Quality Assurance in Converging Quality Cultures

Using an empirical study from a recent merger between four highereducation institutions (HEIs) in Norway, the article finds quality culture to be an always changing entity. It argues that an HEI can have several quality cultures and that quality assurance systems, as the HEIs tool for ensuring efficient and effective and stakeholder-relevant delivery, must be developed to support all these quality cultures and the continuous change of the HEI. It argues why broad and deep organisational ownership of structural tools in an HEI, such as the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s executive committee for bachelors’ in engineering education, is vital for the effectiveness and efficiency of these tools. Furthermore, it shows the necessity to continually assess whether the structures and structural tools are addressing the issues they were established for, as the context and our societies are continuously changing.