The assessment of universities in Argentina and Australia: Between autonomy and heteronomy

Abstract

The field of university assessment, including quality assurance, is structured by power and conflict, and shaped by technologies of assessment such as self-study by academic units, numerical performance indicators and whole institution evaluation and ranking. In reconstructing and comparing the recent evolution of assessment practices in Argentina and Australia we detect a common neo-liberal approach to assessment, supported by global agencies such as the World Bank. Assessment policies and practices are used to advance neo-liberal agendas, often in contradiction with national traditions in higher education. In both countries more externalised and institution-centred forms of assessment have..