The European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes (adopted by Ministers in Yerevan on 14-15 May 2015) is a huge step forward in removing barriers in QA for joint programmes. This approach makes it possible that one EQAR-registered agency carries out a single QA procedure of a joint programme using the agreed European criteria and methodology. The outcomes of this single QA procedure should then be accepted by the other EHEA countries that are involved in the joint programme. However, there are the following implementation problems that can be faced concerning accreditation and recognition: employability of graduates from joint programmes and the transparency of the QA status of joint programmes. The main aim of the project is to support efficient implementation of the European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes. This aim will be achieved by successful completion of the following objectives: 1. Identifying key obstacles in implementation of the European Approach in the European Higher Education Area in general, and project partner countries in particular; 2. Supporting partner QA agencies in running EA-based programme accreditation procedures (ex ante and ex post); 3. Supporting partner HEIs in pursuing the external accreditation based on the EA; 4. Developing an EA implementation toolkit (set of recommendations and proposed solutions for the policy makers and QA agencies). The project is expected to have immediate impact on the project partners and participants and non-participating quality assurance agencies and higher education institutions as its target group in terms of enhanced awareness and understanding of the European Approach. For the partners and participants, this will be achieved through their direct involvement in, and contribution to, the project activities, in particular the work carried out in the WPGs and the training events. For non-participants, this ‘enhanced capacity’ effect will be achieved through the project publications, dissemination activities and the availability of the online toolkit for support of implementation of the EA. The HEIs will benefit from undergoing EA-based accreditation procedure which, if it results with positive assessment, will be automatically recognised in every EHEA country in which given joint programme is offered. This will significantly reduce the bureaucratic burden comparing to current necessity to undergo separate accreditation procedures in every country where the programme is offered. The partner HEIs will also gain experience useful in accreditation procedures of other joint programmes. The inclusion of new joint programmes in the European Approach will have a positive impact on the development of more new joint programmes as it will encourage teaching staff, managers and students to engage with joint programmes and show that it is possible to simplify QA procedures and regulations. Successful achievement of the project aims and objectives will provide tools and knowledge necessary for increasing momentum of full implementation of the EA in EHEA. Therefore, one of the key target groups of the project's dissemination activities will be the national policy making bodies. This target group will be also reached by the involvement of the EQAR, which will include the presentation of the project outcomes in its members meetings. Simplified accreditation procedure is also believed to have positive long-term impact on the HEIs, by encouraging them to establish more joint programmes. The all above long term impacts will be achieved by developing an online toolkit for support implementation of the European Approach. The toolkit will be based on the extensive international surveys and pilot ex ante and ex post procedures based on the EA methodology, principles and framework.
The European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes (adopted by Ministers in Yerevan on 14-15 May 2015) is meant to be a huge step forward in removing barriers in QA for establishing and operating joint programmes. This approach has been design to enable any EQAR-registered external quality assurance agency to carry out a single QA procedure of a joint programme using the agreed European criteria and methodology. The outcomes of this single QA procedure should then be accepted by the other EHEA countries that are involved in the joint programme. However, despite the fact that this single accreditation approach was highly expected by all stakeholders, its practical implementation faced numerous challenges and obstacles. In 2017, when the ImpEA project was launched, only 19 out of 49 countries of the European Higher Education Area offered higher education institutions the possibility to use the European Approach at all. The main aim of the project was to support efficient implementation of the European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes. This aim was meant to be achieved by successful completion of the following objectives: 1. Identifying key obstacles in implementation of the European Approach in the European Higher Education Area in general, and project partner countries in particular; 2. Supporting partner QA agencies in running EA-based programme accreditation procedures (ex ante and ex post); 3. Supporting partner HEIs in pursuing the external accreditation based on the EA; 4. Developing an EA implementation toolkit (set of recommendations and proposed solutions for the policy makers and QA agencies). The main target audience and direct impact groups of the project were the following: European and national policy-making bodies, higher education institutions, quality assurance agencies in terms of enhanced awareness and understanding of the European Approach. For the project partners and participants of of the project events, this was achieved through their direct involvement in, and contribution to the activities. This means in particular the work carried out in order to develop and deliver the intellectual outputs, training events, multiplier and dissemination activities. Above-mentioned members of the project target groups, not engaged in the project activities directly, this ‘enhanced capacity’ effect will be achieved through the project publications, dissemination activities and foremost, the availability of the European Approach online toolkit (www.impea.eu). The ImpEA project has received a very keen interest throughout its duration and past it. This means that the project was able to generate a robust outreach to the main target groups. More then 1650 participants took part in the project and third-party events, where the European Approach to Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes and ImpEA project were discussed and presented. The main participant groups were higher education institutions (approx. 1070 participants), quality assurance agencies (250), students (370), policy making bodies (100), stakeholder organisations (ENQA, ECA, ESU, EUA) and other interested parties (i.e.EQAR, ENIC-NARIC). The direct and indirect project dissemination activities were aimed to reach national, European and global audience. The wide outreach of the project has also direct and indirect impact on the main target groups. The HEIs benefit from undergoing EA-based accreditation procedure which, if it results with positive assessment, is automatically recognised in every EHEA country in which given joint programme is offered. This significantly reduces the bureaucratic burden comparing to current, national-based approach. Reduction of the administrative burden also facilitates development of new joint programmes as it encourages teaching staff, managers and students to engage in the simplify QA procedure. Successful achievement of the main sustainability-related project outcome, the EA online toolkit, supports the momentum for full implementation of the EA in EHEA. This comprehensive tool is a one-stop-shop and easily accessible medium for everyone interested in joint programmes and the European Approach. It is based on the knowledge and experience gained by the project partners in carrying out the project activities and intellectual outputs. Furthermore, its design has been strongly based on the qualitative and quantitative sources of information gathered throughout the project, i.e. online survey, focus groups, events participants' discussions and feedback, consortium brainstorming, etc. Therefore, it can be considered a sustainable source of long-term impact, beyond the project itself. In 2020, at the end of the ImpEA project, the number of EHEA countries accepting the EA-based accreditation procedure has significantly increased. This means that out of 49 EHEA countries, 29 introduced favourable legal frameworks.