QUALITY OF EDUCATION - A GUARANTEE OF INSTITUTIONAL COMPETITIVENESS

Starting from the three challenges in the field of the higher education: relevant character, quality and international cooperation (...), this work represents an analysis of the impact of quality culture on the increasing of Romanian universities competitiveness on the European market of education. Analyzing the literature in the branch, we find out that the main changes recorded at the level of the tertiary education are the diversification and the consistent development of education at a higher level, on the ground of the intensified difficulties as far as it regards insuring resources and an increased demand of responsibility. We are also witnesses, in present, of the development of a "consumption" view over the universities and passing from a higher education for elites, to a mass one, where the performance seems often to be uncertain. As far as it concerns as suring the quality in the higher education environment, it can be noticed that its implementation is made almost in a mechanical way, on the ground of a quality management that is not enough developed and a weak involvement of direct beneficiaries in the project of the quality system. In this regard, we recommend developping of a system of total quality management at university level, beginning from the student's needs, identifying some new performance items in education and development of some effective instruments of ensuring higher education quality.