Still Balancing Improvement and Accountability? Developments in External Quality Assurance in the Nordic Countries 1996-2006

The role and function of external quality assurance is of great importance for the development of an internal quality culture in higher education. Research has shown that external quality assurance can stimulate but also create obstacles for institutional improvement. To strike a balance between improvement and accountability is, therefore, a key issue. Although external quality assurance in the Nordic countries during the 1990s could be said to exemplify such a balance, it is questionable whether they have managed to maintain this balance over time, not least considering the introduction of various accreditation schemes in the Nordic countries as well as in the rest of Europe. This article presents and discusses developments in external quality assurance in the Nordic countries from 1996 to 2006 and points to key issues on how external quality assurance could also stimulate a quality culture in the 'age of accreditation'.