Abstract:

Nowadays, Higher Education institutions are asked to consolidate a quality culture supported by a quality policy and by quality objectives, which must be formally defined and widely available. For this purpose, the institution prepares, formally approves and publicize documentation that voice the institutional policy and objectives for quality, including, not only the institutional strategy for quality enhancement, but also the organization of the quality assurance system, pointing out the responsibilities of the different bodies and services. It is also critical to develop the forms of involvement and responsibilities of students and other (internal and external) stakeholders in quality assurance processes, as well as the ways of ensuring academic integrity and surveillance against academic fraud and against all forms of intolerance or discrimination. The implementation, monitorization and revision of the quality policy and its translation into an effective internal quality assurance system are also a critical issue when the quality assurance is an institutional drive.

Opportunities to study and explain the construction process to the growth of external quality monitoring and the extension of institutions' own quality systems have remained largely unexploited. Based on a single-site case study of a university integrated in the largest group of Higher Education in the world, the paper highlights the merits of close-up studies, allowing evaluation perspectives that approaches are not as well placed to address.

The university in focus aims to distinguish itself by its capacity for innovation and its academic model, based on the principles of quality, internationalization and employability. Its mission statement is to develop society through the holistic training of students by promoting an entrepreneurial attitude based on the principles of social responsibility, internationalization, excellence in research and employability. Among its values are:
(i) rigour in the academic development of programs and students and in all process management; and
(ii) innovation in adaptability to the needs of the labour market, offering current methods and contents.

This University has adopted a policy of Quality Assurance of its programmes and promotes a culture of quality in its teaching and research activities. More than preparing to respond to the demands of the external evaluation processes, the UE has deepened and developed an Internal Quality Assurance System (IQAS) which contains mechanisms that guarantee the improvement of the Institution's internal processes. The strategy and model developed aim to promote the involvement and seek the commitment of all stakeholders (internal and external), especially students and teachers as central elements of the teaching-learning process, towards the change and continuous improvement of the management of internal processes of quality assurance and its impact on the transformation of the organizational culture. The construction of the IQAS was a real challenge in articulating the requirements of the national agency for evaluation and accreditation of higher education, with the requirements of the international group rating system, with the BCorp certification and with the norms of ISO 9001: 2015.

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on this integrative exercise that is intended both normative and innovative, seen through the neo-institutionalist theory.

Keywords:

Quality, Higher Education, Innovation, Institutionalism.