The Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) constitute a set of standards and guidelines intended for both external and internal quality assurance in higher education.
The Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) guide the implementation of quality assurance processes within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), focusing on areas that are of key importance for the quality of work and the learning environment in higher education. They apply to all types of study programmes within the EHEA, regardless of the mode and place of delivery, including international programmes.
The Agency for Science and Higher Education carries out activities that fall both within and outside the scope of the ESG.
Activities conducted by the Agency for Science and Higher Education that are considered part of the ESG include formal external quality assurance procedures related to teaching and learning in higher education:
- initial accreditation of study programmes,
- initial accreditation of higher education institutions,
- re-accreditation of higher education institutions,
- accreditation of joint study programmes delivered by domestic and foreign higher education institutions,
- cross-border evaluation of higher education institutions.
At the same time, the Agency carries out a range of activities that are not considered part of the ESG, stemming from its broader mandate as defined by national legislation:
- initial accreditation of scientific institutes,
- re-accreditation of scientific institutes,
- thematic evaluation,
- extraordinary evaluation,
- evaluation of the implementation of programme agreements,
- implementation of the Croatian Qualifications Framework (at level 5 in the part related to higher education, and at levels 6, 7 and 8 of the CROQF),
- recognition and evaluation of foreign educational qualifications,
- applications to higher education institutions and study programmes.