THEQC Becomes a Registered Agency Representing Türkiye in the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR)

The Higher Education Quality Council (YÖKAK) has successfully completed its registration with the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR), one of the important steps of the Bologna Process. With the decision taken on 3 March 2023, YÖKAK's activities were approved for EQAR registration within the scope of the European Standards and Guidelines (ESG).

YÖKAK's application for full membership to the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) had previously been accepted by the ENQA Board on 28 April 2020, and as a result, YÖKAK's 5-year full membership had been approved.

The successful completion of EQAR registration represents an important step on behalf of Türkiye in terms of the diploma visibility and recognition of quality-assured qualifications in our country within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).

EQAR registration ensures that reports on the institutional external evaluation and institutional accreditation activities carried out for higher education institutions by YÖKAK, the official body responsible for quality assurance in higher education in Türkiye, are also included in the EQAR database (DEQAR).

The achievement will also raise the compliance indicators for the development stage of the external quality assurance system in the Turkish Higher Education System to dark green, the highest level, in the Bologna Process implementation reports.

Evaluating this important development on behalf of our country, YÖKAK President Prof. Muhsin Kar stated that quality assurance systems have become the main driving force of change in European higher education. Noting that at the end of twenty years of the Bologna Process, all European countries have established internal and external quality assurance systems within their higher education systems, Kar emphasized that the new, multi-stakeholder, multi-level higher education ecosystem that has emerged has embedded a culture of change and internationalization. President Kar thanked all stakeholders, council members and staff who contributed to this achievement.

While continuing its support for program accreditation activities by authorizing and recognizing national and international accreditation bodies so that diplomas obtained in our country meet quality-assured qualifications, YÖKAK takes pride in carrying out its main mission, the institutional external evaluation and accreditation of higher education institutions, in line with the European ESG standards with ENQA and EQAR registration.

About EQAR

EQAR is the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education. All institutions in the European higher education area are subject to regular external evaluation by quality assurance agencies. The European Standards and Guidelines (ESG) framework document is the basis for the external evaluations carried out. EQAR is the register of quality assurance agencies operating in full compliance with the ESG in the European higher education area.

About ENQA

ENQA is an umbrella organization responsible for coordinating higher education quality assurance activities across Europe. By promoting European cooperation in the field of quality assurance in higher education, it contributes to developing and sharing good practices and to developing the European dimension of quality assurance by disseminating its knowledge and expertise among its members and stakeholders.