National performance assessment and accountability in higher education: Lessons from Australia

Abstract

An emerging dimension of performance assessment and accountability mechanisms for higher education worldwide is the creation of performance assessment frameworks at the national level. Frameworks have now been instituted by national governments across a number of continents. In some cases the reasons for doing so are made explicit; in other cases they are implied. Reasons generally relate to maintaining or improving the performance, accountability and/or quality of the targeted institutions. Australia presents one case study of how national performance assessment arrangements have evolved. This chapter provides a review of two current national institutional performance assessments: Quality I..