The ECTE seeks to nurture and certify a culture of cross-border quality assurance in theological education through institutional and programme accreditation. ECTE accreditation seeks comparability to European and international standards and coherence with the discipline-specific values of theology. ECTE quality assurance activities fall within the scope of the European Standards and Guidelines and include institutional and programme accreditation. The ECTE is a registered agency on the European Quality Assurance Register (EQAR). ECTE accreditation aims to determine the quality and level of learning opportunities as outlined in both the EQF at levels 5, 6 and 7 and in the QF-EHEA for the Short Cycle, First Cycle and Second Cycle, but does not determine the status of institutions nor their ability to award formal degrees.
Accreditation in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) is underpinned by an expectation of outmost transparency, and the ECTE fully endorses this expectation. From the sub-sections that follow in ECTE website the you can find answers to some key questions that may be asked by students, stakeholders and the higher education community at large about ECTE accreditation.
- Accreditation and institutional status. In this section you will find an explanation about the difference in status of higher education institutions (HEIs) and alternative providers of higher education (APs) and how this difference is reflected in ECTE accreditation.
- Certification Framework and qualification nomenclature. This section will help you understand the ECTE Certification Framework, and the different levels at which it is possible to accredit a programme. You will also be helped to understand some of the issues around protected qualification nomenclature and how this relates to ECTE accreditation.
- Learning mobility and recognition of qualifications. This section is particularly interesting to registrars considering applications from ECTE graduates and to students considering international mobility and recognition of their qualifications.
- Understanding the ECTE Review Directory. This section features a quick guide to understanding the listings in the ECTE Review Directory.
- ECTE accreditation in dual contexts. Here you can find information about how ECTE accreditation responds both to the standards of higher education in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and to the standards and levels of international theological education as expressed by the International Council for Evangelical Theological Education (ICETE).
- The intrinsic values of accreditation. This is a more generic section that goes beyond some of the technicalities and instrumental values of accreditation to help institutions and stakeholders understand some important intrinsic values of the accreditation process.
- To understand further ECTE accreditation standards and procedures, please consult the core documents: Standards and Guidelines and Criteria and Procedures for ECTE accreditation.