The quality evaluation commission held by The Swedish National Agency for Higher Education, HSV no longer maintains European standards.
This was decreed by the board of the European cooperative ENQA last Friday. Because of this, HSV may face exclusion from the collaborations between the different quality evaluation institutions.
The resolution is based on the fact that HVS’s new method for evaluating education, which the government carried out in 2010 under strong protests from the sector, differs from the guiding principles established by the European standard, ESG.
“Which international students would go study here if it’s not even sure the education maintains European quality”, said Camilla Georgsson, president of The Swedish National Union of Students (SFS), to Lundagård as ENQA’s preliminary spring report was published.
Nevertheless, HSV await an evaluation of what consequences may follow ENQA’s resolution.
“A premise is that this will involve considerable consequences”, says Lennart Ståhle, staff manager at HSV, and continues:
“The resolution was expected, as the methods we’ve adopted differ so much from the standards put together by ESG”.
However, HSV have the possibility, within two years, to adjust their evaluation framework to fit ENQA’s criteria, if they want to. Yet, this is not an interest at present, according to HSV’s statement.
Instead, an application for a new membership will be dispatched as the ongoing quality evaluation round is finished in 2014. The application is part of the authority’s new structure, which is to be due after the turn of the year.
“We wish to continue the European collaboration by means of the other networks and contacts that have been established within the international quality evaluation for higher education”, University Chancellor Lars Haikola says in a statement from HSV.
Text: Jacob Hederos
Translation: Anna Bergvall
