Using an External Quality Audit as a Lever for Institutional Change

Abstract

Abstract Higher education in Australia is little different from university sectors around the developed world. It has experienced declining levels of public funding, increasing dependence on competitively sourced domestic and international income and increased consumer-style pressures from a growing fee-paying student body. The establishment of the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) in 2001 and the commencement of institutional quality audits in 2002 adds a new mechanism for public accountability. Five Australian universities of technology, members of the Australian Technology Network (ATN), are taking a collaborative approach to the development of institutional responses to the new quality agenda. A key theme of their collective response to this development is to focus on how the prospect of an external audit can provide a positive driver internally for improving institutional quality management.