Article 32 of Organic Law 6/2001 of 20 December on Universities lays down that, by means of a Resolution by the Council of Ministers and subsequent to a report by the Universities Coordinating Council, the Government shall authorise the setting up of the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA). ANECA was set up as a public trust on 19 July 2002.
The ultimate goal of the Trust is to contribute to the quality improvement of the higher education system through the assessment, certification and accreditation of university degrees, programmes, teaching staff and institutions.