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…

Higher education institutions worldwide invest significant resources in their quality assurance systems. Little empirical evidence exists that demonstrates the effectiveness (or otherwise) of these systems. Methodological approaches for determining effectiveness are also underdeveloped. Self-study-with-peer-review is a widely used model for…

The Commonwealth of Learning Review and Improvement Model (COL RIM) was developed by the Commonwealth of Learning in response to two key drivers: (1) Increased global emphasis on the quality of higher education; and (2) Rising concern about the high cost and uncertain benefits of conventional approaches to external quality assurance. Any…

There are lots of definitions of quality, and also of quality in education. Garvin (1984) discerns five approaches: the transcendental approach, the product-oriented approach, the customer-oriented approach, the manufacturing-oriented approach and the value-for-money approach. Harvey and Green (1993) give five interrelated concepts of quality as:…

Contributions on quality assurance in education often argue that a complementary and integrated relation between internal and external evaluation of schools would be advisable. This article sets out to investigate what role internal evaluation should--or could--fulfil in relation to external evaluation. It concludes that the arguments for an…

A framework is described to assist institutions in evaluating the extent to which activities described as "quality improvements" or "quality enhancements" are likely to directly improve the student experience. The framework classifies ways of improving the student experience into "coaching improvements",…

Available resources and indicators of high quality inclusive practices are presented in this compilation. Assembling many different resources in one place allows for easy comparison of potential indicators of quality. Excerpts and adaptations of the resources are intended to provide some familiarity with the content of each resource and encourage…

This article examines an external evaluation of the quality assurance system at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) conducted by The Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (NOKUT). The external audit report along with internal reports provided by the seven faculties of the university served as the major…

A diverse society has created a diverse education system, which in turn requires diverse and complex mechanisms of quality control. The diversity and complexity of the industrial, service, and knowledge-based economy, with its vast variety of occupations and dynamic labor markets, heavily influences the curricular structures and academic profiles…

This paper reviews several cases of external evaluations of external quality assurance (EQA) agencies. The characteristics, methodology and findings of six such evaluations from three continents are discussed and similarities and differences are analysed. The lessons drawn from these six cases show that external evaluation of agencies is a…

This article discusses methodological issues in relation to models of quality assurance for higher education. It first traces the historical development of the widely adopted pragmatic model and shows how this model has been adapted by the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) for the South African context. It then sets out some basic tenets…

This document supplements the advice given in "How good is our school?" (HGIOS)--third edition and "The Child at the Centre"--second edition which set out comprehensive quality frameworks and provide helpful advice on the process of improvement through self-evaluation. In particular, this document provides advice on the…

There are a several lenses through which quality in higher education can be viewed. One views quality improvement at the macro or university level, another focuses at the micro or educational-delivery level. One sees quality assessment as an administrative "check-off", the other sees quality as a continuous improvement in educational delivery. One…

This paper presents a profile of Mississippi's Quality Step System prepared as part of the Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment Study. The profile consists of several sections and their corresponding descriptions including: (1) Program Information; (2) Rating Details; (3) Quality Indicators for Center-Based Programs; (4) Application…

This paper presents a profile of New Hampshire's Quality Rating System prepared as part of the Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment Study. The profile consists of several sections and their corresponding descriptions including: (1) Program Information; (2) Rating Details; (3) Quality Indicators for Center-Based Programs; (4)…