HETAC (the Higher Education and Training Awards Council) was established on 11 June 2001, under the Qualifications (Education and Training) Act 1999.   It is the successor to the National Council for Educational Awards (NCEA) and is the qualifications awarding body for third-level education and training institutions outside the university sector. It exists to benefit learners and potential learners by:  

• Setting standards, accrediting programmes and awarding qualifications at all levels of higher education and training;
• Providing assurance to the public that programmes of higher education and training are above an acceptable threshold level of quality and that objective quality assurance processes are in place to meet the expectations of Irish Society and the International Community;
• Delivering a quality improvement service to registered educational providers so as to contribute to raising standards to increasingly higher levels.

HETAC's principal quality assurance processes include registering providers of higher education and training, validating programmes, monitoring quality, reviewing institutions and conducting related system-level research.

In carrying out its functions HETAC ensures that providers establish procedures for the assessment of learners which are fair, consistent and fit-for-purpose and that they implement the National Framework of Qualifications and associated procedures. 

HETAC is a full member of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA).

ENQA, the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher  Education, disseminates information,  experiences and good practices in the field ofquality assurance (QA) in higher education to European QA agencies, public authorities and higher education institutions.