Why so evasive about evaluation in higher education?

Evaluation plays a central role in higher education. Within universities data is collected, analysed and reported, audits are conducted and decisions about accreditation are made. However, there are few conferences, books, journals and departments dedicated to the specific topic of higher education evaluation. The scholar looking to inquire into content in this area must search around the periphery for papers on themes including: (1) quality; (2) graduate attributes; (3) assurance of learning; and (4) student feedback. This chapter defines each of the four themes in the context of higher education evaluation, elaborating at greatest length on assurance of learning, due to recent Australian research in this area. The chapter concludes with an overall synthesis of the state of higher education evaluation and a position as to why the term evaluation is not used to depict the enterprise