Accreditation of higher education in lusophone countries: reflections and practices in Portugal and Brazil

This article proposes a study of the higher education quality in Portugal and Brazil. The objectives are to discuss the current accreditation systems of public agencies and to compare the instruments of evaluation and accreditation of operating cycles of the Agency for Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education (A3ES) in Portugal and the National System of Higher Education Assessment (SINAES) in Brazil. The methodology used was based on secondary data and documents collected from agencies, leading to a qualitative analysis based on the evaluation categories. The results demonstrate that the performance of the agencies have shown similarities in their mechanisms of warranty even when considered their geographical distance and different educational policies. Contributions are based on the confrontation of the accreditation methodologies in use by agencies and the analysis on the form of validation of quality policies in higher education.