Our history

VLUHR QA was established in 2013 as a result of an integration process of the quality assurance agencies of the Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR) and the Council of Flemish Universities of Applied Sciences and Arts (VLHORA). The organisation of programme assessments was entrusted to VLIR by decree in 1991 and to VLHORA in 2000. Within both VLIR and VLHORA there was a well-developed Quality Assurance Unit responsible for coordinating programme assessments in Flanders.

In 2009, the Flemish government asked for the quality assurance activities of VLIR and VLHORA to be merged into one organisation, the Flemish Higher Education Council (VLUHR). VLUHR was formally established on 20 December 2010 by the Flemish universities, universities of applied sciences and arts, and associations. According to its decrees and statutes, VLUHR then set up an entity for its quality assurance activities. With the start of a new accreditation system in 2013, the integration of the two Quality Assurance Units was completed: VLUHR QA was born. This new organisation was also immediately given its own governance structure to provide the necessary guarantees of independence to its founding parties.

Although VLUHR QA occasionally carried out other activities, its main focus was still on programme assessments or 'visitations'. After a decree change in 2015, in which programme reviews systematically gave way to the institutional review, VLUHR QA repositioned itself. Since 2015, VLUHR QA has fulfilled its role as a partner for quality in education and training.