Quality assurance goes hand-in-hand with commitment to the University’s
mission, so as to ensure that the quality of education and research training
provided is under continuous review and that the standards set are appropriate
and are being met.
The University’s dedicated Quality
Assurance site sets
out the structures, procedures, and outcomes of its quality assurance policy and
internal evaluation processes.
In brief, the University first sought the benefits of independent
evaluations in 2000 (committee of ‘Greek diaspora’ academics chaired by Prof
Eleni Arveler, Sorbonne) pdf, and again in
2001 with an Institutional Review by the European Universities Association
(EUA) pdf. Since then, in
line with policy developments at a European level and the formation of the
European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), systematic
quality assurance procedures applying to all Greek HEIs have been developed and
implemented.
The current
legal framework for QA in higher education institutions in Greece established
the Hellenic Quality Assurance & Accreditation Agency (ΑΔΙΠ/HQAA) in 2006,
which in 2020 was reconstituted as the Hellenic Authority for Higher Education
(ΕΘΑΑΕ/ΗΑΗΕ).
HΑΗΕ oversees regular accreditation procedures for HEIs related both to the
Quality Assurance System (IQAS) of the Institution and the Study Progammes (SP)
offered by the academic departments.
Within the University, each department has a QA group (OMEA) which works
together with the University QA Committee (ΜΟΔΙΠ) to meet the
requirements for periodic internal and external evaluations. The University QA
Committee is headed by the Vice-Rector of Academic Affairs. It includes 5
faculty members, a representative from each category of teaching and support staff
and 2 student representatives.
The Institution and all of the University’s Departments have now benefited
from external evaluations by independent committees of academics convened by
the national agency. The reports are available in English online.
The QA process at all levels is nonetheless
continuous and requires ongoing effort to meet the University’s commitment to
fully participate in quality assurance mechanisms both for its academic and
administrative structures.