Quality culture – the main value of academic community

Kokybė yra labai svarbi universitetams, nes jie yra atskaitingi visuomenei, darbdaviams ir kitiems socialiniams partneriams. Atskaitomybė yra ne tik finansinė ir, ko gero, visai ne finansinė, nes universitetai egzistuoja tik tam, kad kurtų naujas žinias, skleistų jas ir saugotų kultūros paveldą. Dabar universitetams keliamas uždavinys ne tik kokybiškai įgyvendinti studijas, mokslą, bet ir parodyti savo programų, tyrimų vertę, būti atvirais visuomenei. Gerinti aukštojo mokslo kokybę yra svarbiausias tarptautinio universitetų bendradarbiavimo uždavinys. Didėja ne tik dėstytojų ir studentų, bet ir kvalifikuotos darbo jėgos mobilumas. Atsirado būtinumas įvertinti kvalifikacijų ekvivalentumą, studijų standartus, vertę ir rezultatus, kt. Šiame straipsnyje siekiama atskleisti kokybės kultūros esmę ir parodyti gerosios universitetų patirties sklaidos reikšmę gerinant kokybę.The purpose of the article was to discover the nature of the quality culture and to present the importance of dissemination of the good practice of quality at the universities. All organizations, the universities as well, have culture in the sense that they are embedded in specific societal cultures and are part of them. Most of the definitions stress the importance of shared norms and values, but other characteristics are equally important: observed behavioral regularities; norms; dominant values; philosophy; rules; organization climate. People are affected by the culture in which they live, but often these values and beliefs are insufficient for helping the individual succeed in the organizations. The individuals need to learn how the organization is functioning. In a second part of the article the problem of quality assurance and quality culture in the lives of universities is described. The main goal of the university is the stimulation of internal quality improvement. But on the other hand, universities meet the difficult question of how to provide public accountability and at the same time to maintain or even increase quality. In the third part of article of Vilnius University in EUA projects „Quality Culture Round I“ and „Quality Culture Round II“ is described. The experience was useful in several aspects: participation in the projects reinforced the need to care for quality, to compare the own university with other concrete participating universities and to learn from them