Cui bono? The relevance and impact of quality assurance

External quality assurance of universities exists to assure society that higher education standards are adequate and, in an increasingly global market, that they are comparable internationally. Although society has accepted an implicit compact in giving autonomy to universities in return for their dispassionate service to it, there has been an increasing demand for accountability. The introduction of quality assurance systems is a measure of accountability, but it can succeed only if it is acknowledged to measure what is important to society in a manner that it can understand. This paper argues that evaluation and quality assurance must measure standards and outcomes against international thresholds and report in a way that is comprehensible to a lay audience.