Launching the Audit Process of HEI’s Internal Quality Assurance Systems

The A3ES will initiate during the academic year 2011/2012 an experimental exercise for auditing internal quality assurance systems of Higher Education Institutions on a voluntary basis, focusing on a small number of institutions that have their internal systems formally constituted, duly documented and at an advanced stage of implementation, so that they can present evidences of the system’s effectiveness. The audit shall follow the procedures that are established in the Manual for the Audit Process which was previously open to public discussion and announced in July 2011.

To this end, an invitation was addressed to all HEIs, through CRUP of CCISP and APESP, to, submit until the 30th of November their expressions of interest for voluntarily participation in the exercise, by sending a message to address asigq[at]a3es[dot]pt.

The A3ES will decide, before the end of December, which institutions are accepted for audit. A workshop with these institutions will be held next January and February, as well as individual meetings with each one, for clarification of procedures and streamlining the process. By the end of April, institutions should submit their self-assessment report, according to the guidelines available in the Agency's electronic platform. The auditing process will continue in subsequent years, on the basis of voluntary participation by institutions.