Measuring Quality in Higher Education: A competency approach

An important dimension of quality in higher education is the quality of the outcomes achieved. In the current study, the outcome under investigation is the development of attributes in graduates. Empirical measures for the attributes are defined by reference to an expanded generic competency model. The study involved self-assessment by the graduates. The aim of the study was to examine the extent to which the development of generic competencies in graduates predicted their perceptions of: the overall quality of their degree; and fitness for purpose of their degree for entry into the workplace. The competency model had only partial success in estimating the graduates' assessment of the quality of their higher education.