In this article I point out that prominence given to higher education quality assurance by contemporary states might be viewed in the context of the ascendance of neoliberalism over the past few decades and a concomitant culture of performativity. However, I argue for a shift in the angle of vision on performativity and quality assurance through a poststructural reading of these constructs. My key argument is that all constructs/concepts are territories that have the potential to become deterritorialised and reterritorrialised, and that terms such as performativity and quality assurance should not be abandoned but rather viewed as carriers of new constellations of universes. In short, perfomativity and quality assurance should not be viewed simply as negative processes, but also as sites for creative change.