Quality in higher education was not invented in recent decades – universities have always possessed mechanisms for assuring the quality of their work. The rising concern over quality is closely related to the changes in higher education and its social context. Among others, the most conspicuous changes are the massive expansion, diversification and increased cost in higher education, and new mechanisms of accountability initiated by the state. With these changes the traditional internally enacted academic quality-keeping has been given an important external dimension – quality assurance, which requires higher education institutions to continuously demonstrate and improve performance, and which also provides new systems of rewards and sanctions. However, the complex impacts of quality assurance policies have shown a need to further understand the quality issue in higher education.This book is about constructing a more inclusive understanding of quality in higher education through combining the macro, meso and micro levels, i.e. from the perspectives of national policy, higher education institutions as organizations in society, individual teaching staff and students. It covers both theoretical constructions for understanding quality and empirical investigation in the Chinese context. The questions addressed are: How is quality of higher education perceived by the institution, teaching staff and students, respectively? What are the main concerns for the institution, teaching staff and students in their own pursuit of quality? It has been concluded that quality of higher education is not only about educational quality, but also about expanding life chances for the students, prosperity in the administrative system for the teaching staff,and organizational prosperity for the institution. With regard to quality assurance and accountability in higher education special attention should be given to the values pursued and be careful to balance between immediate, single-value efficiency and sustainable development and a wider-range of values that higher education serves.

This book focuses on quality work in higher education, and examines the relationship between the organizational and pedagogical dimensions of quality work in higher education. Bringing together different disciplinary traditions, including educational science, sociology, and organisational studies, it addresses the following principal research question: How is quality work carried out in higher education? The book addresses a wide variety of academic, administrative and leadership practices that are involved in quality work in higher education institutions. The chapters in this book examine core issues crucial in the design and content of study programs, such as modes of teaching, learning and curricula design, as well as institutional practices regarding assessment and quality enhancement. The introductory and concluding chapter present an overarching focus on quality work as a lens to analyse intentional activities within higher education institutions directed at how study programmes and courses are designed, governed, and operated.

This text reports on a series of case studies on managing and assessing quality in higher education from 29 institutions and several national quality agencies, gathered from 17 countries.

By bringing together leading experts on quality assurance in higher education from seven countries (from Europe, the USA and South Africa), this volume intends to go several steps further than most publications on the same subject. Containing comprehensive discussion of the most relevant trends in quality assurance regulation, translation and transformation, researchers and policy makers will find an engaged, academic reflection on how quality assurance is embedded in higher education and in a dynamic way to assess its impacts and potential improvements.

Support in higher education is an emerging area of great interest to professors, researchers and students in academic institutions. Sustainability in Higher Education provides discussions on the exchange of information between different aspects of sustainability in higher education. This book includes chapter contributions from authors who have provided case studies on various areas of education for sustainability. - Focus on sustainability - Present studies in aspects related with higher education - Explores a variety of educational aspects from an sustainable perspective

This insightful collection of essays explores the ways in which open education can democratise access to education for all. It is a rich resource that offers both research and case studies to relate the application of open technologies and approaches in education settings around the world. A must-read for practitioners, policy-makers, scholars and students in the field of education.

This edited volume focuses on the historical role of the OECD (The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) in shaping global education policy. In this book, contributors shed light on the present-day perspective of Comparative Education as a logical addition to current scholarship on the history of international organizations in the field of education. Doing so, the book provides a deeper understanding of contemporary developments in education that will enable us to reflect critically on the trajectories and future developments of education worldwide.