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5 - Capture and Drift in Emerging International Governance Arrangements

The Role of Meta-organizations in Higher Education Quality Assurance

from Part II - Systems, Processes, and Dynamics of Governance in Higher Education

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 November 2020

By
Åse Gornitzka ,
Peter Maassen  and
Bjørn Stensaker
Edited by
Giliberto Capano  and
Darryl S. L. Jarvis
Giliberto Capano
Affiliation:
Università degli Studi, Bologna, Italy
Darryl S. L. Jarvis
Affiliation:
The University of Hong Kong
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Summary

One of the most noticeable changes in the governance of higher education has been the introduction of systematic external quality assurance and the establishment of new national agencies with particular responsibilities in this area. In Europe these developments have been accompanied by the establishment of new pan-European meta-organizations in the quality assurance area. These meta-organizations incorporate a wide range of functions, including building and exchanging knowledge and expertise, regulatory responsibilities, and expanding their own influence in higher education governance. This chapter analyses two European meta-organizations in the field of quality assurance — ENQA and EQAR — and discusses their role in influencing the emerging multilevel and multi-actor governance of higher education in Europe.

Keywords

quality assurancemulti-organizational governanceEuropean higher educationinternational governanceBologna Process
Type
Chapter
Information
Convergence and Diversity in the Governance of Higher Education
Comparative Perspectives
 , pp. 138 - 155
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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