FEDE QUALITY CHARTER

This Quality Charter commits all FEDE member institutions to uphold the standards and quality directives for higher education and vocational training set out herein, and to apply the FEDE’s recommendations to ensure quality educational services for their learners.

Every learner enrolled in a FEDE member institution must be confident in the quality of his or her educational programme, which should focus firmly on developing employment-ready skills for a European context.

This Charter was revised on 15 November 2023 and adopted by decision of the FEDE General Assembly on 3 April 2024. It is based on the recommendations for quality-assurance procedures set out in the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG)*, which were adopted in revised form during the Erevan European Higher Education Area (EHEA) Ministerial Conference of 2015.

This Charter is not intended to replace existing FEDE quality guidelines or to repeat the regulatory provisions laid down in the FEDE’s General Regulations and its Specific Regulations for FEDE degrees. Rather, it provides a common core of values and good practice to ensure that learners at FEDE member educational institutions have the conditions they need to succeed.

By encouraging a quality-driven culture, this Charter plays an essential role in promoting values favouring ethical education, social inclusion and continuous improvement.

All member institutions preparing students for FEDE degrees, certificates and qualification-granting examinations should broadly implement the quality-management principles set out in the Charter.

EUROPEAN STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES FOR QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN FEDE MEMBER INSTITUTIONS

Standard

‘Institutions should have a policy for quality assurance that is made public and forms part of their strategic management. Internal stakeholders should develop and implement this policy through appropriate structures and processes, while involving external stakeholders.’

Guidelines

The drawing up a policy and associated procedures provides educational institutions with a framework within which to deploy an effective strategy, measure the efficacy of their quality-management system and encourage a quality-driven culture. It also builds and strengthens stakeholders’ trust in educational institutions.

Policies should include statements of intention and the main measures to be taken in order to reach a given goal. The policy statement must include information on:

  • the link between teaching and educational research at the institution;
  • the institution’s quality management strategy and its benchmarks;
  • organisation of the quality management system;
  • the respective responsibilities of the various actors and services involved in quality management;
  • the involvement of external stakeholders in quality management;
  • the involvement of learners in quality management;
  • ways of protecting the institution’s learners and staff against all forms of intolerance and discrimination;
  • how the policy is implemented, monitored and evaluated.

It is essential that the institution formally establish three distinct levels of responsibility:

  • a director;
  • a FEDE contact person, who is an intermediary between the FEDE, the institution and its learners;
  • an educational manager.

Decisions regarding the implementation, monitoring and revision of these policies are to be taken by the educational institution and should cover all its activities, including those of external stakeholders. The strategy, policy and procedures must be widely communicated to stakeholders.

Standard

‘Institutions should have processes for the design and approval of their programmes. The programmes should be designed so that they meet the objectives set for them, including the intended learning outcomes. The qualification resulting from a programme should be clearly specified and communicated, and refer to the correct level of the national qualifications framework for higher education and, consequently, to the Framework for Qualifications of the European Higher Education Area.’

Guidelines

Learners’ and stakeholders’ confidence in higher education and vocational training hinges on effective quality-management mechanisms ensuring that educational programmes are well-designed and regularly checked and revised, and that their reliability and utility are assured.

Educational institutions should structure their programmes in accordance with the information set out in the FEDE’s degree and qualification guidelines (duration of modules, goals and learning outcomes, skills, etc.) and with the FEDE’s examination session dates.

Educational institutions should design their programmes in accordance with learners’ needs, and in coordination with learners’ host companies and/or funding parties.

Educational programmes must include:

  • the establishment and publication of explicit educational goals appropriate to the target level;
  • careful attention to programme content and target level;
  • attention to the specific needs of different types of program (for example, post-secondary, continuing, distance, sandwich) and institution (higher, technical, vocational);
  • structured workplace experience arrangements that are relevant to the programmes taught;
  • benchmarks;
  • the expected workload for learners (expressed in, for example, ECTS credits);
  • the involvement of learners in quality-management activities.

Each educational programme must be supported by external expertise and undergo an official institution-level approval process.

By virtue of its membership of the FEDE, educational institution should deliver educational programmes aligned with the standards and recommendations published by the European Union, the Council of Europe and UNESCO.

Standard

‘Institutions should ensure that the programmes are delivered in a way that encourages students to take an active role in creating the learning process, and that the assessment of students reflects this approach.’

Guidelines

Student-centred teaching and learning aim to help learners develop their own learning strategies. This means that learners must be able to self-assess, learn autonomously and build skills outside of the structured teaching they receive.

In order to develop a student-centred approach, teachers should encourage learners to actively participate in their learning and adopt a critical attitude towards learning. This requires detailed reflection on the design of education programmes and on the teaching and assessment methods used.

