Abstract:

The aim of this paper is to compare the difficulties, benefits and success factors in the implementation of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) self-assessment model, using a questionnaire approach, in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Spain and in Jordan. Although there are an increasing number of universities adopting self-assessment methodologies, little empirical literature exists analysing the self-assessment process in the education sector from an international academic point of view.

Quality management can improve the activities and performance of private firms and also of the public sector. However, quality assurance has had a limited success in educational administrations, and this sector has applied excellence models less frequently than other public services.

HEIs and especially universities began to worry about quality and develop quality assurance systems, or formal assessment processes, on a periodical basis. In this context, formal bodies were set up to carry out periodic quality assessments. The establishment of self-assessment techniques is a way to carry out quality assurance systems in HEIs. HEIs may use models based on quality awards, or models created specifically for self-assessment in academia.

In order to understand the difficulties, benefits and success factors in the self-assessment process, the case study approach has been used. The research questions are what the difficulties, benefits and success factors are in Spanish and Jordan administrative services in HEIs?, the similarities and differences on these three issues between Spanish and Jordan administrative services in HEIs?, and how these results can help managers in developing countries to successfully implement quality assessment processes.

The study uses 8 cases in a Spanish university and 6 cases in two Jordan universities using quantitative and qualitative evidences. The Jordan self-assessment exercise was carried out in the framework of a Structural Complementary Measure from the III Tempus European programme. The sources of primary data were the direct observation of the provision of the service, and the semi-structured interviews with the team members of each service based on a questionnaire. This information was used to analyse the objective and stages of a self-assessment exercise; the difficulties, benefits and success factors. The secondary data were provided by certain internal documents from each service, i.e. self-assessment plan, written material produced during the process (e.g. forms containing strengths, weaknesses and improvement actions, forms containing action plans), objectives, indicators, materials from the training sessions, and improvement plans.

The results of this study show the difficulties, benefits and success factors in both countries and the similarities and differences between both countries. In addition, the results find that the process may be adopted successfully in Jordan universities and then, the EFQM model may be extended to other non-European HEIs.

Keywords:

self-assessment, efqm model, quality management, higher education, spain, jordan.