This Education Policy Perspective serves as Part A in a two-part series of policy papers on “Promoting Quality and Excellence in Higher Education and VET”. This first paper (Part A) reviews recent policy developments in the external evaluation and quality assurance of higher education and vocational education and training (VET) undertaken by external quality assurance agencies or inspectorates in ten European jurisdictions: Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Scotland (United Kingdom). This report was prepared by the OECD as part of the Project "Strengthening the system of evaluation and quality assurance in higher education and vocational education and training in Lithuania”, funded by the European Union’s Technical Support Instrument, and produced at the request of, and in close collaboration with, the Lithuanian Ministry of Education, Science and Sports (ŠMSM), and the European Commission.
