In 2017, AEQES wished to initiate an experimental phase to define the modalities of an evaluation of institutions at the level of their governance. The aim of this approach is to estimate the level of maturity of higher education institutions through the quality processes in place, and to enable in fine institutions to manage external programmatic evaluations themselves in the near future.
AEQES wishes to evolve its evaluation methodology towards a mixed approach, combining a revised programmatic component and adding an institutional component. For the institutional component, EQTA has launched a pilot phase of evaluation to find the most appropriate methodology, and to this end has issued a call for applications to Higher Education establishments wishing to participate. This pilot phase will take place between 2019 and 2023, and will enable us to rule on the methodology to be applied for institutional evaluations.
17 establishments have been selected to take part in this pilot phase. Together, they make up a representative sample, particularly in terms of forms of teaching, geographical distribution and degree of maturity of the various quality systems. These institutions are now entering a self-assessment phase based on the first part of the references and guidelines for quality assurance in higher education (ESG- European Standard Guidelines).
UNamur is one of the institutions selected to take part in the pilot phase of institutional evaluations in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.
The aim of this phase is not only to test different evaluation methodologies, but also to define an evaluation scope and object. In fact, it will seek to evaluate the processes that the Institution puts in place to function correctly, as well as its overall management. It is therefore a complex objective.
The stages of the WQTA institutional pilot phase
As this is a pilot phase, there is no established process yet. In addition, the participating Institutions have decided to draw inspiration from the programmatic evaluation steps by relying on ESG.
The pilot phase at the University of Namur
UNamur has applied to take an active part in this co-construction process.
Several key dates have therefore been announced to enable our Institution to complete the stages of this pilot phase:
- October 15, 2019: submission of the institutional self-evaluation report to AEQES as part of the pilot phase
- February 03,04 and 05, 2020: visit by the committee of experts mandated by AEQES as part of the pilot phase for the institutional evaluation. The visit went very well and enabled the experts to discover the workings and dynamism of our University.
- July 14, 2021: receipt of the experts' final report and their recommendations.
The University wished to adopt a collaborative approach by relying on nine working groups made up of more than 40 members of the Institution (academic, scientific and administrative staff, employees, deans, directors and vice-rectors).
This technique made it possible to develop the University's action plan in response to the recommendations received from the experts following their visit. This plan, published on May 31, 2022 and shown in the attachment below, is intended to be aligned with the strategic axes of the Rector's Council and respectful of our values, missions, staff and capabilities. The next stage of this evaluation will take place in 2025 with the submission of a follow-up dossier to EQASA.