A Study of the Quality Assurance Systems in Higher Education in the UK

This paper reports on a study to explore perceptions of key stakeholders in higher education institutions in Scotland UK, regarding the impact of Quality Assurance (QA) systems on both teaching and research. The design adopted consisted of two case studies based on two Scottish universities. The two universities were chosen to explore the perceptions of key staff regarding the impact of QA systems on both teaching and research in their respective institutions. Within each of the two institutions, key staff (four in each university) most of whom worked in similar education academic units (Faculties or Schools) were interviewed on a 1:1 basis. The study showed that perspectives on quality improvement arrangements were significantly shaped by the cultural background of the institution with less positive perspectives in the newer post-1992 university.