QUALITY ASSESSMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION USING A COMPOSITE INDEX. EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FOR CENTRAL AND EASTERN EU COUNTRIES

Abstract

Post-secondary education requires a complex organisational structure of higher education institutions, staff and infrastructure. The construction of a comprehensive quality index is necessary to assess the quality of higher education and to improve the higher education system in a country. It is imperative that administrators remain informed about the current state of the system through regular and realistic assessments. Therefore, this study has constructed a composite index to assess the quality of higher education. The quality of higher education in Central and Eastern Europe is analysed using 13 indicators from 11 countries with higher education institutions. Extraction of factor coefficient score matrices was performed by downgrading these indicators using principal component analysis (PCA). Using PCA, two principal components were extracted for analysis and the PCA weighting method was used to determine the importance of each indicator by dual-indicator. Each institution's research activity and the internationalization of higher education were included in this method to determine the efforts made by these institutions. Through the study we observed the differences between the eleven countries in terms of higher education and the importance of each measurement dimension used. These findings can be used to compare the current situation in each country and to find directions for development.