Audit
We conduct audits at Austrian universities, universities of applied sciences and university colleges of teacher education. An audit is carried out as a peer review procedure at the end of which the internal quality management system of a university or other higher education institution is certified.
Quicklinks
The audit of AQ Austria
- aims at certifying the internal quality management system of your institution,
- complies with the requirements of the Act on Quality Assurance in Higher Education and the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance (ESG),
- focusses on further enhancement of quality management,
- ensures maximum openness by using five broad standards to bring out the specific features of your institution's quality management.
Our mission statement
- We are specialists in the context of Austrian higher education, who work in accordance with international standards and take into consideration examples of good practice.
- We respect the autonomy of the individual universities and higher education institutions for designing an internal quality management system.
- We consider each audit as a process which is based on the partnership between university or higher education institution, peers and AQ Austria.
Audit procedure
The audit can be roughly divided into the following five steps:
- Preparation phase: The university or higher education institution conducts an internal self-assessment and summarizes its findings—strengths, weaknesses, potential for development—in a report. AQ Austria selects the experts for the audit and prepares them.
- On-site visit: An international team of experts conducts an on-site visit to the university or higher education institution. This visit lasts two to three days.
- Expert opinion and statement: The experts assess the quality management system based on the audit standards. They summarize this in an expert opinion and make a recommendation for certification. The university or higher education institution can submit a statement.
- Certification decision: The Board of AQ Austria decides on the certification of the quality management system based on the report and the statement.
- Follow-up: The university or higher education institution uses the findings from the audit for internal further development.
Further services
- Audits in cooperation
Upon request, we cooperate with EQ-Arts (Enhancing Quality in the Arts) for audits at art universities and with MusiQuE (Music Quality Enhancement) for audits at music universities. - Consulting services
Is your institution conducting the audit with another agency, but you are looking for a sparring partner to help you prepare? We can support you during the critical self-reflection phase or, if desired, conduct a trial run of an on-site visit.
More about our consulting services
- Implementation of conditions
Your institution's quality management system has been certified with conditions that need to be implemented. We are happy to support you with our technical expertise in further developing your quality management system to meet these conditions and more.
Contact
- Head of Department Audit, Consulting and Evaluation
Mag.a Dietlinde Kastelliz, M.A.
+ 43 664 780 422 51dietlinde.kastelliz@aq.ac.at