This article discusses the impact of marketisation on the quality of research and education in Turkey and the USA based on the narratives of higher education scholars. It also compares the perception of Turkish and American scholars regarding the implications for Turkey and the USA. It is concluded that there is a link between marketisation and the quality of teaching and research in higher education. While the concerns of Turkish scholars associated with higher education are systemic and perennial regardless of the marketisation process, American scholars tend to associate quality problems in higher education more with the marketisation trend in the country.