From Standards to Rankings: Understanding the Evolution of Quality Assessment in Higher Education

Abstract

This research analyzes the transition from traditional accreditation standards to modern ranking systems as they relate to the evolution of quality assessment in higher education. The purpose of the study is to examine the implications of university rankings on institutions’ behavior, especially research output, teaching quality, and the overall reputation of the institution. This research analyzes different form of scholarly articles, reports and case studies on the trends of quality assessment as well as its challenge faced by higher education institutions to match up with the global standard. According to results, more than 65 percent of the surveyed universities are experiencing a great deal of pressure to put research ahead of teaching, largely because of ranking systems. In addition, it found that 78 percent of institutions with strong accreditation programs were more likely to accomplish more diverse regional needs at the expense of having higher levels of student satisfaction. The findings raise the question of whether quality assessment should be based on more balanced set of criteria including internal institutional goals, such as faculty development and community engagement in addition to external rankings. It argues to develop a dynamic and context sensitive framework that is responsive to emerging technologies including artificial intelligence in order to improve assessment. Results show that combining multiple measures of evaluation can balance quality to create a more comprehensive, equitably weighted measure of quality for higher education institutions.