Public Policy for Academic Quality: Analyses of Innovative Policy Instruments: 30 2010th Edition

From the reviews:

“There is much of interest in this book for students of public policy for academic quality. An impressive array of talented authors contributes the case studies. Even if the reader is familiar with the specific topic, each chapter managed to produce some unusual nuggets of information in addition to capturing the main components of the debate over design and implementation. … The volume, laudably, argues for scholarly, evidence-based, and reliable approaches to public-policy initiatives to assure academic standards and quality.” (George Gordon, Educational Review, October, 2011)

“Having an entire book discussing the concept of academic quality … is very innovative and instructive. … Public policy for academic quality does a very good job in including instruments of analysis which help the reader to understand academic quality in many forms. … The main focus of Public policy for academic quality on academic quality and its illustrations through country case studies makes this book a very pleasant read. Many instruments are student-based regulations, which help to illustrate policies and instruments for lifelong learning.” (Ali Ait Si Mhamed, International Review of Education, Vol. 57 (5-6), December, 2011)

This volume summarizes a significant body of research systematically analyzing innovative external quality assurance policies in higher education around the world. It will be essential reading for policy makers, administrators and researchers alike.

Over the last decade the structure of higher education in most countries has undergone significant change. This change, brought about by social demands for expanded access, technological developments, and market forces, has seen the traditional concerns with access and cost supplemented by a fresh concern with academic quality. As a result new public policies on academic quality assurance have rapidly emerged and migrated around the globe.

However, the public debate about new academic quality assurance policies, both within and across countries, has not always been informed by reliable analyses of the strengths and weaknesses of these innovative instruments. It is this gap that the current edited volume seeks to fill. It is based on the work of the Public Policy for Academic Quality research program (PPAQ), which was designed to provide systematic analyses of innovative external quality assurance policies around the world. This volume, informed by key international scholars, presents the fourteen analyses conducted as part of the PPAQ research program. Each analysis examines the policy goals, implementation problems, and impacts of these newly developed national quality assurance instruments. The book concludes with an assessment of the lessons learned from these collected policy analyses and outlines the framework conditions that appear essential for assuring academic standards in the university sector.