Perceptions of academics about improving the quality of Argentine university education

Among the profound transformations that emerged in the past decades in the higher education systems of the world, quality assurance mechanisms have achieved a prominent place in the scaffolding of public policies, involving new conceptualizations around the relationship between the State and higher education institutions (HEIs), as well as the development of a platform of debate about their efficacy. This article is centered on the study of the impact of quality assurance processes implemented in Argentina, focusing on private HEIs that were created and started operations simultaneously with the inception of the public policy of quality assurance and which have financed, without any state support, the improvements deriving from these mandatory processes. Efficacy is observed in terms of its relationship with the changes introduced to improve quality; taking as a reference framework the time elapsed between the two institutional assessment periods undergone by three private universities based in the Metropolitan region of Buenos Aires, Argentine.