The evaluation consists of the systematic, documented and detailed assessment, highlighting and recording of the work of Higher Education Institutes, using objective criteria, as well as the critical analysis and identification of existing weaknesses and deviations in relation to the academic profile, objectives and mission of Higher Education Institutes.

The evaluation of the work carried of Higher Education Institutes and their academic units is carried out in two stages:

• internal evaluation by the institutions or academic units themselves; and
• external evaluation by a Committee of External Experts under the supervision of the Quality Assurance and Accreditation Authority for Higher Education.

Internal evaluation is a regularly recurring process and is carried out under the responsibility of the Quality Assurance Unit. It is essentially a self-evaluation process, which marks the identity of the Higher Education Institute or each academic unit, as it reflects and highlights all the characteristics of their operation. It is completed by the drafting of the Internal Evaluation Report, which is approved by the administration of the institution or, in the case of an academic unit, by the administration of the latter. It is then sent to the Quality Assurance and Accreditation Authority for Higher Education in order to follow the external evaluation procedure.

External evaluation is the final phase of the quality assurance process for Higher Education Institutes and their academic units. It consists of a detailed critical examination of the results of the internal evaluation by a Committee of independent experts from the Register of Independent Experts established, maintained and updated by the Quality Assurance and Accreditation Authority for Higher Education .