ANALIZ COMPARAT A SISTEMELOR DE EVALUARE A PROGRAMELOR EDUCA IONALE

The major changes that occurred in the higher education systems across Europe led to changes in the functioning of educational programs. These changes have emphasized the need for quality assurance mechanisms. This article begins with a brief presentation of the quality assurance methods and models, focusing afterwards on the European quality assurance systems used in higher education. Some of these systems are analyzed and then we look at the evaluation processes and procedures used to ensure the quality of three master programs from Romania. Comparing the quality assessment models used in some European countries we can state that the criteria and the procedures utilized are quite diverse. Only two criteria have been identified as common to all models, and few more which were common only to some systems. We also found that the beneficiaries’ satisfaction is an indicator used rather often in assessing the quality of the three master programs from Romania. We conclude that the evaluation process has gain in significance and its evolution is likely to be tied to the activity of international quality assurance networks which began to develop guidelines for the national agencies. In addition to that, we witness an increase in standardization.