Quality matters

Since institutions of higher learning produce a significant amount of knowledge, the quality of their output has become a very important factor in national economies. For this reason, external quality assurance (EQA) is of importance for educational policy; therefore, EQA features broad competences. However, competence means that responsibility, capability and willingness exist in harmony. Due to confusion about competence, EQA has been assigned tasks for which it is not well suited, and its wothwhile goals have been lost in the implementation process. Furthermore, the recent emergence of “impact studies” reflects an increasing scepticism about the effectiveness of EQA.

22.03.2013 | Kurt Sohm (Wien)