PROLEGOMENA TO ACCREDITATION IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

Beginning with an overview of various international initiatives which have been taken in recent years with regard to exchanges of information and experiences on quality assessment in higher education, this article reflects on the adoption of quality assessment techniques and accreditation in the higher education systems of eastern and central Europe. The principles of Total Quality Management (TQM), self‐evaluation, the structures of formal accreditation, and methodological issues of quality assurance are discussed, examples being drawn from several countries. The point is made that the countries of central and eastern Europe must individualize the evaluation and accreditation systems which they choose to adopt in ways which are compatible with specific cultural and national factors while at the same time upholding international norms of quality.