Assessment procedures to be adopted by the regulatory agencies and the higher education assessment and regulatory structures in the CPLP member-States

The global goal of the study is to establish a reference framework for the development and consolidation of quality assurance systems for higher education in CPLP (Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries) member-States by 2030 and a set of recommendations for the future work of the Regulatory Agencies and national structures for the evaluation and regulation of higher education in the CPLP member-States. This global goal is broken down into the following specific goals: 1) Deepen the knowledge about the state of the art regarding the evaluation and regulation procedures adopted by the Regulatory Agencies and national structures for the evaluation and regulation of higher education in the CPLP member-States and carry out a survey of the norms of procedures leading to the recognition of degrees and diplomas; 2) Know the information and communication systems and technologies at the service of networking in the area of higher education quality in these countries and study the possibility of their inclusion in the interface structure of the information systems Digital Platform (PD) of ARES/CV, aiming to expand the Platform’s capacity, with the possibility of managing and processing the evaluation and accreditation process of higher education institutions; 3) Identify common indicators, that is, map, systematize, share and analyse instruments, methodologies and indicators of higher education assessment in the CPLP member-States (such as evaluation of study cycles; evaluation of scientific areas; institutional evaluation; self-evaluation; external evaluation; evaluation of teaching in the distance learning modality) and to prepare a set of recommendations for the future work of the Regulatory Agencies and national structures for the evaluation and regulation of higher education in the CPLP member-States. 4) Prepare a training plan for the staff of the ARES CPLP Space, which will enable the institutional capacity building of the Regulatory Agencies and national structures for the evaluation and regulation of higher education in the CPLP member-States. The attainment of these specific goals will enable the establishment of the reference framework mentioned above, based on common reference indicators to be adopted by the Regulatory Agencies and national structures for the evaluation and regulation of higher education in the member-States. In turn, this reference framework will be the basis for the production of specific recommendations for: • The establishment of a support and incentive network for technical cooperation in the field of training and development of professionals, considering the specificities and needs of the CPLP higher education Assessment and Regulation Agencies or similar bodies; • The reinforcement of information sharing on the accreditation and regulation of study programmes and higher education institutions and the procedures leading to the recognition of degrees and diplomas; • The encouragement of the use of information and communication technologies at the service of networking in the area of quality in higher education; • The progress towards the establishment and promotion of a community mechanism of multilateral surveillance with the purpose to support the Regulatory Agencies and national structures for the evaluation and regulation of higher education in the member-States, based on the democratization of knowledge, the spirit of mutual support and the principle of mutual solidarity.