Purpose
The purpose of the Arqus Quality Policy is to describe the regulatory context of the Arqus European University Alliance Quality Assurance System, the principles on which it is based, its structure and its scope.
Through this Quality Policy, the members of the Arqus Alliance commit themselves to ensuring a common Arqus culture of quality and excellence in all their activities, within the limits of their institutional quality systems, policies, agreements and frameworks. The Arqus Alliance members are committed to fostering a culture of quality that encompasses both accountability and enhancement at all levels of management, governance and provision to students, staff and external stakeholders, as well as covering all university missions.
The Arqus Alliance Quality Assurance System is aligned with the Alliance Vision and the Arqus Mission Statement 2022–2032.
Context
The context of the Quality Assurance System of the Arqus Alliance is the European Higher Education policy and European QA policy context, more specifically, the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG 2015), the European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes and the Proposal for a Council Recommendation on a European quality assurance and recognition system in higher education.
Principles
The Arqus QA system is based on the following principles:
- Trust: mutual trust in the QA systems of the partner universities.
- Non-duplication: avoiding duplication of QA activities within the Alliance, in line with the relevant European policy documents.
- Subsidiarity: what has been quality assured in the partner universities will not be subject to QA of the Alliance.
- Criterion of jointness: the Alliance quality assurance will focus only on joint activities which are created under the Alliance umbrella (of at least two Arqus universities).
- Participatory approach: development and implementation of the Alliance QA system is a collaborative work between all partner universities, making sure that diverse perspectives are represented.
- Continuous improvement and Lean management: the PDCA cycle will be applied to all QA activities and processes in the Alliance, for continuous improvement, efficiency and optimisation.
Scope of the Arqus Quality Assurance System
The QA system of the Arqus Alliance covers all three missions of universities (education, research & innovation and societal engagement) as well as the structures, processes, activities and results of the Alliance itself in terms of governance and management, as well as operational and strategic development.
Structure of the Arqus QA System
As a consequence, the QA system is composed of:
- A general Quality Policy (the present document)
- Specific QA Manuals for each mission, as well as for the Alliance-wide QA, covering:
- QA of the Alliance development, its progress and compliance with its long-term vision, mission statement and values.
- QA of joint educational offer and mobility, including accreditation (Master’s, Bachelor’s, microcredentials, etc.).
- QA in the measurement and promotion of joint research and innovation activities.
- QA in societal engagement: involvement of the Alliance in its partner universities’ local ecosystems, as well as the global engagement of the Alliance.
Each of the QA Manuals contains a detailed description of the tools used to continuously enhance the quality of activities, illustrating QA structures, processes, responsibilities, and information flows in each area. The manuals reflect good practice and guidance for quality assurance within their respective areas and reflect the context and focus of the Alliance as detailed in its strategic plan and mission statement.
The Quality Policy and Quality Assurance Manuals are reviewed periodically by the Alliance governance for continuous improvement purposes. This review ensures that they reflect changes in European higher education and quality assurance policies or directives, and that they continue to align with the Alliance’s strategy and Mission Statement.