Title: On following the standards and guidelines for quality assurance in the European higher education area: a Slovenian case study

Authors: Karmen Rodman, Nada Trunk Sirca

Addresses: Faculty of Management in Koper, University of Primorska, Cankarjeva 5, 6104 Koper, Slovenia. ' Faculty of Management in Koper, University of Primorska, Cankarjeva 5, 6104 Koper, Slovenia

Abstract: In 2006–2007, Slovenian Higher Education (HE) experienced a pilot project of the national Institutional External Evaluations (IEEs). Simultaneously, we carried out the observation of the site visits on evaluated Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The participants in the evaluation case study raised many issues, which cannot be answered uniformly by applying the standards and guidelines of the European institutions for quality assurance in HE. This article raises the question of to what extent it is reasonable to be innovative and different in developing a national IEE model, considering the characteristics and level of complexity of HEIs on the one hand, and the ensuring comparability and accountability on the other.

Keywords: institutional evaluation; external evaluations; audit; quality assurance; quality enhancement; higher education; European HE; quality standards; educational services; protocol; Slovenia; guidelines.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSS.2008.016084

International Journal of Services and Standards, 2008 Vol.4 No.1, pp.54 - 69

Published online: 05 Dec 2007 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article