This paper focuses on the way lecturers observe, feel restrained by and cope with quality management systems that have been implemented in the higher education systems of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. As two sides of the same coin, quality enhancement and quality control are of increased significance in European Higher Education…

Two specific forms of quality are identified: Type I, which has a managerial focus and stresses fitness for purpose and accountability, and Type II, which is collegial and concerned with enhancement. Through an analysis of the literature on quality in higher education and small-scale empirical research with a sample of academic staff, this article…

Purpose: The paper seeks to deepen the understanding of university lecturers' perceptions of quality. Design/methodology/approach: The paper employs a literature review to establish a robust analytical framework and the use of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a random sample of 20 lecturers in a range of UK universities. The interview…

Four of Harvey and Green's five definitions of quality are used as a framework to examine whether "massification" is hurting educational quality. A survey of British higher education managers revealed that fitness for purpose and transformation were the preferred definitions of quality. Quality Assurance Agency subject reviews indicate…

This paper reviews recent research, literature and the views of a small sample of senior managers and academics in English higher education institutions on the challenges associated with embedding quality. When implemented by a university, quality enhancement models such as total quality management and the European Foundation for Quality…