Quality assurance audit and corporate governance issues in higher degrees: Toward a framework for enhanced objectivity

Abstract

Quality assurance in service organisations such as the universities is a vital component of the audit process. Therefore, this paper evaluates the quality assurance audit and corporate governance issues in higher degrees. The paper became necessary given rising concern over apparent external assurers’ subjectivity and domination of the higher degree assurance process. The paper inclined on three main objectives, namely to determine how external assurers’ objectivity relate with assurance outcome on higher degrees, to know how the clarity of institutional assurance rubric relate with external assurance outcome and to determine how supervisors’ neutrality relate with external audit assurance outcome on higher degrees. The paper adopted a mixed methodology of qualitative and quantitative approaches, which firstly reviewed the literature on the impugned issues in higher degree quality assurance and thereafter proceeded to use Chi-square statistics to conduct a quantitative analysis of questionnaire responses on higher degree assurance process. Findings suggest that existing quality assurance of higher degrees is asymmetrically inclined more on the external assurer, which thus dominate internal corporate governance process of quality assurance, leaving only a mere ratifying role to the institutional corporate governance process. The Chi-Square statistical finding on all the three objectives showed a P value less than the alpha of 0.05 (P<0.05), which indicates the following: external assurers’ objectivity relates with the assurance outcome; the clarity of institutional assurance rubric relates with the assurance outcome; similarly, anonymity of the supervisor does relate with the assurance outcome. The paper contributes to the literature by suggesting a framework to improve higher degree quality assurance-audit, which includes supervisor and institutional neutrality, a balance between external assurers’ decisions and internal governance control decisions.