Abstract:
This qualitative study to examine the quality-assurance experience of higher education (HE) in Turkey, comprehensively. The perspectives of major stakeholders of higher education are placed at the center of this work. To this end, interviews were held with important stakeholders about institutional external evaluation, which is a crucial tool for quality assurance, to show the approach to quality assurance in higher education in Turkey. The findings imply that quality assurance practices, specifically institutional external evaluation, are a crucial need for a more effective higher education system. Furthermore, the study has pointed out that institutional external evaluation is not free of challenges and that the common challenge is a lack of understanding about institutional external evaluation. Moreover, the study has indicated that there are developmental influences of institutional external evaluation as it is a means to determine the strengths of universities and to identify points that are open to improvement. There are several contributions of this study to the literature. One is that this study examines how quality assurance is perceived by key stakeholders in the HE system in terms of the operations of the process as well as the difficulties in the process and their underlying reasons, and the effects of the process. In this context, this study presents some implications for policymakers, quality assurance practitioners, quality assurance evaluators, and groups affected by quality assurance practices. The findings imply that Turkish higher education is affected by the experiences of globalizing higher education systems to the same extent, and in some cases even more. Furthermore, in accordance with the study, it can be said that although quality assurance is an area that has gained importance and is followed carefully in the world, it is valuable to reveal the points where quality assurance systems are criticized for a healthier functioning system. The findings imply that a significant part of the difficulties experienced in the quality assurance process is due to widespread prejudices and incomplete information on the subject. In addition, even if the concept is positively received by higher education institutions, the problems that institutions experience in many aspects (managerial approach, regional expectations, financial concerns, etc.) may cause difficulties in the implementation of quality assurance. Third, the findings indicate that quality assurance practices should be implemented regularly for tertiary education systems to work effectively. The implementation of these practices also goes through the internalization of the quality culture, from the highest-level manager to the personnel working in the lower units. It is crucial to underline that this study was conducted with a limited number of participants. It is not possible to generalize the findings for the whole higher education community. Also, though important, one study is not considered enough to reflect the growing complexity of quality assurance practices in higher education systems.
