Now more than thirty years, those in higher education are still trying to answer this question “What the hell is quality?” floated by educationist Ball in 1985. No doubt, quality cannot be defined precisely as it is an abstract reality. According to one group of educationist quality can neither be defined nor quantified. While the other group assert that quality is subjective and dependent upon individual perspectives1. Although no consensus is achieved but it is important to understand the various aspects of defining quality in education.

For this paper, author has studied and explored several research papers, research articles, books, reports, and website of different ministries like Ministry of Education, MHRD, UGC, NAAC, AICTE and has gone through various aspects of quality assurance measures through accreditation and ranking process. NAAC accreditation manual document is also used in this study.

Research Methodology

Defining quality requires both a broad strategy to target mission, vision, goals and analyzing outcomes and a specific strategy to identify quality indicators that can be used to assess whether the identified goals and outcomes have been achieved. It also requires careful consideration of various stakeholder perspectives. Based on the review of the literature, the author has discussed a conceptual model of quality that illustrates the inter-relationships between these strategies. Data were gathered using different research papers, journals, and documents prepared by various HEIs during the survey.

Challenges to Defining Quality

There are many significant challenges to defining quality.

First Challenge- Quality is an elusive term for which there is a wide variety of interpretations depending upon the views of different stakeholders2. There are four groups of stakeholders3 that must be considered when defining quality:

1. Providers (e.g., funding bodies and the community)

2. Students (e.g., users of product)

3. Employers (e.g., users of outputs)

4. Employees (e.g., academicians and administrators)

Therefore, to define quality and attempt to establish a culture of quality in higher education, all stakeholders should be involved in the discussion to ensure that different perspectives and entail are considered4.

Second Challenge-Quality is a multidimensional concept5. Hence, it cannot be defined in a one-sentence definition.

Third Challenge- Quality is not a static but rather a dynamic, ever-changing pursuit of excellence that must be considered in the context of the larger educational6.

Considering the above-mentioned challenges of defining quality, there are several disparate definitions in the literature.

Definitions of Quality

After reviewing the literature, the author has noted three strategies for defining quality-

a. First Strategy -Based on a broad definition that targets Vision, Mission Strategic Plan, goals, and objectives of an HEI.7 There are 13 broadly constructed definitions of quality in the literature based on this strategy.8

b. Second Strategy- Based on defining quality through specific indicators that reflect desired  inputs (e.g., responsive faculty and staff) and outputs (e.g., employment of graduates). Many of the publications and quality assurance models from the past decade reflect this strategy.

c. Third Strategy- Based on defining quality by considering all stakeholders of HEI. This trend is consistent with educational changes in the Indian education system for the past 20 years.

Quality Indicators Framework (QIF) in HEI

To sustain quality in education, the University Grant Commission (UGC) has issued a decree stipulating that every university and faculty must get certification by the council called National Assessment and Accreditation Council. Thus, the NAAC accreditation stands for a reliable methodology assess the quality of education in HEIs.

In line with NAAC’s conviction that quality concerns are institutional, Quality Assessment (QA) can better be done through self-evaluation, the self-evaluation process, and the subsequent preparation of the Self Study Report (SSR) to be submitted to NAAC involves the participation of all the stakeholders – management, faculty members, administrative staff, students, parents, employers, community, and alumni.

The criteria-based assessment forms the backbone of Accreditation &Assessment process of NAAC. There are seven Criteria to serve as basis for quality assessment of HEIs: 

Under each Criterion a few Key Indicators (KIs) are identified. These Key Indicators are further delineated as Metrics which are meant to elicit responses from the HEIs.

As discussed before the definition of quality reflects the importance of eliciting all the stakeholders’ perspectives, which should drive the definition of quality and the indicators used to measure quality⁴. National Board of Accreditation (NBA) and NAAC has selected specific criteria indicators that can define quality and reflect the standard of education in an HEI. Another consideration related to defining quality assurance is regional context.  Therefore, a definition of quality assurance must be developed with regional context in mind.

1. American Society for Quality, n.d.; Bobby, 2014

2. Bobby, 2014; Campbell & Rozsnyai, 2002 3. Srikanthan & Dalrymple, 2003)

4. Bobby, 2014; Cullen et al., 2003

5. Green (1994), Volscian (2007) ,Wester Heijden(2007) and Harvey(2014)

6. Bobby, 2014; Ewell, 2010; Harvey, 2005; Harvey & Williams, 2010; Opre & Opre, 2006; Singh, 2010

7. Bogue, 1998; Harvey & Green, 1993

8. Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, 2012

9. American Council on Education. (2015). International higher education partnerships: A global review of standards and practices. Washington, DC: Author.

10. Amaral, A., & Rosa, M. (2010). Recent trends in quality assurance. Quality in Higher Education, 16, 59-61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13538321003679515

11. Bobby, C.L. (2014). The abcs of building quality cultures for education in a global world. Paper presented at the International Conference on Quality Assurance, Bangkok, Thailand.

12. Campbell, C. & Rozsnyai, C. (2002). Quality assurance and the development of course programmes. Bucharest: UNESCO-CEPES.

13. Nicholson, K. (2011). Quality assurance in higher education: A review of the literature. Retrieved from http://cll.mcmaster.ca/

14. Ewell, P. (2010). Twenty years of quality assurance in higher education: What’s happened and what’s different? Quality in Higher Education, 16(2),173–175. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13538322.2010.485728

15. Quality Matters (2014). Quality matters higher education rubric. Annapolis, MD: Author.