This article uses the theoretical framework developed by Elken and Stensaker to examine the characteristics of the quality assurance internal bodies in relation to composition, activities and factors perceived as critical for the success of quality assurance implementation within higher education institutions. The article is based on data…

This study probes the execution of internal quality assurance "vis-à-vis" learning outcome assessments in Japanese and Taiwanese universities. To this end, it applies Elken and Stensaker's theoretical framework of 'quality work' to ascertain the following: (1) how universities build internal quality assurance; (2) what learning outcome…

Quality is a multidimensional and transversal concept also in the field of higher education. This and other considerations revealed some problems during application of quality principles to study programmes, emerged from the first accreditation experience in Italy. The objective of this article is to provide a simple self-assessment tool for…

Higher education plays an important role in the social, economic and political development of any given nation. In the Namibian context, quality assurance systems have been put in place at both national and institutional levels through the establishment of national quality assurance agencies and units responsible for quality in institutions. A…

Quality accreditation in higher education exists in many countries, including Vietnam. As of May 2018, 80 higher education institutions in Vietnam have officially been evaluated and recognised using the national quality standards. This study examined the impact of institutional accreditation on the evaluated university. The qualitative research…

In 2012, the Taiwanese Ministry of Education launched a new quality assurance policy entitled 'self-accreditation', aimed at enhancing institutional autonomy, as well as establishing its internal quality review mechanism. In the self-accreditation policy, higher education institutions are encouraged to develop their own quality assurance…

This paper develops a theoretical framework that could facilitate the application of the Autovalutazione, Valutazione periodica, Accreditamento (AVA) method in Italian universities, trying to simplify the use of this approach, and to cover the existing gap between Italy and others European academic institutions. The new competitive environment in…

Based on a study of Chinese university self-evaluation reports, this paper argues that higher education institutions are trying to manage the tensions between educational and organisational quality and the increasing and worldwide concerns about quality assurance. After 30 years of dramatic educational reform, China has established a nationwide…

Twenty years ago, the federal government in the US first required institutional accrediting organisations, America's principal mechanism for quality assurance in higher education, to review institutional practices with respect to the assessment of student learning outcomes. Much that affects quality assurance has changed in the ensuing two decades…

At the beginning of the last 20 years so-called "quality revolution" it was expected from most of the established national quality agencies that internal quality systems and the development of an internal quality culture would emerge automatically in the HEI from the external quality impact. The author argues that a better balance must be found…

For higher education reform, most decision-makers aspire to achieving a higher participation rate and a respectable degree of excellence with diversity at the same time. But very few know exactly how. External quality assurance is a fair basis for differentiation but there can be doubt and resistance in some quarters. Stakeholder interests differ…

This article is about student engagement and in particular the engagement of students in internal institutional quality assurance processes in the UK. It discusses the extent to which the introduction of more explicit internal and external quality assurance processes militate against the notion of the student as a part of a "cohesive learning…

Self-evaluation is supposed to be a valid, reliable and easy-to-use instrument to commit professionals to external quality assurance. The writing of a self-evaluation report is the first step in most higher education accreditation systems all over the world. Research on accreditation in the Netherlands and Flanders shows that professionals…

The rapid growth in the number of post-secondary institutions in Saudi Arabia over the last few years necessitated the creation of a government agency for accreditation and quality assurance. The National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment was established in 2004 for this purpose. Between 2005 and 2008, it developed a new…

The role and function of external quality assurance is of great importance for the development of an internal quality culture in higher education. Research has shown that external quality assurance can stimulate but also create obstacles for institutional improvement. To strike a balance between improvement and accountability is, therefore, a key…