Impact of Quality Assessment on Organizational Transformation of Universities: Reimagining university’s organizational culture

Abstract

The study focuses on the nexus between national higher education policies/instruments and their impact on university governance at the institutional level in the context of the European Higher Education policy. The paper offers a comparative analysis of university governance models and formation of an ‘archetype’ at HEIs. The study is conducted in two countries, Germany and Georgia, which gives an opportunity to observe and compare how European HE policy is interpreted and implemented in an old EU state and a post-soviet bloc state. It looks at the theoretical framework of constructing university as an organization and its implementation in practice describing the shift from state-centered governance to self-governance, autonomy and academic freedom. The paper also examines the role of Quality Assurance (QA) as a tool to ensure quality of HE provision at a university level and enquires what role QA plays in organizational culture. The research has an exploratory character aiming to discover how European HE Policy has been interpreted and implemented in the countries taking into account different cultural and historical background.