Quality in Higher Education: internal quality assurance systems and the quality management models

摘要

Quality assurance and accreditation processes related to Portuguese higher education are a relatively newphenomenon, deserving special relevance today after the creation, by the Portuguese State, of the Agency forAssessment and Accreditation of Higher Education - A3ES. The creation of this organism determined the obligation ofHigher Education Institutions (HEIs) accredit their study cycles and, later, implement internal systems for qualityassurance. Thus, it is important to realize that these institutions have to decide which direction they have to take tobetter meet the requirements of the entities that steer them, and meet the needs of the market where they operate.To do this, they need to make strategic decisions that will allow them to apply effective evaluation and qualityassurance mechanisms. The implementation of quality assurance internal systems implies that HEIs developstructures, mechanisms, indicators and models that support a dynamic culture of internal evaluation, allowing alsoresponding to the requirements of external evaluation and accreditation systems. With this communication oneintends to discuss how quality management models already known and universally accepted, namely ISO 9001 andEFQM, may help to address these requirements and consequently the implementation of such systems in institutionslike these, characterized by a very distinct and complex culture.