The International Transferability of Quality Assessment Systems for Higher Education: The Turkish experience

The transfer of quality assurance systems from one country to another is explored. The experience of a pilot project aimed at establishing the feasibility of introducing a quality assurance system in Turkish universities is reported. The project was based on a United Kingdom approach. A convergence between systems was observed and, contrary to earlier surveys, evidence from an associated international conference indicated that the purposes of external quality assessment are becoming more clearly defined. However, there emerged significant cultural, structural, political and technical issues that affected the transfer of the UK system to the Turkish situation and which have wider implications for the international transferability of quality assurance and assessment systems between nations.