Quality and assessment in context: a brief review

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a general review for USA and international academic faculty and administrators of the dominant themes and history of quality and assessment in both industry and Higher Education, and how they relate to each other in order to stimulate and encourage debate as well as influence policy.Design/methodology/approachA range of published works (1976‐2005) in both the fields of industrial quality and quality and assessment in higher education are reviewed and arranged contextually so as to tell a collective “story” about their origins, similarities, and differences. This general review provides the reader with a structured historical examination of these concepts with practical emphasis on potential lessons learned.FindingsProvides information on the major quality theorists and relates the types of quality (as defined in industrial terms) to the enterprise of higher education. Even more important, quality and assessment are defined within the context of US higher education. Though the terms are debatable, what is certain is that increased competitive pressure, finite individual and institutional resources, and increased demand for universal access, have made assessing the quality of higher education a major public, private, and international concern.Originality/valueThe value of this paper lies in its simple, yet comprehensive treatment of the subject‐matter. There is an information gap between industry and higher education and, as such, many lessons are lost. With an increasingly turbulent higher education environment, academic leaders and faculty, regardless of nationality, should consider the collective context of quality and assessment as more than an account of things past or present, but as a guide to planning, leading, and ultimately assessing future calls for reform.