Autonomy and Assurance of Quality: Two Sides of One Coin

This article gives an account of the innovative ways in which the Dutch university system has responded to a changing philosophy of the Government with regard to Higher Education: on the one hand more autonomy, on the other pressures to provide greater public accountability and internal renewal. The Dutch universities have answered the challenge by working out a system for external quality assessment This is done under the umbrella of the Association of Dutch Universities. Since similar pressures are also being applied to higher education systems in other countries, readers can draw parallels with their own system.