Internal academic quality audit in UK higher education: part II ‐ implications for a national quality assurance framework

Abstract

Suggests that the expansion of academic quality audit methodologies within higher education institutions is a significant development in UK quality assurance. It reflects increasing demands for accountability and also a desire for more dynamic and efficient methods for review and evaluation. The adoption of common regulatory frameworks and centrally defined procedures and protocols; the more explicit specification of intentions and expectations; and the increased use of self‐assessment in quality review processes, have all assisted in creating an environment in which audit methodologies are more acceptable, appropriate and useful. Argues that the development of an audit capacity is essential to the notion of institutional self‐regulation. Such a capacity could form the basis for a type of national quality assurance framework different from that currently operated or proposed, in which there is a much closer articulation of internal and external audit processes.