Woolf University - Educational Partnership & Institutions

[Eleanor]

Per https://theshiftnews.com/2024/11/28/high...embership/
"Malta’s official regulator for the accreditation of higher education institutions, including universities, was not accepted to join the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR), a major blow to the country’s international higher education credentials.
The Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA) encountered the same fate when it tried to join the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA).
Malta’s applications for membership were made in 2023, but the MFHEA kept the process under wraps and did not even announce its attempts had failed."

From what I have read in couple of articles linked on Degreeinfo, I am starting to believe that degrees from Maltese "institutes" are not looked upon favorably by agencies in Austria and Germany that handle degree recognition.
Hope there will be some info from students over time regarding recognition, especially for Germany. Anabin database only mentions the universities so far...

Found this recent article. whatever that's worth....
https://businessnow.mt/raising-maltas-ed...r-level24/

According to EQAR's website, MFHEA's application status is "Appeal Consideration".

You are right - Austria and Germany are very skeptical about Maltese institutions. for a good reason. the entry requirements for "institutes" in the past were low. Many don't have a physical presence. some "operate" from addresses that, according to google maps, do not even show a building.

I assume that as long as the MFHEA is not a member of EQAR/ENQA, the Austrian and German authorities will assess Maltese institutions individually. Currently, the Austrian accreditation agency (AQA) currently lists two institutions form Malta in their database. 

I have contacted the the German ZAB/KmK to inquire the recognition of a certain institution's PhD program in Germany. According to them recognition must be clarified at state level. So I called the according Ministry in Baden Württemberg (randomly picked a state). Their response was that this cannot be generally answered. A PhD degree from that institution must be individually assessed towards "comparability" with a German PhD degree AFTER graduation, and may or may not be recognized.

My conclusion: foreign institutions and degrees on the AQA list are recognized in Austria. In Germany, unless listed on ANABIN, no clarity.

But it gets even more complicated. There is another infamous Maltese institution (extensively discussed on a German board), which in addition to MFHEA accreditation, holds institutional accreditation from ACQUIN. ACQUIN is a member of EQAR. However, according to the German board's discussions, ANABIN has kept refraining to include this institution in its Database.

to be continued...