Quality management in higher education: a review of international issues and practice

The issue of quality management has been embedded in higher education institutional agendas for quite some time. Despite current research and debate, there is no universal consensus on how to measure and manage quality within higher education and thus a variety of approaches have been adopted by different institutions. This paper presents a review of current quality management practices within international higher education institutions. The review identifies that there is a reliance on industrial models, however these have been applied with only partial success. The limitations identified with this approach suggest the need for refinement of current practice, particularly in relation to the centrality of student learning within higher education environments. While the findings are applicable to all HE subject areas, they may be of particular relevance to management fields, and those within hospitality, leisure, sport and tourism management where there has been limited subject specific research undertaken to dat