Cross-border higher education and quality assurance: the role of international organisations

Abstract

Purpose

Over the years, International Organisations have started to look at Cross Border Higher Education (CBHE) with more attention, namely, at the impact and challenges entailed by this type of educational provision due to the emergence of low-quality offers and degree mills. This paper aims to discuss the role of these organisations in the development and promotion of CBHE and its quality assurance in Europe.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper conducts interviews using a previously drafted guideline with top-level managers of seven relevant international organisations involved in quality assurance at European and international level, namely, INQAAHE, EUA, ENQA, ESU, EQAR, ECA and EURASHE. It analysed the data collected using a grid created through the articulation of the guidelines’ questions and the empirical data.

Findings

The interviews’ content analysis indicated that these international organisations are important stakeholders in the development of CBHE quality assurance in Europe, particularly through the promotion of cooperation and trust between the different actors involved in it. These organisations can assume two different roles: a Technical-Professional Role and a Community Building Role.

Originality/value

This work’s originality stems from the fact that at least to our knowledge there is no other empirical work so far on the role and the views of different international organisations on the challenges CBHE entails for quality at the European level.

Citation

Carvalho, N., Rosa, M.J. and Amaral, A. (2025), "Cross-border higher education and quality assurance: the role of international organisations", Quality Assurance in Education, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/QAE-07-2024-0138