National Accreditation Bureau for Higher Education

What National Accreditation Bureau for Higher Education does

The National Accreditation Bureau for Higher Education (Národní akreditační úřad pro terciární vzdělávání, NAÚ) is the sole independent Czech government regulatory body responsible for accreditation, external evaluation, and quality assurance of tertiary education. Established in its current form on September 1, 2016, under Act No. 111/1998 Coll. on Higher Education Institutions, NAÚ traces its institutional lineage to the Accreditation Commission (Akreditační komise) founded in 1990. Effective July 1, 2025, following legislative amendment Act No. 52/2025 Coll., NAÚ expanded its jurisdiction to include tertiary professional schools (vyšší odborné školy) and was transformed into a legal entity established under public law. The bureau is headquartered at U Lužického semináře 13, Prague 1, operates with approximately 21 staff and a 15-member board appointed by the government, and is led by statutory body Prof. Mgr. Jaroslav Miller, M.A., Ph.D.

NAÚ's core service portfolio comprises institutional accreditations, study program accreditations, habilitation and professorship proceedings accreditation, accreditation of educational programs at tertiary professional schools, external evaluations of educational and creative activities, inspection of compliance with legal regulations, and methodological guidance to institutions on developing internal quality assurance systems. Its framework is grounded in the Higher Education Act, Education Act, Administrative Procedure Code, and the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance (ESG) within the European Higher Education Area. The bureau maintains a pool of evaluators organized across more than 36 specialized fields of study and serves public and private higher education institutions plus, since 2025, tertiary professional schools in the Czech Republic.

As a public administrative body, NAÚ has no commercial revenue model and does not sell products or services. It is funded through the Czech state budget and distributes its outputs (decisions, reports, accreditations) through official administrative channels and its website. Its international strategic engagements include CEENQA membership (since 2016), active pursuit of full ENQA membership, pursuit of EQAR listing, and participation in the ETINED platform — all aimed at aligning Czech quality assurance with European frameworks and supporting international recognition of Czech tertiary degrees.

Name

National Accreditation Bureau for Higher Education

Legal name

Národní akreditační úřad pro terciární vzdělávání

Website

https://nauvs.cz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The National Accreditation Bureau for Higher Education (NAÚ) is the sole Czech government regulatory body responsible for accreditation, external evaluation, and quality assurance of tertiary education institutions and, since July 2025, tertiary professional schools in the Czech Republic.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Accreditation and Quality Assurance Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Public Administration (92)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDADACAB

National/Institutional Accreditors (Career, Faith-Based, Distance, etc.)

Education/Education Administration, Accreditation & Policy/Accreditation Bodies (Institutional & Programmatic)

SECONDARYEDADAGAA

Institutional & Programmatic Accreditation Audits

Education/Education Administration, Accreditation & Policy/Education Quality Assurance, Compliance & Audit

SECONDARYEDADACAI

Accreditation Evaluation, Peer Review & Site-Visit Organizations

Education/Education Administration, Accreditation & Policy/Accreditation Bodies (Institutional & Programmatic)

SECONDARYEDADACAG

International/Transnational Accreditation & Recognition Bodies

Education/Education Administration, Accreditation & Policy/Accreditation Bodies (Institutional & Programmatic)

Keywords

• Higher education accreditation
• Quality assurance services
• External education evaluation
• Institutional accreditation
• Tertiary education regulation

Headquarters

HQ city

Prague

HQ country

Czechia

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Core offering

The National Accreditation Bureau for Higher Education (NAÚ) is the sole Czech governmental body performing accreditation, external evaluation, and compliance inspection of tertiary education institutions and programs. It decides on institutional accreditations, study program accreditations, habilitation and professorship field accreditations, and educational program accreditations for tertiary professional schools; conducts external evaluations of educational, scientific, research, artistic, and creative activities; and provides methodological guidance for internal quality assurance systems in line with the European Standards and Guidelines (ESG).

