In order to maintain its registration on the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR), MusiQuE is undergoing an external evaluation process and being assessed against the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG).
Following the production of a self-evaluation report by December 2024, MusiQuE was visited last week by an external Review Panel, composed of:
- Oliver Vettori (Chair), Dean for Accreditation and Quality Management, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria
- Lineke van Brugen (Secretary), Country Coordinator Benin and Togo at PUM and Senior expert/Consultant Internationalisation and Higher Education; Former Senior Policy Advisor, coordinator international NVAO The Netherlands
- Eva Fernandez de Labastida, Internationalisation and projects manager UNIBASQ – Agency for Quality of the Basque University System, Spain
- Carlo Mazzini, Master’s student in wind band composition, Milan Conservatory, Italy
The review process is coordinated by the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) and takes the form of a targeted review: as MusiQuE has been reviewed twice in 2015 and 2020, this review procedure focuses on enhancement.
During the site-visit on 18-20 February 2025, the Review Panel interviewed the MusiQuE Board and Office, representatives of institutions and programmes reviewed by MusiQuE, a group of MusiQuE reviewers, representatives of accreditation agencies which have cooperated with MusiQuE (AQU Catalunya from Spain, NVAO from the Netherlands and HAKA from Estonia), as well as representatives of MusiQuE’s partner organisations: AEC (European Association of Conservatoires), the European Music School Union (EMU), European Association in Music Schools (EAS) and Pearle* – Live Performance Europe, as well as other stakeholders, such as EPASA – European Performing Arts Students’ Association.
The Review Panel highlighted MusiQuE’s impressive accomplishments since its conception in October 2014 and emphasised how MusiQuE, through its procedures, has supported arts institutions and programmes, establishing a strong reputation in the field. The Panel also commended MusiQuE for its collaboration with different stakeholders, bringing a variety of perspectives, and praised the enhancement led-approach that characterizes MusiQuE’s procedures. Moreover, the panel recognised the passionate work of the MusiQuE Board, Office and Peer-Reviewers, who bring to life a set of strong values that align with MusiQuE’s mission.
The Review Panel also shared a set of recommendations, including the further development of MusiQuE’s Follow-up Processes (i.e. how MusiQuE supports institutions in the years following a review) and the clarification of the Critical Friend Review procedures. Moreover, the panel invited MusiQuE to continue its regular production of thematic analyses to maintain a relevant voice in the field. You can view the Review Panel’s feedback in more detail here.
The Review Panel will draft the review report and submit it to MusiQuE in May 2025. The EQAR Committee will then assess MusiQuE’s re-application on the basis of this report and of MusiQuE’s self-evaluation report.
