The University of Malta (“UM”) is a strong advocate for quality assurance (“QA”) in higher education, as it is a key tool for both accountability and continuous enhancement. QA refers to the practices through which academic standards are not only safeguarded but also improved, fostering a culture of quality that permeates throughout the entire institution. For UM, being accountable means demonstrating transparency and responsibility to its students, staff, stakeholders, and regulators, but true quality goes beyond compliance: it requires a sustained commitment to continuous improvement. At UM, QA is therefore specifically targeted towards cultivating a community of reflective practice in which staff and students alike are motivated to enhance their learning, teaching, research, and outreach activities. It is not simply a matter of “ticking boxes” to confirm that procedures exist, but it is a conscious and strategic act of embedding a dynamic process of self-evaluation and ongoing development, which involves dialogue with internal and external stakeholders. To such end, UM treats QA as an ongoing cycle that integrates accountability with innovation, ensuring that UM continually evolves while striving for excellence.
By law (Chapter 327, Laws of Malta – the “Education Act”) UM is formally constituted as body corporate, with its separate and distinct legal personality. The Education Act sets out the University’s governance structure and grants it legal standing as the national university in Malta. The Education Act furthermore grants the UM Senate a wide range of functions and powers, including the authority to decide upon UM study programmes and to confer academic awards and degrees. Senate in fact regulates all academic affairs through its regulations, which are complemented by the specific Bye-Laws made within each UM Faculty, Institute, Centre or School.
The emergence of QA in education discourse at all levels of provision in Malta stems from the Education (Amendment) Act of 2006 , which came into force in 2008 (via ). Among other things, these amendments included in UM’s remit “the establishment of academic audit and quality assurance schemes” (Education Act, article 72(g)). They also established the National Commission for Higher Education (“NCHE”) as a regulatory authority for the purposes of QA, licensing and accreditation in further and higher education.
NCHE was later renamed as National Commission for Further and Higher Education (“NCFHE”) by means of the Education Amendment Act of 2012 () and then the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (“MFHEA”) in 2021, by means of the enactment of the (Chapter 607, Laws of Malta).
The change in name was also accompanied by an expanded and strengthened regulatory role for MFHEA.
MFHEA’s regulatory mandate is based on the (Subsidiary Legislation 607.03, Laws of Malta – the “Regulations”). These regulations set out a detailed framework for licensing, accreditation, and QA to oversee internal quality assurance (“IQA”), conduct external quality audits, and manage programme and institutional accreditation. These are the key regulations governing licensing, accreditation, and QA in Malta’s further and higher education sector (both in terms of public and private provision of further and higher education). They require further and higher education institutions to maintain a robust IQA system and emphasise that institutions hold the primary responsibility for the quality of their provision and its assurance (regulation 36(1)). This is specifically based on a model that advocates for a strong IQA system. This is because a robust IQA system demonstrates that an academic institution is already meeting standards, allowing external QA audits to focus on a higher-level review that serves as a strategic development tool, rather than a simple compliance check. Well-established IQA systems foster a culture of quality and reduce the burden of external QA (EQA).
In the Regulations, UM is explicitly recognised as a self-accrediting institution, thereby reaffirming its autonomy in the establishment and provision of its academic programmes and awards, while ensuring accountability within the national QA framework. It is extremely noteworthy that UM already had regulations and policies that established IQA practices long prior to 2006 (e.g., via the use of external examiners as well as rules regarding conflict of interest in the academic process). UM has in fact always considered such practices as a necessity for the integrity of its academic provision. Formally, UM set up its first QA Committee in 1996, which was responsible for the first internal academic audit across Faculties in 2005.
These Regulations therefore play a key role in contextualising and integrating UM’s IQA practices into a national QA architecture, aligning institutional processes with national accreditation and external review mechanisms. They also further solidify UM’s “self-accrediting” status, in terms of which UM designs, validates, and awards its own degrees and is responsible for maintaining a robust IQA system.
Indeed, the national QA legislative framework confirms the long-standing legal remit of UM to accredit and award its own programmes without having to seek programme-by-programme accreditation from the MFHEA.
It is of note that UM was one of the founding universities of the that was originally signed in Bologna by 388 rectors and heads of universities from all over Europe and beyond on 18 September 1988. Up till today, 975 universities from 94 countries have signed either or both of the original 1988 Magna Charta Universitatum or the 2020 revised version. The Magna Charta Universitatum enshrines the principles of academic freedom and institutional autonomy as a guideline for good governance and self-understanding of universities in the future. It is the foundation of the and the conceptual underpinning of the (ESG).
