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…

This paper examines the notion of the student as a customer in a university, focusing on the perceptions of academic staff. Changes in the higher education sector in recent years have significantly reduced the differences between universities and other types of organisations and it has been argued that students have become "consumers" of…

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…

This article identifies the increasing demands on United Kingdom universities brought about by the expanded government agenda and the entry of higher numbers of more diverse students. It analyses the changes in organizational structures and cultures and identifies a centralizing tendency in terms of power to meet these demands. There is a focus on…

Examines political, economic, and educational reasons for higher education's shift from collegial academy to corporate enterprise. Relates the belief in the market model of education to the decline of the liberal education tradition. (SK)

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…

This paper examines the introduction of peer review of teaching in a pre-1992 university in England. The paper first considers the theoretical dimensions. Peer review of teaching is generally seen as a quality enhancement rather than a quality assurance instrument and a powerful means of encouraging the continuing professional development of…

Analyzes the impact of the new statutory head-teacher performance-management scheme in a sample of Kent's secondary schools. Forty-three replies were completed and returned, representing an 83 percent response rate. Most respondents regarded the scheme as a force for good. (Contains 1 table, 4 figures, and 79 references.) (MLF)