University of Gibraltar secures global quality accreditation

The University of Gibraltar has become the latest institution to achieve global accreditation from the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA), the UK’s independent quality body and a global leader in quality assurance for higher education.

The global accreditation is awarded to international institutions who have passed the QAA’s rigorous International Quality Review (IQR), which measures global institutions against international quality assurance standards set out in Part 1 of the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG).

The review took place between 22-25 November 2021 and was completed by a team of three independent reviewers. In making their conclusions, the review team confirmed that the University meets all 10 of the internal quality assurance standards in the ESG.

The review team also identified a number of features of good practice including:

• the quality handbook provides a robust level of architecture for the management of quality and standards at University level, and which includes extensive externality
• the close-working partnerships between the University and other Gibraltar-based organisations, given the particular challenges with operating in such a densely populated and geographically restricted space, such as the Gibraltar peninsula
• the effective use of externality throughout its committee structure and embedded within its quality assurance processes.

Professor Catherine Bachleda, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Gibraltar said: ‘Since opening its doors in 2015, the University of Gibraltar has been committed to becoming a provider of first-class higher education. Achieving QAA’s global accreditation supports our vision as ‘an institution of excellence in teaching, learning and research’, while enhancing our reputation, competitiveness and global image. This is a University-wide achievement of which we are all very proud.’

Vicki Stott, QAA’s Chief Executive said: ‘This is a wonderful achievement for the University of Gibraltar. In achieving QAA’s global accreditation, the University has displayed its compatibility with international best practice. International Quality Review supports international institutions in developing collaboration with UK and global partners and we look forward to seeing what opportunities this accreditation will open for the University of Gibraltar.’

The University of Gibraltar has obtained QAA institutional accreditation for a period of five years, subject to a satisfactory mid-cycle review. This allows them to display QAA’s IQR Accreditation Badge, demonstrating that their quality assurance procedures are comparable with international best practice. Through achieving QAA global accreditation, the University of Gibraltar is also eligible to become a QAA International Member. International Quality Review is carried out in QAA’s capacity supporting the development of higher education quality internationally, including activity to support QAA Members and collaboration with international partners.

By securing global accreditation from QAA, international institutions can clearly spotlight their quality standards internationally, and more easily open dialogue with institutions outside their own country.

You can read the University of Gibraltar’s full IQR report on our website. You can also find out more about the IQR process.