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Higher Education Policy

, Volume 28, Issue 2, pp 175–195 | Cite as

Higher Education Quality Assessment in China: An Impact Study

  • Shuiyun Liu
Article
First Online:

Abstract

This research analyses an external higher education quality assessment scheme in China, namely, the Quality Assessment of Undergraduate Education (QAUE) scheme. Case studies were conducted in three Chinese universities with different statuses. Analysis shows that the evaluated institutions responded to the external requirements of the QAUE actively, but the actual effects of the QAUE on university operations were not as high as expected. The empirical study of the QAUE indicates that quality assessments can trigger university change as an external force, but genuine change can only occur when it is integrated with internal motivation and capacities for change. The external and internal forces involved in the process are detailed. The analysis also shows that there is limited impetus for quality assessment as an external force driving university change. This is determined by the functional mechanism of quality assessment per se.

Keywords

QAUE quality assessment impact external impetus internal forces 
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Notes

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the financial support of National Social Science Fund of China (Project CIA120142) and Centenary Scholarship from Institute of Education, University of London, UK. The author would like to extend her special gratitude to Dr. Paul Temple, Prof. Jeroen Huisman, Prof. Claire Callender and the two anonymous reviewers for their comments on the paper.

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Copyright information

© International Association of Universities 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  • Shuiyun Liu
    • 1
  1. 1.Beijing Normal UniversityBeijingChina

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