Graduate students' perception of standards and accreditation in higher education in Turkey: A qualitative analysis

Abstract

My aim in this this study was to investigate graduate students' perceptions about the concepts of standard and accreditation and their views on the problems of accreditation in Turkey. I conducted research on 26 graduate students in Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Turkey. I administered an open-ended questionnaire consisting of four questions to collect the data. To analyze the data I used content analysis technique. The internal consistency of the study was found 0.81. My initial findings showed that the participants associated the concept of quality especially with reliability, first-class, and expensive which are commonly used; associated the concept of standard with criteria, similarity, and necessity which are confused much with; finally associated the concept of accreditation with quality assurance, auditing, and approval which are the among of its meaning. The results also manifested that the accreditation cycle of higher education in Turkey had crucial barriers as improper standards lack of accreditation board, and institutional issues. I hope that my findings will enlighten researchers about the main issues associated with accreditation in Turkey, and encourage stakeholders to refocus on the inactive accreditation system. © 2013: İsmail Yüksel and Nova Southeastern University.