Abstract
The European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) will conduct an external review of the higher education evaluation activities of the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC) in September 2026. The review will be carried out using ENQA’s Targeted Review methodology and aims to verify that FINEEC continues to comply with the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG 2015). Particular attention will be paid to developments in the agency’s activities since the previous full review in 2021–2022.
This self-assessment report (SAR) prepared as part of the external review process presents FINEEC’s own description and critical reflection on the ESG compliance of its higher education evaluation activities. The report focuses primarily on FINEEC’s fourth-cycle audit framework for higher education institutions (2025–2030). It also examines the agency’s EUR-ACE accreditations for engineering degree programmes. In addition, the SAR includes reflections on audit reports, which FINEEC has chosen as an optional enhancement theme for the review.
As a central document of the review process, the SAR provides evidence for the ENQA external review panel while also supporting FINEEC’s own assessment and enhancement of its activities. The report was prepared by FINEEC’s Unit for Higher Education and Liberal Adult Education and draws on self-assessment exercises conducted in spring 2026 involving unit staff, members of the Higher Education Evaluation Committee, and FINEEC’s management.