This paper presents the findings of a two-year EU-funded project (DG Education and Culture) "Benchmarking in European Higher Education", carried out from 2006 to 2008 by a consortium led by the European Centre for Strategic Management of Universities (ESMU), with the Centre for Higher Education Development, UNESCO-CEPES, and the Universidade de Aveiro. Quality assurance as currently practised may ensure accountability, yet it does not sufficiently enhance the quality of higher education. The application of industrial quality models has shown its limitations. Going beyond current quality approaches, benchmarking is a modern management tool to set targets for increased performance through inter-organisational learning.