Portuguese higher education follows European and international quality standards. For this end an independent agency was created to evaluate and accreditate all courses that award a degree and the higher education institutions: the Agency for Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education - A3ES.
A3ES is a member of:
- The European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education – ENQA that represents organizations responsible for quality assurance from the European Higher Education Area Member-states.
- The European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education – EQAR, a register for the Agencies which comply with the common principles established for quality assurance in Europe.
- The Council for Higher Education Accreditation - CHEA, an international forum for discussion of issues related to quality improvement and assurance at international level.
- The European Consortium for Accreditation – ECA, an association of European accreditation agencies.