The implementation of the quality assurance system in higher education in the Republic of Moldova: european perspectives vs. local peculiarities

The construction of the quality assurance approach in the Higher Education in the Republic of Moldova is quite recent. The reconceptualization of quality management systems in Moldovan universities begins with the approval of the new Education Code in 2014. As a result, the National Agency for Quality Assurance in Education and Research (ANACEC) was created, whose aim is to ensure the quality of services provided by institutions of all levels of education and research, thus contributing to the satisfaction of the demands of society and the labour market. Through its role of external evaluation, the Agency stimulates an increase in the level of responsibility of the institutions towards the quality of the services provided. From its inception, the Agency has applied the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG, 2015) in its evaluation. From here, the challenges of Moldovan universities: how to combine European practices and requirements with Moldovan experience and traditions? Based on the methodology and sources selected, it was possible to ascertain that Moldovan quality assurance system face the ongoing challenge of reconciling European standards and practices with national traditional experience, a process that continues to shape the trajectory of higher education reform in the country.