MFHEA requires a licensed provider to run an internal quality assurance policy covering eleven national standards, aligned with European quality assurance expectations. The point is a working system that keeps quality consistent, not a document you file once. The eleven standards cover the areas a sound quality system addresses, from governance and programme design to teaching, assessment, learner support and periodic review. For the definitive list and numbering, see MFHEA, which sets them.
What the eleven standards are for
The eleven standards exist to make sure a licensed provider runs a real internal quality assurance system, not to give you a form to complete. MFHEA requires your internal quality assurance policy to cover eleven national standards, aligned with the European approach to quality assurance in education. The aim is quality that stays consistent over time and across programmes.
MFHEA is not asking whether you own a policy document but whether quality is actually managed: whether decisions are governed, programmes designed and reviewed properly, and teaching and assessment sound.
The areas an internal QA policy has to cover
An internal quality assurance policy that meets MFHEA's expectations covers the areas below, which reflect the European standards and guidelines for quality assurance. Treat this as the shape of the system rather than the official wording: MFHEA sets the definitive list of eleven national standards, so use MFHEA as the authority on their exact names and numbering.
- Governance and quality assurance policy: how quality is owned and documented
- Programme design and approval: how programmes are designed and signed off
- Teaching and learning: how delivery is planned and kept effective
- Assessment of learners: how assessment is designed, marked and moderated
- Learner support: the guidance available to learners
- Teaching staff: recruitment, competence and development
- Learning resources: the facilities and materials that support learning
- Information management: how you collect and use data
- Public information: the accuracy of what you publish
- Monitoring and periodic review: how programmes are reviewed on a cycle
Read that list as the coverage a credible policy needs, then check it against the MFHEA standards themselves. What counts is whether each area is genuinely managed.
Evidence beats intention
A quality assurance policy earns credit for being used, not for existing, so the evidence is what counts. MFHEA is looking for a policy that operates: records of programme approvals, assessment moderation, staff development, learner feedback and periodic reviews. Intention on paper without records is a weak submission.
For each area your policy claims to cover, ask what record would prove it happened this year. If you cannot point to one, the standard is aspirational, not operating, and that gap is what an assessor finds.
Where providers lose marks
Providers most often lose marks where a policy exists but is not operating. The document describes committees that do not meet, review cycles that have not run, or feedback loops that collect data nobody acts on.
The other common gap is coverage that stops at the easy areas: governance and programme design get written up, while monitoring, periodic review and acting on data get thin treatment. Those later areas are where a system proves it is alive.
How internal QA links to the provider licence
Your internal quality assurance policy is part of what MFHEA assesses when it licenses you as a provider. The provider licence is permission to operate as an education provider in Malta, and a working quality system supports it, while a weak one undermines the application by suggesting quality will not be maintained.
So the quality policy is worth building properly rather than assembling at the last minute, and it connects to the wider submission, including whether you need a Maltese company for MFHEA to hold the licence.
Getting the policy audit-ready
Get the policy audit-ready by making sure every area it covers is being run and recorded, well before you submit. Walk each area above, confirm there is a named owner, a routine and a record for each, and fix the areas that are only on paper.
If you are building from scratch, design the system to produce its own evidence as it runs, which beats reconstructing a year of quality activity the week before a review. We help providers build quality assurance systems that do exactly that.
Common questions
What are the MFHEA quality standards?
MFHEA requires a licensed provider's internal quality assurance policy to cover eleven national standards, aligned with European quality assurance expectations. They span the areas a sound quality system addresses, from governance and programme design to teaching, assessment and periodic review. MFHEA sets the definitive list, so check the exact names and numbering with MFHEA.
Do I need a written QA policy for MFHEA?
Yes. MFHEA expects a licensed provider to have an internal quality assurance policy covering the eleven national standards, and it expects the policy to operate, with records that show quality is managed. A policy that is never used will not satisfy the requirement.
Are the standards the same as the European ones?
They are aligned with the European approach rather than identical to it. MFHEA's eleven national standards reflect the European standards and guidelines for quality assurance, adapted to Malta. If you already work to those standards you will recognise the areas, but still map your policy to MFHEA's own list.
Who checks the QA policy?
MFHEA assesses your internal quality assurance policy as part of licensing you as a provider in Malta. It looks not only at whether the policy exists but at whether it operates, examining the evidence that quality is managed across the areas the eleven standards cover. Weak evidence of use is where applications struggle.
Can Apollo build our internal QA policy?
Yes. Apollo Accreditation helps training providers build an internal quality assurance policy that covers the eleven national standards MFHEA expects and produces the evidence to prove it operates. Book a scoping call and we will map your quality system against the areas MFHEA assesses and close the gaps before you submit.
Planning a programme, an accreditation route or a quality system?
Book a 30 minute scoping call. We will map the route, the standards that apply and a realistic timeline. No preparation needed.
Book a 30 minute scoping callPrefer to write first? Contact us.