About us

The task of the Estonian Quality Agency for Education (HAKA) is to assess the quality of educational and training institutions and to promote quality culture in the field of education. This includes bringing the best international practices to Estonia and contributing to the development of education quality in other countries. HAKA operates as an independent unit within the Estonian Education and Youth Board, with a Supervisory Board composed of representatives of various stakeholder groups. HAKA is listed in the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR). You can find HAKA’s assessment results on DEQAR.

Until 2022, we operated under the name Estonian Quality Agency for Higher and Vocational Education   (EKKA). The name change reflects our expanded scope: in addition to promoting quality in higher and vocational education, we now also focus on general education and continuing education. 

Our mission

We empower educational institutions and other stakeholders in advancing the quality of learning and teaching as well as supporting the development of learners.

We place the student’s and learners’ right to quality education and the reliability of Estonian education on the national and international level at the center of our activities. Educational institutions hold the primary responsibility for the quality of education. HAKA’s role is to guide them in promoting their quality culture. Independent experts are involved in HAKA’s quality assessment activities. 

We offer a platform for all parties in the field of education (students, teachers, heads of educational institutions, parents, representatives of the educational institution community, the Ministry of Education and Research and other public and private sector institutions) to agree on our common expectations regarding the quality of education. We develop quality criteria for educational institutions based on a balanced set of expectations from different parties, the Estonian educational development plan and international trends. These criteria allow the educational institutions to first assess for themselves the extent to which they meet the expectations of the parties.

Our vision for 2035

HAKA is an acknowledged leader in the area of quality culture in the entire education landscape.

We base our activities on development guidelines and agreements in the field of education in Europe and Estonia. We ensure a competent, objective and open approach in evaluation activities and conducting analyses. All the processes of the organization are structured taking into account the principles of co-creation, we value continuous mutual learning and the dissemination of acquired know-how in society.

The entire Development Plan 2023-2027 is available here

HAKA’s core values

  • Expertise: we have appropriate and up-to-date know-how in the field of quality assurance. We are self-directed learners, engaging continuously and purposefully in the enhancement of our skills and knowledge. Equal treatment, objectivity and an evidence-based approach are the foundations of our activities.
  • Openness: we are open to change, seeking new solutions and appreciating the diversity of smart alternatives. We tailor the dissemination of our know-how to the intended purpose and target group.
  • Co-creation: we value mutual learning and shared knowledge generation in collaboration with educational institutions as well as other stakeholders. We shape a shared understanding of quality culture and the roles of different stakeholders in its development.
  • Systematic approach: we see education as a holistic system, our actions help to build bridges between different education levels and areas. We follow the continuous improvement principle (plan, do, check, act) in all our activities. We combine our objectives and activities into a coherent approach and measure the effectiveness of our work by its impact.

HAKA’s main fuctions

The main functions of the Estonian Quality Agency for Education are described in the Statutes of the Education and Youth Board (in Estonian), chapter 4.

  • Development and establishment of the principles of quality assessment in the field of education;
  • Improvement of the quality in education and the valuing and dissemination of the best quality assurance practices in cooperation with educational institutions and other partners;
  • Institutional accreditation of higher education institutions;
  • Thematic review;
  • Quality assessment of vocational education;
  • Expert assessment of the right to provide education in higher education institutions and vocational education institutions;
  • Quality assessment of continuing education;
  • Quality assessment of general education;
  • Review of applications for the use of the services of other quality agencies and provision of assessments of quality assessments carried out in educational institutions in Estonia by other quality agencies;
  • Management of accreditation and quality assessment databases and enabling their public use;
  • Preparation of analyses of quality assessment results and conduct of surveys;
  • Participation in international cooperation on education quality, incl. representation of Estonia in matters pertaining to the quality of education, and in quality assessments carried out in foreign states;
  • Training activities and provision of advice related to assessment and quality of the field of education;
  • Implementation of quality-related development projects and conduct of pilot evaluations in the field of education.

Structure

The work of HAKA is guided by the Supervisory Board consisting of representatives of various interest groups. The assessment principles in higher and vocational education and continuing education are approved by the Quality Assessment Council for Higher Education, the Quality Assessment Council for VET and the Quality Assessment Council for Continuing Education. These councils also adopt assessment decisions. There are also independent Appeals Committees at HAKA, whose task is to provide the Councils with an unbiased opinion on the validity of the objection submitted to the actions of the Councils or the administrative decisions of the Councils. The dircetor of HAKA manages the Secretariat.

Affiliations

Since 2013, HAKA has been a full member of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA). HAKA is also a member of the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR). A prerequisite for maintaining the membership of ENQA and EQAR is an external evaluation of the agency, which assesses the its compliance with the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG). HAKA passed the evaluation successfully in 2013 and 2018.

HAKA actively participates in several quality networks – INQAAHE (International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education), CEENQA (Central and Eastern European Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education), EQAVET (European Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training). HAKA also participates in international development projects and cross-border evaluations.

History

Until June 12, 2022, we were called Estonian Quality Agency for Higher and Vocational Education (EKKA). In the period 01.01.2009–30.07.2020, the Estonian Quality Agency for Higher and Vocational Education operated as part of the Archimedes Foundation, being the successor of the Higher Education Accreditation Center established in 1997. From August 1, 2020, we are part of the Education and Youth Board. Today, as part of the Board, we perform independent tasks and are independent in our quality assessment decisions (see the Statutes of the Education and Youth Board, in Estonian).