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The purpose of this article is to analyze main principles, forms and approaches to education quality evaluation in the process of establishment, development and crucial changes in the state accreditation of educational institutions and study programmes in Russian higher education in the last 20 years.

The major research method used in the paper is the qualitative analysis of legal and statistical documents, research papers and accreditation practices, which impacted the development and transformation of accreditation forms in Russia.

The transformation process of state accreditation during the last 20 years was conditioned by the changes in the state education policy and socio-economic situation. In a short period, under the influence of internal and external factors, Russian higher education has experienced significant changes in the structure of higher education and quality assurance. This resulted in different approaches to accreditation: state and independent, mandatory and voluntary, national and international.

The research outcomes may be applicable in the countries with developing accreditation systems and comparable scope of education.

The study identifies the tendencies in the development of higher education and quality evaluation.

The paper systematizes the tendencies of development in quality assurance and distinguishes specific features and diversity of forms of the quality assurance in one of the largest systems of higher education.

The increasing societal requirement requests higher education institutions to be more responsive to socioeconomic needs and new governmental demands. This study aims to present a self-developed multidimensional quality assurance and assessment model for higher education institutions – R.I.S.E model (relevance, impact, significance and excellence) – as a tool for quality assessment in higher education institutions.

The model was first described at a conceptual level, followed by the examination of its applicability by presenting a case of a university in Macau to substantiate the model with real-life evidence.

Results showed that the model can be used as an assessment tool to analyze, evaluate and reflect upon the status quo of higher education institutions. Facilitators can use all or part of the model either as a useful baseline to assess performance and prioritize “next steps” or to compare performance across time to determine progress in achieving goals and objectives.

The new model proposed in this study presents multiple perspectives when assessing higher education systems, especially in the transforming stage of a university, to meet upgrading requirements from both the society and the academic community.