A3ES
The Agency for Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education (A3ES) aims to evaluate and accredit higher education institutions and their study programs, as well as to perform functions related to Portugal’s integration into the European system of quality assurance in higher education.
Following the developments of quality assurance systems, namely those in the European space, the Portuguese state has decided to create the “Agência de Avaliação e Acreditação do Ensino Superior” (Agency for Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education – A3ES), by Decree-Law no. 369/2007, of 5th November, with the purpose of promoting and ensuring the quality of higher education.
The Agency is a private law foundation, established for an indeterminate period of time, with legal status and recognised as being of public utility. The Agency is independent in its decisions which must take into account the guidelines prescribed by the State.
The assessment and accreditation regime to be developed by the Agency is defined in Law no. 38/2007, of 16th August.
The mission of A3ES is to contribute to improving the quality of Portuguese higher education, through the assessment and accreditation of higher education institutions and their study programmes, and to ensure the integration of Portugal in the European quality assurance system of higher education.
The main objective of A3ES is to promote the improvement of the performance of higher education institutions and their study programmes and to guarantee the fulfilment of the basic requirements for their official recognition.
This objective is pursued through the assessment and accreditation activities carried out by the Agency, and the promotion of an internal quality assurance culture within higher education institutions.
The specific objectives of A3ES are:
- To develop the quality assessment of the performance of higher education institutions and their study programmes;
- To determine the accreditation criteria in order to translate their results into qualitative appreciations, as well as to define the consequences of assessment for the operation of study programmes and institutions;
- To promote the accreditation of study programmes and institutions, for the purpose of ensuring the fulfilment of the legal requirements for their recognition;
- To provide society with information on the quality of the performance of higher education institutions;
- To provide society with information on the quality of the performance of higher education institutions;
The main activities of A3ES in developing its mission are:
- To define and enforce the quality standards of the HE system;
- To assess and accredit study programmes and higher education institutions, as well as to audit and certify the internal quality assurance systems of institutions;
- To promote the public disclosure of the assessment and accreditation results
- To promote the internationalisation of the Portuguese higher education system.
The Agency also performs the following additional activities:
- To provide the Portuguese State with expertise in matters of higher education quality assurance;
- To elaborate studies and expert reports on its own initiative or in answer to State demands;
- To participate in the European Quality Assurance Register – EQAR;
- To coordinate assessment and accreditation activities in Portugal with international institutions and mechanisms.