Implementation of student-centred learning and teaching must:

  • recognise, respect and meet learners’ needs through flexible learning pathways;
  • take into account diversity and adapt learning pathways accordingly;
  • use different teaching methods in line with learners’ identified needs;
  • regularly evaluate and adjust the teaching methods used;
  • encourage and develop learners’ autonomy through efficient supervision;
  • promote mutual respect between learners and the institution’s staff;
  • establish appropriate procedures for addressing learners’ complaints.

Learner assessment must:

  • be designed to measure the extent to which the programme goals and learning outcomes have been reached;
  • be appropriate to the intended goal, be it the identification of strengths and weaknesses, mid-course assessment or mock examination;
  • be based on clear assessment criteria that are made available to students;
  • where possible, be conducted by more than one examiner;
  • take due account of all the possible consequences of the examination rules;
  • be accompanied by clear rules on learner absence, sickness and other cases of force majeure;
  • ensure that intermediary and mock examinations are held strictly in accordance with the educational institution’s rules;
  • be subject to administrative monitoring to ensure compliance with procedures.

Standard

‘Institutions should consistently apply pre-defined and published regulations covering all phases of the student “life cycle”, e.g. student admission, progression, recognition and certification.’

Guidelines

It is crucial to establish procedures for admission, recognition and certification in the interests of educational institutions and learners, enabling the latter to make progress in their training and professional careers.

Such procedures also aim to encourage learner mobility by recognising their progression, learning achievements and skills. They must be documented, consistent, transparent and aligned with their objectives.

Educational institutions should decide on and clearly communicate the criteria for admission to their educational programmes. They should put in place a procedure to check these criteria are met (interviews, admissions committee, tests, etc.). They should also have arrangements in place to address cases of non-compliance with admissions criteria for FEDE degrees and other qualifications.

During the programme, the educational institution must put in place processes and tools to collect information on learners’ progress, to recognise formal and informal learning, and to take appropriate measures in response to the information gathered.

Successful performance in qualification-granting examinations is required for the awarding of a FEDE degree or other qualification and marks the end of the learners’ programme. It results in the FEDE’s providing a document stating the qualification obtained, the level, the content and the status of the educational programme.

The educational institution must provide learners with all the required documents proving they have been awarded a FEDE degree or certificate.

Standard

‘Institutions should assure themselves of the competence of their teachers. They should apply fair and transparent processes for the recruitment and development of the staff.’

Guidelines

Educational institutions must have measures in place to ensure the quality and competence of their teaching staff. These measures must be verifiable during checks and external audits and must be discussed in evaluation reports.

Teachers are learners’ main resource during their programme. It is important that teachers have a perfect knowledge and understanding of the subject, field or speciality that they teach, and that they have the skills and experience needed to share their knowledge with learners. They should be provided with feedback on the quality of their teaching so that they can make appropriate adjustments.

The institution’s internal and external teachers must:

  • have an EQF* level-6 or higher qualification for a Foundation Degree;
  • have an EQF level-7 qualification or higher for a European Bachelor’s;
  • have an EQF level-7 qualification or higher and additional training or two years’ experience in the corresponding professional field for a European Master’s or MBA;
  • if they do not have a qualification, provide proof of five years’ experience in the professional field corresponding to the degree and/or other qualification for which they are teaching.

Educational institutions must ensure that their recruitment and appointment procedures are such as to guarantee that newly recruited teachers have the necessary level of skills.

The institution’s teachers must be given the opportunity to improve and expand their skills and must be encouraged to use and strengthen their abilities.

*EQF: European Qualifications Framework for lifelong education and training, developed by the European Commission as part of the Bologna process. It is a common reference system allowing European countries to connect up their qualification systems.

Standard

‘Institutions should have appropriate funding for learning and teaching activities and ensure that adequate and readily accessible learning resources and student support are provided.’

Guidelines

Educational institutions must provide their learners with human resources and learning material (staff, documents, tutorials, etc.).

These resources must be readily accessible and available, up-to-date and appropriate to the type of teaching used and the number of learners.

Supervisory activities and entities may be organised in various ways depending on the specific characteristics of the educational institution.

Learners must be informed of the services available to them.

Services must take into account learners’ needs, diversity, interculturality, disabilities and vulnerabilities and the possibility of flexible learning and teaching arrangements.

Administrative and support staff play an essential role in providing these services. Consequently, they must hold appropriate qualifications and be given the opportunity to develop their skills.

Standard

‘Institutions should ensure that they collect, analyse and use relevant information for the effective management of their programmes and other activities.’

Guidelines

Higher education institutions must ensure that they collect, analyse and use information necessary for effective management of their educational programmes and other activities.

