively engaged in a series of simulation exercises that mirror how they will be expected to perform in an external international QA visit.

Fee

The fee is related to the Country Lists as defined by the Council of Europe and is related to the gross national income based on the purchasing power of each member country (GNI PPP per capita).

The participants will be responsible also for their travelling, accommodation and subsistence costs. Lunch and refreshments during the training hours will be provided by the organisers.

In the previous editions, several institutions have recognised the training as part of the Staff Development Plan, covering this way the expenses made by the participant.

Category 1 (Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Ukraine): 299 EUR

Category 2 (Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Turkey): 399 EUR

Category 3 (Andorra, Belgium, Cyprus, France, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, United Kingdom): 499 EUR

Category 4 (Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden): 599 EUR

Category 5 (Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Norway, Switzerland): 699 EUR

Trainers

Prof. Anthony Dean, Emeritus Professor University of Winchester, UK;
Paula Crabtree, Vice-Chancellor Stockholm University of the Arts, Sweden.

To register, please e-mail m.manunta@eq-arts.org:

  • a statement of interest (max. 500 words)
  • your CV

Background

Since 2005 EQ-Arts has been organizing an annual international training programme for arts sector experts, which has included academics, quality managers and staff from international Quality Agencies. A register of trained experts is maintained by EQ-Arts for potential reviews within the CPAD sector.

As well as drawing on its register of trained experts to populate its own review panels, EQ-Arts is regularly approached by national Quality Agencies to recommend its trained arts sector experts for national accreditation reviews. This has included requests from: HAKA (former EKKA)– Estonia, SKVC – Lithuania, ARACIS – Romania, UKA– Sweden, NQA - Netherlands, EQE - Georgia,  QAA - Scotland and NVAO - the Netherlands.