QualTrack: a quality rating system for Adult Learning Providers

Background

QualTrack (Quality Rating System for Adult Learning Providers) is a European project focused on making it easier to understand and recognise the quality of adult learning.

For learners and customers, QualTrack aimed to provide clear, accessible information to help them make more informed choices about adult learning opportunities and ensure high standards of education delivery. The project also looked to equip educational institutions with the tools to self-assess and improve, while providing external evaluators with methodologies to ensure objective, standardized assessments. Ultimately, this initiative supports lifelong learning by fostering an environment of quality and accountability, benefiting learners, institutions, and stakeholders alike.

The project brought together five organisations from across Europe:

• Asociace institucí vzdělávání dospělých – Czech Republic
• CEIPES – Italy
• Dante – Croatia
• Asset Technology – Greece
• Asociácia inštitúcií vzdelávania dospelých – Slovakia

Together, the partners worked to create a practical and trusted approach to quality that benefits both adult learning providers and the people who use their services.

QualTrack was funded by the European Commission through the Erasmus+ programme.

What the project set out to achieve

Adult Learning Institutions (ALI) operate in a largely unregulated market, where quality standards are inconsistent. This lack of standardisation means learners, employers and public authorities do not always have a clear way to judge the quality of different education providers.

This was the challenge behind QUALTRACK. The project recognised that a practical and transparent quality assurance system could help institutions understand where they are doing well and where they can improve, while also giving learners more confidence when choosing where to study.

The project therefore focused on developing a common approach to quality assessment that could work across different national contexts, while supporting institutions to take greater responsibility for their own development.

The project had three main ambitions:

1. to enhance the quality standards of educational institutions
2. to offer a reliable framework for learners to make informed choices regarding education providers,
3. to promote competition and improvement within the sector.

This would be achieved by creating a structured quality rating model for adult learning institutions. The model would provide clear criteria and processes for assessing quality, making it easier to understand and compare the way institutions deliver education.

But the project was about more than simply giving institutions a rating. It aimed to create a practical improvement tool that could be used by institutions themselves and by trained external assessors.

How it was achieved

Partners worked together with experts and stakeholders from participating countries to develop a common quality rating model, including agreed quality levels, criteria and assessment procedures.

A set of supporting methodologies was then created. These included a self-evaluation process for institutions, guidance for external assessors and a preparation methodology to help institutions get ready for assessment. Bringing these resources together in one general document made the approach easier to understand and apply.

The model was then tested in practice. Adult learning institutions and external assessors were selected in each partner country and received training before the pilot began. Participating institutions completed self-evaluations, while external assessors reviewed and verified the findings. Feedback from both groups was used to refine the model and improve the assessment process.

Digital tools also played an important role. An online platform and Moodle-based e-learning courses were created to support both institutions and assessors, making the resources easier to access and use.

The QUALTRAK framework was presented at a conference held in Prague which brought together experts, policymakers, and practitioners from across Europe to discuss the critical importance of quality assurance in adult education.

Results and impact

The project successfully delivered all the activities planned in the original application. The project produced a comprehensive QUALTRACK model, including detailed assessment criteria, evidence requirements, guidance for assessors and additional “badges” that institutions can earn for particular areas of achievement. It also includes ideas for further organisational development.

A full set of self-evaluation and assessment tools was developed, including questionnaires, checklists, guiding questions for on-site visits and feedback forms. An international report comparing quality assurance approaches across the partner countries added a wider European perspective, while recommendations for public authorities highlighted ways to strengthen quality assurance systems.

For Adult learning institutions, the impact was practical. They gained a structured way to reflect on their work, identify areas for improvement and prepare for external assessment. Assessors gained common tools and training to support more consistent evaluations. Learners and other stakeholders benefit from a clearer picture of what quality looks like and how institutions are working towards it.

The project also created a lasting resource base through its online platform, website, e-learning courses, webinar and dissemination activities. In this way, QUALTRACK moved beyond developing a model on paper: it created tools, knowledge and practical experience that can continue to support better-quality adult education.