Educational quality assurance in universities

In the last decade or so there has been a proliferation of literature(s) concerning quality assurance (QA) in a variety of contexts. The literatures which have primary relevance to higher education span a range of disciplines or transdisciplines, including management science and development evaluation, organisational behaviour and change, and the study of higher education. While evolution has occurred in approaches to QA in many institutions, piecemeal, non-systemic or poorly planned and integrated approaches are still common. This paper distils some key ideas from the literatures on QA and higher education culture and practice and proposes a model for educational quality assurance (EQA). The model is evolutionary, in that it (1) is built on and integrates ideas from research, practice and case evidence; (2) integrates key elements of educational environments which influence the quality of climate, process and outcome, but which are often not strongly linked in QA strategies or systems; and (3) has continual quality improvement in student learning at its heart and as its primary goal, with accountability as an important consequence.