Quality Assurance in Higher Education in a New European Reality
Ever since European cooperation in education gained real momentum in the early 2000s, quality assurance has held a central place. This cooperation has been important for Norway – not only to ensure that our study programs maintain a high standard, but also to build trust that Norwegian degrees and qualifications are relevant and internationally recognized.
Europe and the world look quite different today than 25 years ago. We live in a time marked by crises, disinformation, and geopolitical unrest. In this reality, education plays an increasingly important role – both for the individual’s ability to acquire knowledge and think critically, and for society’s overall resilience. It is therefore essential that society can trust that the quality of education remains high, and that educational institutions fulfil their social mission responsibly.
Although NOKUT works within a Norwegian context and according to Norwegian regulations, we are closely connected to Europe. Through the Bologna Process and our membership in the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), we have committed ourselves to common standards for quality assurance – something that has great significance for how we work with educational quality in Norway.
The Bologna Process, which Norway has been part of since its inception in 1999, has been a driving force for making higher education more comparable and quality assured across European borders. This has opened doors for Norwegian students and institutions internationally and has also laid the foundation for important reforms nationally.
Norway’s Quality Reform was a direct result of this European cooperation. The reform gave higher education institutions greater responsibility for their own quality assurance, while also establishing the need for an independent body to ensure that quality was actually maintained. The reform also led to the establishment of NOKUT in 2003.
Much was happening elsewhere in Europe in the early 2000s as well. ENQA was established in 2000 and has around 60 members today. The organization represents the interests of quality assurance agencies within the European Higher Education Area, offers services and networking opportunities, and promotes innovation and development in external quality assurance.
ENQA has also been a key player in developing the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance (ESG) and serves as the main coordinator for external evaluations of quality assurance agencies in Europe. NOKUT is a member, and in 2023 our membership was reconfirmed through a mandatory evaluation process that all members must undergo every five years to remain part of the organization.
The ESG was adopted at the ministerial meeting in Bergen in 2005 and revised in 2015. The guidelines provide a common framework for both internal and external quality assurance across the European Higher Education Area, even though implementation differs somewhat from country to country. The standards contribute to transparency and mutual trust and serve as an important framework for NOKUT’s work – and for the quality work of Norwegian higher education institutions.
Work on a new revision of the ESG is already well underway and is scheduled to be adopted at the ministerial meeting in 2027. ENQA plays an active role in this process and provided input at the ministerial conference in Tirana in 2024, where the mandate to revise the standards was granted. Among the proposals are ensuring that national legislation allows quality assurance agencies to operate in accordance with the ESG and facilitating international cooperation by reducing national barriers within quality assurance and higher education.
NOKUT’s work is anchored in the Universities and University Colleges Act, which explicitly states that both the internal quality assurance of Norwegian higher education institutions and NOKUT’s external quality assurance must comply with the ESG. It is the institutions’ own responsibility to ensure quality in line with the ESG guidelines, while NOKUT’s role is to carry out the external quality assurance. We do this both by safeguarding minimum standards and by contributing to quality development. Our vision is to ensure quality in order to build trust – and this guides everything we do.
High-quality education is essential for society’s ability to assess and develop knowledge and to ensure future value creation. Quality is also closely linked to participation in international cooperation. Study programs that meet high international standards make Norwegian institutions attractive partners in education, research, and innovation.
NOKUT actively participates in European and international cooperation to ensure that our work is internationally grounded and to help shape developments in the field of quality assurance in higher education. For NOKUT, ENQA is the leading actor, providing access to the best knowledge on how to safeguard quality here in Norway. This is a prerequisite for us to successfully handle the challenges of today and the future – in a new European reality.
This article is based on Kristin Vinje’s introduction at the Conference for Higher Education 2025, held on 25 September in Bergen.