A recently implemented program of institutional evaluation in Spanish universities, designed with the intention of improving the quality of teaching, research, and administration, is discussed. Objectives and mechanisms for assessment in each of these areas are detailed. (MSE)

Discussion of the introduction of quality assurance into Spanish universities gives a brief recent history of the university system, describes first experiences in quality assessment during the 1990s and their results, and explains the structure and outcomes of the 1995 institutionalization of a national program for institutional evaluation.…