EAALS – an international accreditation agency crossing national boundaries - is the European Accreditation Agency for the Life Sciences. EAALS focuses on the degree programmes relating to the sciences of agriculture, forestry, food, natural resources, rural development and the environment.
EAALS was formally constituted in 2008 by the General Assembly of ICA. EAALS is an Associate Member of ENQA.
The mission of EAALS is to enhance the quality of degree programmes and higher educational institutions in life sciences and the rural environment, through quality assurance and international accreditation.
The EAALS Board awards the EAALS Quality Label to degree programmes in higher education institutions that have achieved the appropriate quality and standards in their educational provision. Degree programmes are evaluated by a visiting international panel of peers who submit a report to the EAALS Board. EAALS will provide recommendations for the continuing enhancement of the educational provision of the evaluated degree programmes.
Relationship to ICA
ICA General Assembly appoints the members of the Board of EAALS and the members of the EAALS Committee of Appeal. The EAALS Board members do not represent any organisation, they act independently in making their decisions.
The EAALS Board acts independently of ICA, as stated in the EAALS Statutes:
“Neither the General Assembly of the Association of European Life Science Universities (ICA) nor the ICA Board nor any other associated body linked with ICA has the right to question, overturn or strike out any decision of the EAALS Board relating to the quality assurance and accreditation of any individual degree programme. The only occasion when a decision of the EAALS Board will be changed is on the instruction of the EAALS Committee of Appeal”
The EAALS Board reports annually to the ICA General Assembly.
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