The Hellenic Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency (HQA) is an independent administrative authority which began its operations in 2006. Its mission is to ensure high quality in higher education. The Agency is governed by the President and the Council, which consists of 10 University and TEI Professors, and members representing non-academic research institutions, Chambers and students in Greece. The HQA is an independent body, overseen by the Minister of Education in regard to the legality of its actions and is responsible for quality assurance in higher education at national level.
The Mission of the Agency is to ensure high quality in higher education. As part of its mission, the Agency supports the state and institutions of higher education in the formulation and implementation of the national strategy for higher education, and certifies the quality of the operations of institutions of higher education. The Agency guarantees the transparency of all of its actions in the area of evaluation and accreditation of the quality of institutions of higher education.
According to Law 4009/2011, the functions of the HQA are structured around two main axes of action on: (a) ensuring quality assurance and (b) supporting the national strategy for higher education.
The HQA represents Greece as a member of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA). It is a member of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA).
