In December 2018 the Register Committee of the European Quality Assurance Register (EQAR) made decision on the inclusion of the Quality Agency for Higher Education/ Academic Information Centre (AIKA/AIC) in EQAR.
AIKA/AIC is the first Latvian higher education quality assurance agency that is included in EQAR, although external quality assurance in higher education in Latvia has developed since the restoration of independence in the early 1990s, with Latvia being one of the first European Higher Education Area (EHEA) countries that introduced a quality assurance system.
AIKA/AIC as a national quality assurance institution in Latvia was established in 2015 and since then the significant progress has been made. Inclusion of AIKA/AIC in EQAR was an aim that was defined already in 2015 when the Academic Information Centre (AIC) took over the responsibility for external quality assurance and the Quality Agency for Higher Education (AIKA) was established. Since March 2016 the achievement of this aim was supported by a European Social Fund project No.8.2.4.0/15/I/001 “Support for meeting the requirements set for EQAR agency”.
The decision on AIKA/AIC’s inclusion in EQAR is an achievement that follows the decision of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) to grant AIKA/AIC the full membership of ENQA. This is a joint achievement of the Latvian higher education community which certifies the compliance of the external quality assurance system in Latvia with the Standards and guidelines for quality assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG). It fosters the enhancement of the quality and recognition of the Latvian higher education and states that AIKA/AIC has been recognised as a reliable and trustworthy cooperation partner in the higher education area.