European Association for Public Administration Accreditation
“promotes the quality of European academic level public administration programmes by developing appropriate accreditation standards for such programmes through its Accreditation Committee”
Ensuring Excellence
Gyorgy Hajnal, chair of EAPAA chaired the panel: Ensuring excellence in Public Administration: Challenges and innovations in accreditation. This panel was organised during the IIAS conference in New Delhi from 11-14 February 2025.
Officials of the other two global Public Administration accreditation organisations NASPAA (Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration; and ICAPA (International Commission on Accreditation of Public Administration) took also part in the paneldiscussion.
The panel participants, covering all geographical regions, exchanged their views on challenges and opportunities related to international accreditations in the field of Public Administration / Public Policy / Public Management education.
Improving the quality
Since 1999 the European Association for Public Administration Accreditation (EAPAA) has helped European public administration programmes to improve and assure their quality through accreditation. EAPAA is the only quality assurance authority in Public Administration which is active throughout Europe. It has by now accredited more than 70 programmes across the continent, including most leading institutes in the field.
Peer review
For EAPAA, the evaluation of a programme is more than a simple check of procedures and formalities. Its work is based on peer review: programmes under review are assessed by experienced and internationally recognized senior academics from the public administration field, who know what it is to run a public administration programme. As a result, the feedback is based on a thorough knowledge of the content and on first-hand experience. The aim is to give high-quality feedback that helps programmes reach higher levels of teaching excellence.
Mission based
EAPAA’s evaluation is mission-based. The backgrounds of programmes and conditions in which they work differ vastly across and within countries. EAPAA’s procedures and criteria are in accordance with the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Higher Education. While maintaining general quality standards, evaluators always take the programme’s unique position and choices into account. There is no single model for a good public administration programme and EAPAA leaves room for programmes to develop their own specific profile.
Accessible and affordable
Receiving the EAPAA seal is recognized as an international mark of distinction. It sets programmes apart in the increasingly competitive market for international students.
EAPAA is dedicated to keeping its services accessible and affordable to the majority of programmes. It is a non-profit organisation that delivers professional services while maintaining a lean and flexible organisation. In 2014, the high quality of its services was recognized by inclusion in the European Quality Assurance Registry.
OUR MISSION
The European Association for Public Administration Accreditation (EAPAA)
- promotes the quality of European academic level public administration programmes by developing appropriate accreditation standards for such programmes through its Accreditation Committee,
- encourages curriculum development and innovation,
- provides a forum for discussion on quality and accreditation, and
- assures the quality of European Public Administration programmes by evaluating programmes.