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The purpose of this paper is to examine how the Japanese and Taiwanese national quality assurance (QA) agencies, National Institution for Academic Degrees and Quality Enhancement (NIAD-QE) and Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan (HEEACT), transform their respective frameworks in response to social demands, and analyze and compare the respective approaches for the key concepts of autonomy, accountability, improvement and transparency.

Using a qualitative document analysis approach, this paper initially examines the higher education system, major policies and QA developments, after which the methods associated with the QA restructuring transformations are outlined in terms of motivations, expectations and challenges. Finally, the NIAD-QE and HEEACT evaluation policies and frameworks are compared to assess how each has prepared to respond to emerging challenges.

During the QA framework restructuring, both the NIAD-QE and HEEACT struggled to achieve autonomy, accountability, improvements and transparency. While the new internal Japanese QA policy is assured through the external QA, the Taiwanese internal QA, which has a self-accreditation policy, is internally embedded with university autonomy emphasized. The QA policies in both the NIAD-QE and HEEACT have moved from general compliance to overall improvement, and both emphasize that accountability should be achieved through improvements. Finally, both agencies sought transparency through the disclosure of the QA process and/or results to the public and the enhancement of public communication.

This study gives valuable insights into the QA framework in Asian higher education institutions and how QA has been transformed to respond to social needs.

This paper aims to look at the characteristics of internal quality assurance (IQA) systems of higher education institutions to understand whether these systems tend to reproduce a given model, externally defined and suggested to institutions, or rather to be shaped by institutions’ features and interests.

The study is supported in the analysis of the content of self-assessment reports of 12 internal QA systems certified, in Portugal, between 2012 and 2015. An analysis grid was used based on three categories: IQA systems’ historical framework, structural/managerial component and monitoring, assessment and continuous improvement.

Institutions tended to follow a “one size fits all” approach, meaning that external (European and national) quality assurance (QA) references were used in an identical way, giving origin to rather similar IQA systems. Institutional characteristics do not seem to have played a relevant role, eventually due to institutions’ will to obtain their systems’ certification and, thus, achieve a light-touch external QA.

The study was based on the analysis of only certified IQA systems and relies on document analysis. It would be interesting to also include non-certified systems, in a comparative perspective, complemented with data deriving from interviews and/or questionnaires with some of the actors involved in the certification process.

The study provides an understanding of how IQA systems are being implemented in Portugal. Thus, it can be of interest to other institutions as well as to QA agencies.

The study addresses a topic still relatively absent from research on QA in higher education, being of interest for researchers in the field.

The purpose of this paper is to study the extent and the quality of student involvement in the quality assurance process (QAP) in Egyptian higher education institutions (HEIs).

In this study, two qualitative methods were used to explore the extent and the quality of student involvement; these were focus groups and interviews. The aim of the study was achieved by collecting data from samples of students and staff members belonging to 14 public and private universities and institutes in Egypt.

The results indicated that students were not efficiently involved in the QAP at the Egyptian HEIs. They were involved in responding to QA-related questionnaires to a large extent in the case when the HEI was on its way to be accredited or if it was accredited already. It revealed that students were not widely involved in committees regarding QAP. They were invited to meet the external review panel members that were sent by the national accreditation body, but they did not participate in writing the self-evaluation report or even reviewing it. Three factors influencing the extent of student involvement are highlighted.

The paper provides an empirical insight of the extent and the quality of student involvement in Egyptian HEIs. The importance of this study comes from the fact that after the Egypt’s uprising in January 25, 2011; community pressures appeared to precede positive changes, specifically in the educational sector. From that point of time, higher education (HE) students wanted to be seen as partners in developing their HEIs. Therefore, this study introduces a set of recommendations to increase student involvement to three main Egyptian institutions; these are the ministry of HE, the national quality assurance body and the HEIs.

Quality assurance (QA) in open and distance learning (ODL) has always become universal concerns of stakeholders. The quality of ODL has been confronted with challenges in terms of the diversity of inputs, processes, the complex supply chain management of ODL and recent paradigm shift into online learning. Assuring the quality of ODL are daunting tasks at individual, institution and system levels. Completed before the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, this study aims to better understand the implementation of QA system in three Asian open universities (OUs), namely University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU), Universitas Terbuka (UT), Indonesia and Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), Pakistan.

A qualitative method was employed involving analysis of documents of the three Asian OUs and focus group discussions and interviews with management and staff. Data collected were then analyzed to draw conclusions and possible recommendations.

Findings of this study presented good practices, challenges and rooms for improvement of the QA system in the three Asian OUs. Focusing on students and stakeholders in their QA effort, this study has revealed that quality begins with inner self and is multidimensional. QA is principally viewed as continuous improvement, as mechanism and assessment and as effort at exceeding expectations of students and stakeholders. The recent challenge for QA is to embrace a delicate process of ODL transformation into online digital system. The recent COVID-19 outbreak has further implications and challenged QA implementation in ODL in higher education into the next level of complexity.

This study revealed the diversities in how OUs met the societal needs of their respective stakeholders and addressed the challenges ahead for QA in ODL.

