An institutional approach to quality audit

The paper considers the consequences, intended and unintended, of the present arrangements for the assurance of quality of teaching and research in British higher education. It proposes an alternative approach, based on the concept of clinical audit as applied to the National Health Service. The advantages of such an approach are claimed to lie in (i) recognising the interconnectedness of activities within higher education institutions, (ii) addressing real organisational problems, and (iii) identifying where responsibility for solving them lies. By rendering organisational processes explicit and having recourse to evidence at all stage of the cycle, can render unproblematic the demands of external quality agencies.