SUBJECT-SPECIFIC QUALITY ASSURANCE AND ACCREDITATION OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION IN EUROPE

Quality Assurance (QA) of Higher Education (HE) is a major objective of the "Bologna Process". However, QA often tends to assess more the "process" than the "contents" of the education: therefore, especially in subjects that lead towards a "profession" ("engineering" first among them), the practice of "accreditation" is also increasing throughout the world. "Accreditation" can follow the "programme" and the "institutional" approach, that are not in contrast, but can usefully complement each other. "Programme accreditation" of an engineering programme can be identified with the process "to ensure the suitability of that programme as the entry route to the engineering profession", and defined as "pre-professional accreditation". Recent European initiatives along these lines will be illustrated: (i) the EUR-ACE (R) system for the "European accreditation of engineering programmes", (ii) the "European Alliance for Subject-Specific and Professional Accreditation and Quality Assurance" (EASPA), (iii) QUACING, the new Italian Agency for QA and Accreditation of engineering programmes.