The European University Association (EUA) established in 1994 a Quality Assurance Pool of current and former presidents/rectors prepared to serve on small teams that conduct institutional evaluations, when invited, in order to advise leaders of the host universities on the quality of their various operations and how to improve it. At a seminar celebrating the tenth anniversary of that program, a recently-appointed member of the Pool presented this paper analyzing his perceptions of its nature and operation - from his unique perspective as the only North American resident involved in it. The presentation offers a trans-Atlantic comparative consideration of the program's fundamental purpose (quality improvement rather than consumer protection), its principal method (with reference to the evaluating agent, review scope, and participant motivation - distinguishing between accreditation systems and quality cultures), and the differing orientations through which various constituents can influence its effectiveness. The paper outlines and assesses the author's early experience in the program, which is largely positive - but proceeds as well to identify several areas of possible concern pertaining both to the European approach to quality assurance in higher education and to this EUA program for reviewing it at the institutional level.