After nearly 20 years of evaluation in Italian higher education, a new national agency for the evaluation of the university system (ANVUR) came into being in 2011. This article traces the history of evaluation in Italian universities, discussing the tasks assigned to the national evaluation bodies and their functions within the university system.…

The ways in which the value-added benefits of higher education are conceptualised and measured have come under increased scrutiny as universities become more accountable to their funding bodies in a difficult economic climate. Existing approaches for understanding quality learning often rely on measuring the subjective student experience or on…

This article considers the overall success of the quality movement in the context of questions about the political status and role of quality assurance agencies. These agencies have gained a significant degree of legitimacy and respect among major stakeholders but the political reality is that their long-term sustainability depends on whether…

The continued importance of university rankings has only served to fuel the growth of the "world-class" university movement. There is a growing impression that, in a globalised and interconnected world, no country can do without a world-class university. No country, that is, except Brazil. While Brazil has the resources necessary to…

While much research on quality assurance in higher education has centred on issues related to the impact on teaching and learning and academic staff, there is a significant gap in the area of quality assurance and academic governance. Within Australia the roles of university academic boards (also known as academic senates or faculty senates) have…

This article investigates the implementation of a quality assurance system in Georgia as a particular case of "Bologna transplant" in a transitioning country. In particular, the article discusses to what extent new concepts, institutions and models framed as "European" have been institutionalised in Georgia. Based on an outcome…

This article explores challenges in ensuring effective student transition from school or college to university. It examines the complex liaison needed for students to progress to appropriate courses, settle into university life and succeed as higher education learners. Secondary data (international literature on transition and the formation of…

It is now commonplace to find quality audit processes being applied in universities internationally as a means of assessing the quality of teaching and learning. This article draws upon a thematic analysis of 14 second-round Australian Universities Quality Agency reports in order to explore matters arising from the academic engagement of…

In many countries, current research policy is dominated by managerialism and excellence, manifesting the aim of making universities into national strategic assets in the globally competitive knowledge economy. This article discusses these policy trends and their mirror in recent developments in public funding for academic research, with special…

Student evaluation of teaching is commonplace in many universities and may be the predominant input into the performance evaluation of staff and organisational units. This article used publicly available student evaluation of teaching data to present examples of where institutional responses to evaluation processes appeared to be educationally…

Although students are considered major actors in the quality assessment of universities, the way they perceive this process and the meanings they ascribe to it are still neglected as a research subject. This article aims to reduce this gap by focusing on the social representations of students on quality assessment. Specifically, it tries to…

This article considers how a contribution based on Rorty's philosophy can help in the understanding of quality and its assurance in higher education. The suggestion is that if quality has an edifying purpose, then it should be seen as an ongoing process and might be aptly judged as being just "good enough". This position is argued for it promotes…

England is developing a new quality assurance regime that will come into effect in October 2011. A new funding regime will operate from the following year, together with new rules to ease the participation of private higher education providers. This article describes and analyses the new quality and funding regimes. It argues that the greater…

Sweden has a high level of student influence. At Lund University, students are not viewed as counterparts but partners in the university's activities. Lund University has carried out Student Satisfaction Surveys (barometers) since the 1990s and an overview has shown that an evaluation culture has grown during the past decade. It is, however, time…

Placement providers can be successfully involved in assessing students. This is demonstrated in the Monash University Faculty of Information Technology Cooperative Education Program. Students are thoroughly prepared for their placements and industry supervisors receive written assessment guidelines. Not one student has been awarded a pass grade by…