Quality Assurance and Quality Culture at a Public Higher Education Institution: A View from Within

Abstract

Quality Assurance (QA) has become a buzzword in higher education since the 1990s as reflected by the emergence of numerous terms such as quality control, quality management, monitoring, enhancement and culture. This phenomenon saw the emergence and adoption of various QA standards or requirements as well as the development and implementation of quality systems based on the various models of Quality Management System deemed suitable by the higher education institutions. These systems are either for the macro-institutional based or even implemented for specific functions of the institution—teaching and learning, research or services. National governments and higher education institutions developed and implemented various quality standards and requirements, put in place quality management mechanisms and systems to be quality certified by external agencies or accreditation bodies. Over time the external QA mechanism was increasingly complemented and in certain cases replaced by an internal QA mechanism. Such an activity usually happens when quality has become a culture embedded within the organization. This chapter examines the concept of QA and quality culture, their relationships and the evolution of the quality endeavor in a Malaysian public research-intensive university—the University of Malaya. The approach taken is based on the involvement of the authors in the QA development, implementation and management in the university as well as insights obtained through the role as internal and external quality assessors both at the national and the regional level.