Despite its roots in environmental discussions, sustainability has become a critical term influencing every aspect of organisations. As human-oriented institutions, universities have also embraced the 'sustainable development' concept on the quality of their internal and external services. Two overarching questions are most important for…

In many countries, quality assurance systems rely on study programme accreditation. As with all quality assurance mechanisms, accreditation should also be continuously improved in order to maintain its relevance as a promoter of study programme quality. A way to move accreditation forward is by taking into account academics' views, interests and…

This paper presents empirical evidence on the adoption, implementation and the perceived effectiveness of quality management in teaching and learning in German higher education institutions. Theoretically, the article combines two new institutionalist approaches: institutional isomorphism and institutional entrepreneurship. Empirically, the study…

The marked increase in transnational higher education third party arrangements in recent years represents globalizing forms of education. Third party arrangements involve a partner institution being approved to deliver the primary institution's government-accredited courses. The primary institute is accountable for monitoring and documenting…

This study investigates the viewpoints of higher education managers, staff, lecturers and students on the impacts of accreditation in institutional quality management. These views are explored via a case study approach involving semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders at a leading university in Vietnam. The study's results suggest that…

The purpose of this study is to develop a stakeholder map to describe the most important stakeholders and the process of stakeholder relationships in higher education. According to the perspective of the balanced scorecard, the classification of stakeholders integrates stakeholders into strategic management. Stakeholder maps are essential in…

This research seeks to explore academics' perceptions of the importance and degree of implementation of the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) for internal quality assurance. It uses empirical evidence from Portugal, gathered via a questionnaire given to all university academics. Results show…

The starting point of this article is the relation between teaching quality and expectations by different governance actors in higher education. Managing a department in a public university is, to a large extent, about the coordination of governance actors, involving government authorities as well as the university and the faculty. Internally, the…

Transparency and comparability of higher education institutions especially in terms of their academic programmes and research activities are important issues for today's working environment. This paper is an overview of a recently completed PhD thesis which outlines examples of selected Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development…

Accountability and quality assurance have become central discourses in higher education policy throughout the world. However, accountability and quality assurance involve power and control. Practices and ideas about quality developed in the Global North are spreading rapidly across the Global South, leading to increased uniformity in the…

Over the last decade, the assessment of student experience has gained significant prominence in Australian higher education. Universities conduct internal surveys in order to identify which of their services students rate higher or lower on importance and performance. Thus, institutions can promote highly performing areas and work on those needing…

In order to obtain an accreditation, the university management must implement a quality assurance system and be able to document that quality policy and procedures are followed and acted upon as appropriate. One element in this system is monitoring students' satisfaction. In this paper, we describe a method of acquiring the necessary information…

This article compares the national-level requirements for master degree provision in England, Denmark and Portugal following the implementation of the Bologna Process, and ponders upon the reconcilability of these requirements in cross-national initiatives (e.g. joint degrees). In all three countries, master degrees have to comply with the…

The analysis begins with a comprehensive overview of legal provisions for student participation in higher education governance over the past few decades. How has the involvement of students in decision-making processes developed? The answer will be provided for the sub-institutional level of faculties and degree programmes; the institutional…

The article discusses the question of student participation in higher education governance at the national and the institutional levels in Norway. Two ideal-type perspectives on governance are developed in order to illuminate the Norwegian case: a democratic perspective and a market perspective. The article provides a brief overview of the…