Within the context of expanding enrolments and privatization of higher education, quality assurance (QA) has been at the centre of higher education reform worldwide. Its development has been driven firstly by external quality assurance (EQA) bodies as a mechanism for control, accountability, and improvement. Higher education institutions (HEIs) have responded to the demands of QA agencies, and developed mechanisms for their own internal quality assurance (IQA). University case studies from research on IQA conducted by the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) analysed existing IQA practices and factors that condition the effectiveness of IQA in HEIs in eight countries. Based on research data, this brief examines how EQA shaped IQA in the universities studied, and how the link between the two mechanisms can be improved for sustainable and continuous quality enhancement.
