Portugal

• Governmental membership
  Portugal has been a Governmental Member of EQAR since March 2008.

  Map: EHEA countries by governmental membership

• General information on higher education

  The Portuguese higher education system includes universities and polytechnics (institutions which provide profession-based training) which may be public or private. While all institutions may offer first and second cycle degree programmes, third cycle degree programmes (doctorate/PhD) are offered by universities and university institutes only.

• National external quality assurance requirements

  With the introduction of a lighter touch approach, some programme accreditations may simply undergo a desk research instead of a full programme accreditations. Light touch approach is available for higher education institutions that have successfully undergone an institutional accreditations and have been certified through the institutional audit approach. In these cases only a sample of programmes is assessed, and the institution is subjected to additional annual monitoring.
  

  • Institutional Assessment
    Carried out every six years, years, at the end of each regular cycle of assessment/accreditation of all study programmes in operation

  • Accredition of study programmes in operation
    The usual period of validity of the accreditation is 6 years. In case of a lighter touch approach, only a desk analysis is carried out.

• EHEA key commitment

  Fully aligned with the ESG

  A fully functioning quality assurance system is in operation nationwide, in which all higher education institutions are subject to regular external quality assurance by an agency that has successfully demonstrated compliance with the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the EHEA (ESG) through registration on EQAR

  Map: implementation of the EHEA key commitment

• Cross-border quality assurance

  Recognising foreign agencies based on their own framework/requirements

  Generally yes, but only under certain conditions.

  • Eligibility requirements for foreign agencies: the QA agency must be approved by the Agency for Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education (A3ES) (see)

  • Conditions for the agencies’ work (e.g. criteria to be used): own criteria.

  • Recognition of reviews carried out by foreign agencies: on a case by case decision, the Executive Board of A3ES may accept the result of the assessment / accreditation procedure at programme or institutional level from other QA agencies, as long as they follow the ESG.

  Map: recognition of cross-border quality assurance

• European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes

  European Approach available to some higher education institutions or only under specific conditions

  Map: availability of the European Approach for QA of Joint Programmes

• Permalink
  https://data.deqar.eu/country/139/
• Further information

  • Bologna National Report (2015)

  • Ministry responsible for higher education

  • Portugal - European Higher Education Area

  • ENIC NARIC

  • Diário da República, 1.ª série — N.º 212 — 5 de Novembro de 2007 (in Portuguese)

Registered agencies operating in Portugal