The Accountability and Transparency Agenda: Emerging Issues in the Global Era

Concerns about quality and standards, effectiveness and efficiency, and regulation and governance (within institutions and at the system level) are now matters which concern constituencies far beyond the jurisdiction of higher education. Once the number of people participating in and served by higher education expands, so as to begin to comprise and affect the whole of society rather than a narrow elite, then matters of higher education governance and management, and performance and productivity necessarily comes to the fore. While quality and pursuit of excellence are institutional strategic goals, they are also national and global goals—and lie at the heart of the Bologna Process and the EHEA. This paper reviews some of the issues and tensions driving the accountability and transparency agenda and asks if our existing systems are (still) fit for purpose? Can traditional forms of academic accountability, such as quality assurance and accreditation, continue to deliver public assurance of the quality of institutional performance or are new/different forms required? How do we balance different perspectives with expanding societal demands? There are three sections. Part 1 situates growing concerns about accountability and transparency in the context of the massification, internationalisation and globalisation of higher education. Part 2 discusses some theoretical and policy issues, looking at Ireland as an example of the overall trend. Part 3 concludes with a review of emerging questions around quality, performance and accountability in the global era.