In 2007, further to the initial legislative changes in 2006, UM revamped its QA systems by setting up the Programme Validation Committee (PVC) and its administrative arm, the Academic Programmes Quality & Resources Unit (APQRU). In 2014, UM then launched the Periodic Programme Review (PPR) mechanism and reconstituted the Quality Assurance Committee (QAC) in 2015, with a revamped remit, accompanied by the establishment of the Quality Support Unit (QSU) to support the work of the QAC.
It is imperative for the whole UM community to understand that QA is to be distinguished from inspection. This is also reflected in the context of educational developments at national level. The shift of discourse from inspection to QA is a very important one. Upon its establishment, UM had an internal inspection function vested in its Rector and the Chancellor or Protector. Throughout the British colonial period, particularly during the 19th century, this internal inspection function was strengthened, with the Rector being given the power to inspect lectures and lecturers, and UM was also subject to regular external inspections including by a number of Royal Commissions, that led to significant changes in UM’s structure and its relationship with the state.
The turn of the 20th century saw a heightening in UM’s status and international recognition. UM degrees started to be recognised by UK universities and professional bodies, and in 1937 UM was granted the title of “Royal University of Malta”. This increase in recognition, coupled with the transformation of the relationship between Malta and UM in the aftermath of the Second World War, led to increased autonomy for UM and it was a defining moment in the shift from external inspection to internal academic self-regulation.
Over the decades, UM’s increased autonomy from the post-war period has been consolidated through the successive legislative reforms referred to above by means of which UM has not only retained, but consolidated, its self-accrediting status.
Nowadays, UM exercises its self-accrediting status in a manner that is consistent with the (the “ESG”) and the requirements under the national QA legislative framework, under which UM undergoes a periodic institutional EQA audit with MFHEA. Institutional EQA audits typically occur on a cyclical basis (normally every 5 years) and review adherence with both IQA effectiveness and alignment with national and international standards (among them the ESG).
In this way, UM sustains both its national legal recognition and its international academic credibility, by continuing to strengthen the international recognition of its awards, underpinned by the implementation of numerous reforms brought about by the Bologna Process.
The most recent External Quality Assurance (EQA) audit, conducted by an international peer-review panel of experts commissioned by the MFHEA, concluded that UM successfully meets all eleven national EQA standards and is therefore fully aligned with the ESG.
The introduction of a quality assurance perspective in Malta’s Education (Amendments) Act of 2006 is closely tied to developments within the (EHEA), established through the . Malta is one of the founding members of the EHEA, whose purpose is to create a coherent and internationally competitive higher education framework that enhances comparability of qualifications, promotes student and staff mobility, and fosters quality assurance across member states. Quality assurance has been central to this process from the outset, culminating in the (ESG 2015) that provide a framework for internal and external quality assurance across member states. In Malta, these principles have been adapted to the local context and embedded within the National Quality Assurance Framework for Further and Higher Education, launched by the National Commission for Further and Higher Education (NCFHE) in 2015. Simultaneously, the first was launched, providing detailed guidance to support the consistent implementation of this framework. External quality audits conducted by the NCFHE are grounded on these national standards, ensuring a systematic and transparent approach to evaluating higher education provision.
The NCFHE was reconstituted as the the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA) in 2021 through the (CAP. 607). Consequently, the national standards were revised to establish quality indicators that will be used by the MFHEA for external quality assurance audits. The revised standards outlined in the are aligned to the abovementioned European Standards and Guidelines (ESG 2015).
Within the local and European context, the University of Malta (UM), as the country’s principal higher education institution, plays a central role in upholding the EHEA’s values and quality standards. By aligning its programmes and institutional practices with the ESG, UM demonstrates a commitment to accountability, academic integrity, and continuous improvement in teaching, learning, and research. Through a combination of internal mechanisms—such as annual and periodic programme reviews, internal and external comprehensive feedback, and the use of data analytics—and external evaluations by national and international bodies, the University sustains a robust culture of quality assurance. This alignment not only secures recognition and comparability of UM’s qualifications across Europe, but also enhances opportunities for international collaboration, student mobility, and research excellence. In doing so, UM contributes significantly to Malta’s active engagement in shaping a coherent and competitive European higher education landscape.
This leaflet [PDF] published by the MFHEA (previously NCFHE) provides concise information on quality assurance in Malta.
The University’s obligation to establish robust quality assurance procedures and to undergo quality audits originates from , which was updated and transposed into in 2021, as well as from the .
In line with these legal and regulatory requirements, the University of Malta must:
UM views Quality Assurance as a developmental and continuous process that supports both accountability and improvement. The University adopts a holistic approach in which external quality assurance (EQA) complements and strengthens internal quality assurance (IQA), ensuring that its academic provision and operations remain effective, transparent, and aligned with national and international standards.