Application & Fees

THE ACCREDITATION PROCESS

1. Consideration of eligibility.

Accreditation focuses on higher education institutions. An eligible member must be any kind of organization, entity or company properly authorized to conduct higher educational teaching and certification, to award post-secondary degrees, certificates or other educational or professional credentials.

The entities eligible for accreditation must prepare individuals to achieve competencies and attain the educational qualifications necessary to begin functioning in a specific occupation. In other words, they must prepare individuals in a branch of knowledge, science, art or business that has application in a specific occupation, usually requiring significant specialized training, or profession.

2. Application for Accreditation

The EQAC has prepared an application for accreditation that will guide the applicant institutions in the preparation of the Self Study Report and the required documentary evidence. The applicant may download and print this application for accreditation, then fill it out and finally send it out to the EQAC Secretary by email (.doc, .pdf or .jpg formats are accepted), or regular mail.

This application is a legally binding contract between the EQAC and the applicant institution that states the rights and obligations of both parties. The EQAC will not start any accreditation process without the corresponding application.

The applicant institution may submit the application for verification of its accreditation eligibility without including any fee. Once the EQAC Secretary confirms the eligible options, the applicant institution is entitled to pay the corresponding fee.

Click to download Application for Accreditation (Self Assessment Report)

3. Fees:

Accreditation Fee: 1.300 Euros

This fee is payable upon acceptance of the eligibility of the institution.
This fee includes the evaluation of the application for accreditation (Self Assessment Report).
This fee includes the final applicant accreditation assessment report.
This fee includes the first year of accreditation maintenance fee.
This fee does NOT include any additional expenses derived from required site visits.

Re-accreditation Fee: 700 Euros

The re-accreditation process is the same as the initial accreditation process.
This fee includes the re-evaluation of the application for accreditation.
This fee includes the final applicant accreditation assessment report.
This fee includes the the year of accreditation maintenance fee.
This fee does NOT include any additional expenses derived from required site visits.

Yearly Maintenance Fee: 200 Euros a year

This fee is payable every year since the date of the full accreditation of the institution.

4. Accreditation options.

The Commission has established three different ways to obtain the EQAC accreditation:

OPTION 1- IAU members.

This option is restricted to members of the UNESCO International Association of Universities. The applicant institution must be listed in the IAU Handbook. This modality is sponsored by the EQA Commission. Members of the IAU may be included in the EQAC Accreditation members list upon request of any of their academics.

Procedure: An academic from the institution must request the Accreditation from the EQAC. The EQAC Secretary will conduct the corresponding verification with the UNESCO IAU. The Commission will authorize the inclusion of the institution in the EQAC members list. Inclusion in this list is automatically renovated every year. Withdrawal from this list must be communicated in writing to the EQAC Secretary.

OPTION 2- EQAC Selection members.
The EQAC selection is a set of bodies whose certification or membership we consider similar or equivalent to EQAC accreditation. Member institutions from any of the EQAC selected bodies may automatically qualify for the EQAC accreditation. They are requested to pay the yearly maintenance fee. If the institution is no longer member, recognized or accredited by the EQAC Selection bodies, the institution will be required to go through a re-accreditation process, submit the application for accreditation (Self Assessment Report) and pay the re-accreditation fee.

Procedure: The applicant institution must submit the Application for Accreditation to the EQAC Secretary. The institution only needs to fill out the application up to standard A3, where it specifies membership, recognition or accreditation by one the EQAC Selection bodies. The EQAC Secretary will conduct the corresponding verification with the organization. The Commission will authorize the inclusion of the institution in the EQAC members list. The institution is requested to pay the yearly maintenance fee every year.

OPTION 3- EQAC Full Accreditation.
Any educational institution seeking accreditation by the EQAC must demonstrate through the application and self assessment report (SSR) that it meets EQAC's standards.

Procedure:

Application: Submit the Application for Accreditation (Self Assessment Report).
Eligibility: The EQAC Secretary will confirm the eligibility and conduct a review to verify that the application is complete. The eligibility and resolutions of the EQAC Secretary are not binding to the resolutions of the Commission.
Accreditation Fee: The institution pays the Accreditation Fee.
Evaluation Process: The EQAC Secretary will distribute the application for accreditation and attached documents to an available member of the commission for the assessment of how each standard is addressed by the applicant educational institution. Each standard is graded in a 0 to 4 scale.
Announcement: The EQAC Secretary will communicate the results of the initial accreditation status to the other members of the Commission. The other members of the Commission have 12 days since the announcement to review and amend the conclusions and grades of the initial accreditation report.
Interview or site visit: If deemed necessary, the commissioner may require an interview with the appointed representative of the applicant educational institution or arrange a site visit from a member of the commission. This action is usually scheduled if the material provided by the applicant is insufficient for a clear judgment, or for further clarification about specific standards. The travel costs and expenses related to the interview or site visit will be paid by the applicant educational institution. The interview or site visit goals, schedule and budget will be settled in advance by the EQAC Secretary in consultation with the applicant. Usually one day interview or visit will be enough to resolve any concerns.
Conclusion: The EQAC Secretary will communicate the results of the accreditation status and any grade amendments from the other commissioners to the president of the EQAC. The president will review the accreditation report to resolve any discrepancies that may have occurred during the standards grading. The final grades of the accreditation report are endorsed by the president of the EQAC.

The EQAC Secretary will inform the new applicant educational institution of the conclusions of the accreditation report and will provide suggestions, if applicable. In the case that full accreditation is gained, the EQAC Secretary will send the corresponding accreditation diploma. In any case the detailed accreditation report is always sent to the applicant.

The evaluation of each standard is graded according to the following scale:

4 (Outstanding - No need for improvement)
3 (Standard - May improve)
2 (Acceptable but requires improvement)
1 (Insufficient - Not meeting the minimums)
0 (Failed to comply with this requirement)

The resulting average will determine the accreditation status:

Full accreditation (Final average ranging 3,0 - 4,0)
Requires re-accreditation review every five years.

Conditional accreditation (Final average ranging 2,0 - 2,9)
This is a one year long temporary status. The educational institution must undergo a new re-accreditation review within 12 months of conditional accreditation. If full accreditation is not achieved in this review, the accreditation status will be denied.

Denial of accreditation (Final average ranging 0,0 - 1,9)
The Commission will explain the reasons for the denial. The accreditation fee is not refundable in this situation. Any educational institution in this case may reapply for accreditation after a 12 months period.

Read the EQAC Regulations to learn more about us.

Sample of the accreditation status report