There remains a lack of published empirical data on the substantive outcomes of higher learning and the establishment of quality processes for determining them. Studies that do exist are nationally focused with available rankings of institutions reflecting neither the quality of teaching and learning nor the diversity of institutions. This article…

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.…

This article applies the theoretical framework of principal-agent theory in order to better understand the complex organisational relationships emerging between entities invested in the establishment and monitoring of cross-border international branch campus medical schools. Using the key constructs of principal-agent theory, information asymmetry…

Assessing student learning in ways that offer students, institutions and systems with sound information is a considerable challenge for higher education. Despite demonstrable progress, a disconnect remains between methods used for assessing learning, improvement and accountability. This muddled situation is illustrated through a review of…

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…

Student engagement with the world of work or voluntary service has become increasingly prominent in higher education curricula as nations and states seek competitive advantage for their economies. Developments in assessment have lagged behind developments in curricula. It is argued that the incorporation of work-engaged learning into curricula…

This contribution looks critically at the achievements regarding the Bologna action line "European cooperation in quality assurance". Much has been realised but most of the visible achievements are at the supranational level: the development of the European Standards and Guidelines, the launch of the European Network of Quality Assurance Agencies,…

The purpose of this article is to analyse the development of accreditation standards and processes in Vietnam and to offer recommendations for the further progress of Vietnam's accreditation model. The authors first provide contextual details of the higher education system and then present the conceptual framework of quality assurance in relation…

This article presents the findings of exploratory research on the relationship of external quality assurance (EQA) systems and equity policies conducted at the UNESCO Institute for Educational Planning. Authors from Australia, Brazil, India and South Africa were invited to discuss this relationship in the context of their respective higher…

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai has developed an innovative system of quality assurance designed to ensure that the appropriate international standards are being maintained through this cross-border method of delivery. This paper describes and provides the strategic rationale for this new model of "validation" and sets it in…

The post-secondary education sector in Oman consists of a complex suite of public and private institutions, in a number of distinct segments, offering local and foreign programmes developed through their respective quality assurance systems. The Omani higher education quality management system is undergoing significant advances to address this…

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the status of quality assurance and accreditation systems within higher education institutions in Yemen. The paper initially describes the stages of development and changes that have occurred in the field of quality and accreditation in Yemeni higher education. The paper shows that no formal…

At present Germany does not have standards for the selection of evaluators of higher education, nor does it gauge their performance. However, more could be done to inspect the inspectors. For evaluations to be effective, evaluators need to have the required skills. This paper locates evaluations within the present context of German higher…

The purpose of the study is to describe the evaluation and quality assurance practices employed in the basic units of Finnish and Italian universities and analyse the impact of the Bologna process on quality assessment. The data consist of interviews (n=30) conducted in Finland and Italy. The results suggest that: (1) evaluation and quality…

A critical look at the content we select for teaching and the criteria for that selection may help us to establish a theoretical framework for studying the quality of teaching and learning. The discussion of such criteria is central to the German and Nordic didaktik tradition. The criteria for content selection reveal how educational content is…