It is important that educational institutions have the resources available to collect and analyse information on their own activities. Without this information they will be unable to identify their strengths, to pinpoint any weaknesses requiring their attention or to assess the outcomes of their practice.

Data management and the collection of quality data depend, to some extent, on local conditions. However, the following areas must be covered as a minimum:

  • learners’ progression and programme pass rates;
  • the rate of employment among programme graduates;
  • learner satisfaction with respect to the programme and its organisation;
  • the efficacy of teachers, the teaching team and administrative and support staff;
  • the profiles of learners enrolled in the programme;
  • the learning resources available and their cost;
  • performance indicators specific to the educational institution.

Standard

‘Institutions should publish information about their activities, including programmes, which is clear, accurate, objective, up-to date and readily accessible.’

Guidelines

Educational institutions must regularly publish up-to-date, impartial and objective quantitative and qualitative information on their programmes and on the degrees and other qualifications for which they prepare learners. The information must be precise, readily accessible and not be used purely for promotional purposes.

Educational institutions have a responsibility to:

  • clearly indicate their membership of the FEDE;
  • provide up-to-date information on the programmes they offer, the degrees and other qualifications they award, the teaching they provide, and the teaching and assessment methods they use;
  • make public both information on the career destinations of their graduates and graduate testimonials.

Standard

‘Institutions should monitor and periodically review their programmes to ensure that they achieve the objectives set for them and respond to the needs of students and society. These reviews should lead to continuous improvement of the programme. Any action planned or taken as a result should be communicated to all those concerned.’

Guidelines

The FEDE has formal mechanisms in place for periodically checking and revising its degrees and its teaching guidelines. The teaching guidelines shared with FEDE-member educational institutions lay down a given programme structure and content designed to develop learners’ knowledge and vocational and crosscutting skills.

To this end, educational institutions should revise their educational programmes annually. The teaching teams must ensure that the educational programmes they teach are up-to-date and aligned with the corresponding FEDE degree and qualification guidelines.

Standard

‘Institutions should undergo external quality assurance in line with the ESG on a cyclical basis.’

Guidelines

Educational institutions should carry out an external quality-assurance process in conformity with the legislative framework by which they are governed.

External quality-assurance activities may take various forms and focus on different organisational levels. They might include:

  • peer evaluation;
  • audits ;
  • programme reviews;
  • evaluation of learners’ results;
  • stakeholder satisfaction surveys;
  • reviews of the institution’s documentation, etc.

The results of these activities must enable educational institutions to pursue a continuous improvement strategy and to offer their learners high-quality programmes.

COMMITMENTS OF FEDE-MEMBER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

In signing this Quality Charter, FEDE member educational institutions expressly undertake to:

  • oversee compliance and implementation of the guidelines detailed in this Quality Charter;
  • draw up, structure and share with stakeholders the corresponding organisational directives;
  • draw up a set of values and a reference framework for stakeholders, make them available and apply them in practice;
  • draw up, adopt and implement a quality process and an efficient methodology to ensure continuous improvement of the institution’s activities;
  • ensure that programmes are organised in line with the FEDE’s degree and qualification guidelines, the FEDE’s examination dates and learners’ needs;
  • develop content and provide programmes that are compliant with the FEDE degree and qualification guidelines, the aims of the programme and learners’ needs;
  • periodically update their programmes and learning content to incorporate updates to the FEDE’s degree and qualification guidelines and to adapt to learners’ needs;
  • evaluate learners’ existing knowledge at the start of their programmes so as to ensure learners meet the admissions criteria specified in the FEDE’s regulations;
  • check whether the programme objectives have been reached and improve learning processes in line with learners’ needs;
  • conduct assessment to measure learners’ progress and meet the requirements set out in the FEDE’s degree and qualification guidelines;
  • conduct surveys so as to be able to apply corrective measures where necessary, thereby improving the quality of teaching, and the development and recognition of skills;
  • introduce and apply a procedure for checking the skills of internal stakeholders during their recruitment so as to ensure that programmes are conducted by qualified persons;
  • offer and provide training for the teaching team, teachers and administrative staff working at the educational institution;
  • guide and supervise learners throughout their programme;
  • provide learners with human and learning resources appropriate to their needs and the programme’s mode of delivery;
  • provide infrastructure and a learning environment appropriate to the programme’s activities so as to favour the learning process;
  • collect and analyse information sufficient to have up-to-date knowledge on the compliance of the institution’s educational programmes and activities;
  • deploy an information security and protection system;
  • provide stakeholders with transparent and readily accessible information on the institution’s programmes, pass rates and modes of programme delivery;
  • comply with the FEDE’s communication rules and state in the institution’s communications material that the institution is a member of the FEDE;
  • have in place an external quality-assurance process to assess the institution’s internal quality management.

*Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG), 2015, Brussels, Belgium

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