Search

Among pioneering European countries who started to establish a formal higher education quality assurance system in the 1980s, the Netherlands adopted one based on peer review and quality enhancement, which was replaced in 2003 by an accountability-oriented accreditation system under the substantial influence of the Bologna Process. Recently, the emphasis is being put on institutional audit to restore a culture of quality within higher education institutions. This article addresses the question of what the higher education worldwide can learn from the evolution of Dutch quality assurance policy concerning control, the balance between accountability and quality improvement and trust. Finally, recent adaptations to the current, third, round of accreditation are also addressed in this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review of the performance of the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) was undertaken in 2005-2006. It was commissioned by AUQA and the review report was published in May 2006. This article explores whether the AUQA review can be regarded internationally as an exemplar and thus used with confidence by governments or other principals as a reliable means of measuring higher education quality assurance agency performance. It pays particular attention to the method of analysis employed by the review team. The article argues that the AUQA review was flawed, in this and other respects, to a degree which renders it inadequate as a global exemplar. Its conclusions must thus be treated with caution by higher education policy-makers, departments of state, universities, businesses, students and other institutions in Australia and internationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]