Product overview

The National Accreditation Bureau for Higher Education (NAÚ) is a government regulatory body providing accreditation and quality assurance services for tertiary education in the Czech Republic. The organization offers a unified service portfolio centered on accreditation activities (institutional accreditation, study program accreditation, and habilitation/professorship field accreditation), complemented by external evaluation services, inspection activities, and methodological guidance. As of July 1, 2025, following the transformation under Act No. 52/2025 Coll., the bureau expanded its scope from higher education to include tertiary professional education, and operates as a legal entity under public law. The NAB's work is based on principles of independence, objectivity, and transparency, operating in accordance with the Higher Education Act, the Education Act, the Administrative Procedure Code, and European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance (ESG).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Accreditation Services Government accreditation services for tertiary education institutions in the Czech Republic, including assessment and decision-making on accreditation applications for study programs, institutional accreditation in specific fields, and accreditation of fields for habilitation and professorship proceedings.
• External Evaluation Services External evaluations of educational, scientific, research, development, innovation, artistic, and other creative activities of higher education institutions and tertiary professional schools.
• Inspection Activities Inspection activities to ensure compliance with legal regulations in the implementation of accredited activities at higher education institutions and tertiary professional schools.
• Methodological Guidance Methodological guidance and support provided to tertiary education institutions in the area of quality assurance and development of internal quality assurance systems.
• Tertiary Professional Education Accreditation Assessment and decision-making on applications for accreditation of educational programs at tertiary professional schools (vyšší odborné školy), under the Accreditation Committee for Tertiary Professional Education.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ENQA (European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNAB actively participates in ENQA activities including the Members' Forum. The organization is pursuing full membership in ENQA, which is a long-term strategic priority. NAB representatives attend ENQA events and engage in discussions on ESG revision and quality assurance standards.
• EQAR (European Quality Assurance Register)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNAB is pursuing listing in EQAR, which is a long-term strategic priority. Full integration into European structures based on alignment with ESG remains a goal for NAB.
• CEENQA (Central and Eastern European Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNAB has been a member of CEENQA since 2016. CEENQA celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2026. The former Czech Accreditation Commission was a founding member of the network under the name CEEN. NAB participates in network activities and conferences.
• ETINED (European Platform of Platforms for Ethics, Transparency and Integrity in Education)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNAB participates in ETINED platform activities focused on combating fraud, corruption, and degree mills at the European level.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• EQAR (European Quality Assurance Register): Register listing QA agencies that comply with the ESG. Comparable as the listing body NAB is actively pursuing, representing the pan-European benchmark for cross-border recognition of accreditation decisions.
• CEENQA (Central and Eastern European Network of QA Agencies): Regional network of Central and Eastern European QA agencies, of which NAB has been a member since 2016. Comparable as the peer-network context NAB operates within for regional collaboration and capacity building.
• ENQA (European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education): Umbrella membership organisation for European QA agencies. Comparable as the network NAB participates in and seeks full membership of, defining the ESG framework within which NAB operates.

Direct peers

• NVAO (Netherlands-Flemish Accreditation Organisation): Accreditation organisation for higher education in the Netherlands and Flanders. Directly comparable as a statutory, ESG-aligned agency listed on EQAR, performing accreditation and external evaluation of tertiary institutions.
• Swedish Higher Education Authority (UKÄ): Sweden's government agency responsible for quality assurance and accreditation of higher education. Comparable as a public-law entity performing external evaluations and accreditation under ESG with a similar mandate shape to NAB.
• HRK (German Rectors' Conference) / Akkreditierungsrat: Germany's Accreditation Council, which governs accreditation of study programmes and quality assurance systems. Comparable as the German statutory counterpart for higher-education accreditation and quality assurance under ESG.
• AQ Austria (Agency for Quality Assurance and Accreditation Austria): Austria's statutory quality assurance and accreditation agency for higher education. Comparable as a publicly established EQAR-listed agency that performs accreditation, external evaluation, and procedural review for tertiary institutions.
• Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA, UK): UK's independent quality body for higher education. Comparable as a national quality assurance and accreditation body operating under ESG principles, conducting institutional reviews and programme accreditation across a comparable institutional base.
• Akrediteringsrådet (Danish Accreditation Institution): Denmark's national accreditation body for higher education and vocational programmes. Directly comparable as a statutory European quality-assurance agency performing institutional and programmatic accreditation under ESG, with similar evaluator-pool and committee structures.

Regional players

• Polish Accreditation Committee (PKA): Poland's statutory accreditation body for higher education. Comparable as a Central European national accreditation agency performing programme and institutional accreditation under ESG, with a similar legal status and operational model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/czechaccreditationbureau

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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