Higher education Quality Assurance Systems worldwide are being reshaped by disruptions arising from pandemics, technological transformation, and shifting geopolitical and social contexts. Traditional quality assurance (QA) approaches anchored in compliance and standardisation have proven inadequate for such dynamic environments. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for “disruptive quality” in higher education, a framework that reconceptualises disruption as a transformative force driving innovation, fostering institutional resilience, and advancing equity in higher education.

 

Drawing on the South African context, with the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) as a case study, it examines how national and cross-border QA frameworks such as the Council on Higher Education’s (CHE) Quality Assurance Framework (QAF), the Department of Higher Education and Training’s (DHET) internationalisation policy, the African Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance (ASG-QA), and the African Continental Qualifications Framework (ACQF) have responded to disruption. The paper argues that regulatory flexibility and reflexive institutional cultures enable higher education systems to transform challenges into opportunities for equitable innovation.

This paper was presented at EQAF and reflects the views of the named authors only.

ISSN: 1375-3797

Disruptive Quality in Higher Education: Cross-Border Quality Assurance Frameworks as Catalysts for Equity and Innovation

Derrick Zitha, Ruksana Osman
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