Research On The State Action In Higher Education Quality Assurance

Since the international quality assurance movement in higher education in 1980s, the states of west continent countries have played an active role in building and promoting the quality assurance systems in higher education.The practice draws a lot of attention.This paper takes France,the Netherland,Sweden as example to study the state action in higher education quality assurance.It is expected that this study could make in-depth recognition on the relationship between the state government and development of higher education.In the different backgrounds of higher education ,the paper systematically introduces and analyses the state action in each country that how the states make use of the means of evaluation, funding,legislation and planning to guarantee the quality in higher education. Based on the comparative study ,the paper summarizes the similarities and differences of the state action, analyses the goals, features and effects. The study shows that in order to improve higher education management and efficiency,the states gradually decrease immediate control , conduct the process of quality assurance in higher education ,and try to establish higher education quality assurance systems which make the states keep influence on higher education and promote the institutions to take on the responsibility on quality. The goals of the state action are the same, and the ways also show quite similarity and obttain resemblant effects.There are many experiences of quality assurance in the three countries,which are useful to us. In the process of decentralization ,the states have made use of the means to develop external systems of quality assurance,which can keep influence on higher education and promote the internal quality assurance in the institutions.The external systems can also improve the quality consciousness of institutions.The states intend to improve quality through the evaluation information,emphasise the negotiation with the academics and encourage the society to join in the practice of quality assurance.