Since the end of the 1990s, the Chinese higher education system has seen a dramatic expansion of enrolment. China currently has the largest higher education system in the world, however, the rapid growth resulted in concerns being raised about the quality of the system. In response, an array of external quality assessment schemes of higher education has been established, based on suggested policy designs and reforms. The establishment of an effective quality assurance mechanism is a major challenge for universities around the world, therefore, what experience and lessons can be learned from the Chinese practice? This book analyses the external quality assurance system of higher education in China. It brings together scholarship on this topic by renowned Chinese experts, reporting and discussing recent policy developments and research. It presents and analyses various quality evaluation schemes, covering undergraduate, postgraduate, and vocational levels of higher education. The theoretical roots and value orientation of Chinese higher education quality assurance are also reflected on. This volume was originally published as a special issue of Chinese Education and Society.

This book illustrates the higher education quality assurance system and its impact on institutional transformation in China. It starts by describing the higher education system in China and its quality assessment schemes. It discusses in detail the Quality Assessment of Undergraduate Education (QAUE) and the Subject Evaluation, two of the most influential external quality assessment schemes, which are conducted on the institutional and subject levels respectively. In the second part of this book, QAUE is taken as an example for the impact analysis. Using case studies, it explores the impact of the QAUE on various dimensions of quality provisions in universities with different statuses and presents the views of various stakeholders. Based on the empirical findings from the Chinese schemes and the theories on organizational change and the mechanism of external quality assessment, it proposes a model to describe how quality assessment interacts with the evaluated universities and causes them to change.

This innovative Research Agenda critically reflects on the state of the art and offers inspiration for future higher education research across a variety of geographical, disciplinary and theoretical perspectives. It explores the impact of Covid-19, and the need to re-engage with the Global South and reconsider conventional paradigms and assumptions. Leading international contributors address a set of salient issues, ranging from research on macro-level themes to meso and micro-level phenomena.

Despite radical and fundamental reform of the Chinese higher education system, very little is known about this outside China. The past decade has seen radical reform of all levels of China’s education system as it attempts to meet changing economic and social needs and aspirations: this has included transformation of university curricula, pedagogy and evaluation measures, rapidly increasing joint research and degree programmes between Chinese universities and universities abroad, and very large numbers of Chinese students studying at universities outside China. This book describes the historical, cultural, intellectual and contemporary background and contexts of the reform and internationalisation of higher education in China. It discusses these changes, outlines the challenges posed by the changes for university administrators, faculty, researchers, students and those working with Chinese academics and students in China and abroad, and assesses the impact, and evaluates the success, of the changes. Most importantly, it considers how this mobility of people and ideas across educational systems and cultures can contribute to new ways of working and understanding between Western and Chinese academic cultures. The book is a companion to Education Reform in China, which focuses on reform at the early childhood, primary and secondary levels.

Quality in higher education was not invented in recent decades – universities have always possessed mechanisms for assuring the quality of their work. The rising concern over quality is closely related to the changes in higher education and its social context. Among others, the most conspicuous changes are the massive expansion, diversification and increased cost in higher education, and new mechanisms of accountability initiated by the state. With these changes the traditional internally enacted academic quality-keeping has been given an important external dimension – quality assurance, which requires higher education institutions to continuously demonstrate and improve performance, and which also provides new systems of rewards and sanctions. However, the complex impacts of quality assurance policies have shown a need to further understand the quality issue in higher education.This book is about constructing a more inclusive understanding of quality in higher education through combining the macro, meso and micro levels, i.e. from the perspectives of national policy, higher education institutions as organizations in society, individual teaching staff and students. It covers both theoretical constructions for understanding quality and empirical investigation in the Chinese context. The questions addressed are: How is quality of higher education perceived by the institution, teaching staff and students, respectively? What are the main concerns for the institution, teaching staff and students in their own pursuit of quality? It has been concluded that quality of higher education is not only about educational quality, but also about expanding life chances for the students, prosperity in the administrative system for the teaching staff,and organizational prosperity for the institution. With regard to quality assurance and accountability in higher education special attention should be given to the values pursued and be careful to balance between immediate, single-value efficiency and sustainable development and a wider-range of values that higher education serves.

This book discusses the issues and steps involved in building a lifelong learning system in China, including: a coherent policy framework, a sound incentive and institutional framework, a sound regulatory environment, a coordinated governance process, a timely and reliable management information system, a dynamic link with the evolving global system, and the optimal use of limited resources.

The Rise of Quality Assurance in Asian Higher Education provides information on the well researched quality assurance frameworks, processes, standards, and internal and external monitoring that have taken place around the globe. However, in Asia, where higher education has witnessed rapid growth, and is also contributing significantly to international education which is benefited by many developed countries, this data has not been readily available. In recent years, governments in Asia have made significant investment with an aim of creating education hubs to ensure that higher education is internationally competitive. This book examines the developments in higher education quality assurance in eleven Asian countries, providing systematic insights into national quality assurance arrangements and also examining the different approaches governments in Asia have implemented based on social and economic contexts. - Includes chapters from eleven countries that examine quality assurance arrangements - Explores untold case studies of countries, such as Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, Korea, India, and others - Examines higher education context, quality assurance arrangements, effectiveness, challenges, and international quality assurance in Asia - Offers contributions from leading scholars and practitioners who are working in higher education in Asia - Provides engagement for research students

The Global Trends in Higher Education Quality Assurance: Challenges and Opportunities in Internal and External Quality Assurance provides a comprehensive coverage of the trends and developments in higher education quality assurance as they refer to legitimacy/trust, efficiency and relevance.

This volume includes extended and revised versions of a set of selected papers from the 2011 2nd International Conference on Education and Educational Technology (EET 2011) held in Chengdu, China, October 1-2, 2011. The mission of EET 2011 Volume 1 is to provide a forum for researchers, educators, engineers, and government officials involved in the general areas of education and educational technology to disseminate their latest research results and exchange views on the future research directions of these fields. 130 related topic papers were selected into this volume. All the papers were reviewed by 2 program committee members and selected by the volume editor Prof. Yuanzhi Wang, from Intelligent Information Technology Application Research Association, Hong Kong. The conference will bring together leading researchers, engineers and scientists in the domain of interest. We hope every participant can have a good opportunity to exchange their research ideas and results and to discuss the state of the art in the areas of the education and educational technology.