World university rankings have had an impact on academic competition worldwide. The comparability of ranking results depends on how data is collected within each university. When data concepts are interpreted differently, data variety is introduced and ranking results cannot be used in a meaningful manner. In this case study, the effect of…

The issue of quality enhancement within higher education has attracted considerable research interest and the article suggest that managerial and cultural approaches have thus far dominated the literature in the field. While acknowledging the importance of both management and culture, the article argues for the relevance of 'quality work' as a…

A quality management system is an essential and mandatory instrument for maritime higher education institutions mandated by the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers. To design an effective quality management system, it is strongly recommended to take the most comprehensive model of the…

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven autonomous emirates that follow different economic models. There is a process for quality assurance at the federal level, however, each emirate takes its own approach to assure the quality of its institutions. This has resulted in different procedures and varying levels of oversight and…

Historically low average pass rate has been a perennial challenge for the universities and provincialised colleges in the North-Eastern states of India (Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh). Pass rate refers to the proportion of students promoted from one semester to the next and also the proportion of…

The accountability versus improvement debate is an old one. Although being traditionally considered dichotomous purposes of higher education quality assessment, some authors defend the need of balancing both in quality assessment systems. This article goes a step further and contends that not only they should be balanced but also that other…

This article attempts to bring to the fore the need for enhanced quality assurance processes in the award of PhDs by Kenyan universities. The findings reveal that quality challenges exist in the institutional processes established for the award of this advanced degree across the universities in the country. It is hoped that the findings will stir…

Over the last 10 years, the regular functioning of Greek universities has been disrupted several times due to various reforming governmental efforts by major Greek political parties. Actors inside (academics, students) and outside (policy-makers and analysts, experts, journalists) university resist the implementation of certain European education…

Over the last two decades, considerable progress has been made in establishing and implementing robust, comparable quality assurance processes throughout much of the European higher education sector. However, concerns persist over degree portability and recognition as current systems are rooted in national contexts. In particular, specialised…

The research addressed the interplay of student engagement and quality enhancement mechanisms in the Scottish higher education system. The paper demonstrates increasing focus on student learning, learning experience and high-quality learning in the current quality enhancement approaches. The student-university coproduction model is used to…

While research is abundant on quality assurance in higher education, very little has been done to study informal learning in general and its relation to quality assurance in particular. Reporting on a study of informal learning among PhD students in natural sciences in an Iranian university, this article is an attempt to address this issue.…

In Finland, quality assurance related to the Bologna process has been adapted to existing systems of higher education at the national level and a form of implementation is also recognised at the level of the higher education institution. In universities, varied outcomes of quality assurance are based on interaction of organisational structures,…

This paper deals with the potential failure of evaluation in Italian universities and shows how it risks slipping towards ritual behaviour. The study uses empirical data collected with a closed answer questionnaire and a series of open interviews with top-level university representatives and evaluators to examine the real and potential influence…

There is a trend toward international collaboration among quality assurance agencies (QAAs) and the internationalisation of higher education in Japan. This paper is examines how Japan University Accreditation Association (JUAA) can establish a network in the region as it promised to do in the Tokyo Declaration. However, it is very hard for JUAA, a…

The following paper contains the principles for good practice for quality assurance agencies agreed by delegates at the INQAAHE Conference in Dublin, 2003.