These findings were expected to enhance the understanding of the theory and practice of QA in ODL and to contribute to quality improvement of ODL programs.

The purpose of this study is to look at the challenges and successes that the case institution has had in implementing and maintaining quality assurance (QA) processes. The study also looks into the role of QA techniques in improving an institution's performance in a developing country.

The research is qualitative. Nine significant persons were interviewed, including the institution's top administration, faculty members and related staff. Data were gathered to learn more about the background, incremental changes and numerous internal and external elements that influenced how QA was approached over time.

The findings revealed the challenges and experiences of the evolution of QA practices in the case institution. The results show the changes in QA practices regarding three aspects, including people, place and program of case institutions under three phases. During phases I and II, the adoption and upgradation of QA practices were very slow; phase III showed significant improvement in all three aspects. In addition, the positive impact of QA practices is evident in improving the performance of students and teaching and nonteaching staff of the case institution.

The findings of this research could aid open and distance learning (ODL) providers in other developing nations in understanding the challenges of such a system. It may also make it easier for other ODL providers to comprehend the QA-led success in stakeholder confidence, employability and reputation.

The research will give insights into how QA procedures are used and valued in ODL in developing nations.

The question as to why it is necessary to evaluate an essentially evaluative exercise ‐ namely quality assurance ‐ is first examined. It is claimed that because quality assurance is not merely an assessment of health services but a strategic intervention into patient care and/or health care services there is a requirement to verify and monitor the type of quality assurance system being used. Such a requirement can be legitimised either on ethical grounds or on pragmatic grounds. The former position suggests that it is in fact wrong to employ systems whose efficacy and rigour is unproven and unmonitored while the latter position suggests that the potential fallout from a quality assurance programme that fails is of such magnitude that some form of evaluation ought to be undertaken as a matter of course. There follows an examination of some areas that one may want to consider in such an evaluation. These are based on the tripartite split of the elements of quality assurance found in Donabedian′s early work. Finally the question as to the relative merits of an evaluation contained within the quality assurance programme itself and one external to it is addressed.

To evaluate various designs for a quality assurance system to detect and control human errors in a national screening programme for diabetic retinopathy.

A computer simulation was performed of some possible ways of sampling the referral decisions made during grading and of different criteria for initiating more intensive QA investigations. The effectiveness of QA systems was assessed by the ability to detect a grader making occasional errors in referral.

Substantial QA sample sizes are needed to ensure against inappropriate failure to refer. Detection of a grader who failed to refer one in ten cases can be achieved with a probability of 0.58 using an annual sample size of 300 and 0.77 using a sample size of 500.

An unmasked verification of a sample of non‐referrals by a specialist is the most effective method of internal QA for the diabetic retinopathy screening programme. Preferential sampling of those with some degree of disease may improve the efficiency of the system.

This study aims to explore ways of developing, implementing and validating a new framework and criteria for self-evaluation of programme curricula, with specific reference to the quality assurance certification process in a particular case.

The framework is developed using a case study research methodology and implemented based on criteria extraction through the triangulation of indicators achieved from internal goals and external directives.

The findings reveal that this is an improvement-led framework that can be adapted to other contexts during the quality assurance processes to facilitate periodical programme evaluations with a focus on the curriculum.

The proposed practical tool is developed for the programme evaluation process with a curricular focus during the quality assurance certification process of an interior architectural programme while enlightening the processes for the periodical self-evaluations of other institutions. The framework depends on both institution-specific internal and external directives and fulfilling curriculum-related criteria of the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance.

Within quality assurance processes, despite external quality assurance mechanisms, there is a shortage of self-evaluation tools for internal quality assurance procedures, which allow the dissociation of programme-specific qualities. The proposed framework is developed as an example of a self-tailored internal quality assurance tool and process for educational institutions to reveal their unique qualities.

The 2020 pandemic disrupted traditional student mobility and forced a larger majority of transnational programmes to switch to a virtual or hybrid mode, including joint and double degree programmes. Therefore, this study aims to perceive the linkage between quality assurance (QA) and delivery modes of cross-border higher education (CBHE) in Asia before and during the pandemic.

Through an online survey and semi-structured interviews, the process by which top 200 ranked universities in the 2022 QS global ranking responded to QA and qualification issues of joint/dual degree programs in conjunction with delivery modes was explored.

The study has discovered that most respondents from universities, to some extent, tended to be positive about the effectiveness of hybrid delivery of the joint/dual degree programs, even if they still preferred the physical mode to alternatives. Either “divergence” or “responsiveness” QA modes were not applied appropriately in most joint/dual degree programs of the selected universities during the pandemic. Moreover, a fair, transparent and convergent quality and qualification system should be established to facilitate agility and responsiveness of CBHE.

The findings are of value for policymakers, QA agencies and universities to advocate the new QA model for CBHE as a systematic approach in response to changing higher education landscape in the post-pandemic era.

Companies in the health field supplying drugs to government hospitals and medical services need to have accurate information on the relevant regulatory standards. This article describes a regulatory affairs and quality assurance programme instituted and operated by a major multinational drug manufacturer and supplier, referring to the appropriate British standards.