Prior to 2023, the Council functioned as the Quality Assurance and Accreditation Division (QAAD), under the Department of Adult and Higher Education, Ministry of Education. QAAD served as the Secretariat to the Bhutan Accreditation Council, which was the national autonomous body for accreditation, quality assurance and recognition of qualifications.
With the establishment of Bhutan Qualifications and Professionals Certification Authority (BQPCA) on 9 January 2023 as per Section 25 of the Civil Service Reform Act 2022, QAAD was subsumed as one of the councils, namely the Higher Education Quality Council (HEQC). The Council has the mandate to ensure provision for pursuit of quality higher education both within Bhutan and abroad with systemic mechanisms in place. Based on the Tertiary Education Policy of the Kingdom of Bhutan 2010, all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Bhutan shall be required to institute and maintain an effective quality assurance system. The quality assurance system shall ensure that the threshold quality standard of the HEIs is maintained.
The broad mandates of HEQC are as follows:
In accordance with the endorsement of the 1 st Governing Council meeting for Bhutan Qualifications and Professionals Certification Authority (BQPCA), Ministry of Education and Skill Development (MoESD) held on 4 th July 2024, the following are the Technical Advisory Committee(TAC) members for HEQC:
As the national agency to regulate the quality of Higher Education Institutes (HEIs), the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the TAC shall be, but not limited to the following:
Range of Total Weighted Average Score | Grade | Performance Descriptor | Validity |
851-1000 | A+ | Excellent | 5 years |
751-850 | A | Very Good | 4 years |
501-750 | B | Good | 3 years |
376-500 | C | Satisfactory | 2 years |
375 and below | D | Unsatisfactory/Not Accredited | Not Accredited |
S/No | Institutions | Date of Site Visit | Grade | Validity of Certificate | Accreditor’s Report |
1. | Gedu College of Business Studies www.gcbs.edu.bt | 23 – 26 May 2016 | A (Very Good) | 28.06.2022 | ➢ View report |
2. | Royal Thimphu College www.rtc.bt | 1 – 4 June 2016 | A+(Excellent) | 28.06.2023 | ➢ View report |
3. | Arura Academy of Health Sciences www.arura.edu. |
21-24 October 2019 | C (Satisfactory) | 15.12.2022 | ➢ View report |
4. | Faculty of Nursing and Public Health www.fnph.edu.bt | 12 – 15 June 2017 | B (Good) | 27.06.2022 | ➢ View report |
5. | Faculty of Traditional Medicine www.ftm.edu.bt | 5 – 8 June 2017 | B (Good) | 27.06.2022 | ➢ View report |
6. | Paro College of Education www.pce.edu.bt | 22 – 25 May 2017 | B (Good) | 27.06.2022 | ➢ View report |
7. | Samtse College of Education www.sce.edu.bt | 15 – 18 May 2017 | A (Very Good) | 27.06.2023 | ➢ View report |
8. | College of Science and Technology www.cst.edu.bt | 6-9 November 2017 | A (Very Good) | 07.01.2024 | ➢ View report |
9. | Jigme Namgyel Engineering College www.jnec.edu.bt | 13-16 November 2017 | A(Very Good) | 07.01.2024 | ➢ View report |
10. | Sherubtse College www.sherubtse.edu.bt | 20-23 November 2017 | A (Very Good) | 07.01.2024 | ➢ View report |
11. | College of Natural Resources www.cnr.edu.bt | 19-22 March 2018 | A (Very Good) | 09.05.2024 | ➢ View report |
12. | College of Language and Culture Studies www.clcs.edu.bt | 26-29 March 2018 | A (Very Good) | 09.05.2024 | ➢ View report |
13. | Royal Institute of Management www.rim.edu.bt | 2-5 April 2018 | A (Very Good) | 09.05.2024 | ➢ View report |
14 | Faculty of Postgraduate Medicinehttp://fopgm.edu.bt/ | 10-14th May, 2021 | B (Good) | 01/06/2024 | ➢ View report |
S/No | Institutions | Date of Site Visit | Grade | Validity of Certificate | Accreditor’s Report |
1 | Gedu College of Business Studies www.gcbs.edu.bt | 25-29 April 2022 | B (Good) | 28.06.2025 | ➢ View report |
2 | Faculty of Traditional Medicines www.ftm.edu.bt | 25-29 April 2022 | A (VeryGood) | 27.06.2026 | ➢ View report |
3 | Faculty of Nursing and Public Health www.fnph.edu.bt | 3-7 May 2022 | A (VeryGood) | 27.06.2026 | ➢ View report |
4 | Paro College of Education www.pce.edu.bt | 3-7 May 2022 | A (VeryGood) | 27.06.2026 | ➢ View report |
5 | Norbuling Rigter College www.nrc.bt | 20-25 November 2022 | B (Good) | 19.12.2025 | ➢ View report |
6 | Arura Academy of Health www.arura.edu.bt | 20-25 November 2022 | B (Good) | 15.12.2025 | ➢ View report |
7 | Royal Thimphu College www.rtc.bt | 1-5 May 2023 | A+ (Excellent) | 28.6.2028 | ➢ View report |
8 | Samtse College of Education www.sce.edu.bt | 6-10 November 2022 | A (Very Good) | 27.06.2027 | ➢ View report |
9 | Jigme Namgyel Engineering College www.jnec.edu.bt | 5-9 December 2024 | A (Very Good) | 7.01.2028 | ➢ View report |
10 | Jigme Namgyel Engineering College www.jnec.edu.bt | 5-9 December 2024 | A (Very Good) | 7.01.2028 | ➢ View report |
The Bhutan Qualifications Framework (BQF) empowers the Council to provide recognition of qualifications services. The Guidelines for Recognition of Qualifications not only ensure transparency, professionalism and objectivity in the decision-making process but also institute a duly documented system for recognition and/or validation of qualifications.
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To ensure quality and protection of student interests, the Higher Education Quality Council (HEQC) and the Bhutan Qualifications and Professionals Certification Authority (BQPCA) oversee and regulate the services provided by ECPFs. Education Consultancy and Placement Firms (ECPFs) in Bhutan play a crucial role in assisting students aspiring to pursue higher studies abroad. It is mandated to guide and support students in making informed decisions about the choice of programs and institutions outside Bhutan. They are responsible for placing students in recognized institutions abroad, based on factors such as aptitude, economic considerations, and client preferences. ECPFs are responsible for processing student admissions to various programs (minimum of diploma level) in recognized institutions.
Overall, ECPFs play a vital role in facilitating the dreams of Bhutanese students to study abroad by providing valuable guidance and support throughout the process, ensuring they have access to quality education in recognized institutions around the world.
Being the national quality assurance agency in Bhutan, the erstwhile Quality Assurance and Accreditation Division attained as intermediate membership to Asia Pacific Quality Network (APQN) and full membership to International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Considering the benefits from these quality agencies, the transformed quality assurance (QA) agency in higher education (HE) in Bhutan, viz. Higher Education Quality Council (HEQC) under Bhutan Qualifications and Professionals Certification Authority continued to be a member to these two networks.
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