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Topic

Critical factors for quality enhancement in the research university: Comparative case studies from the higher education systems of BC and Scotland

Department of Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies

Date & location

• Thursday, April 9, 2026

• 9:00 A.M.

• Virtual Defence

Reviewers

Supervisory Committee

• Dr. Tatiana Gounko, Department of Educational Psychology & Leadership Studies, ̽��ϵ�� (Supervisor)

• Dr. Nadia Kulikova, Department of Educational Psychology & Leadership Studies, UVic (Member)

• Dr. Ralf St. Clair, Department of Curriculum & Instruction, UVic (Outside Member) 

External Examiner

• Dr. Martha Caddell, Department of Learning & Teaching Academy, Heriot Watt University 

Chair of Oral Examination

• Dr. Ardeshir Shojaeinasab, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, UVic

   

Abstract

This research explored quality enhancement (QE) which is commonly present in higher education (HE) policy approaches internationally. QE is specifically core to global trends in higher education quality assurance (HEQA) and is notably central to policy implementation across the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). QE is most simply understood as an HE governance policy imperative intended to improve university teaching and learning. Applying qualitative case study, I explored factors shaping QE and what it came to mean, in two different research universities, in two different HE systems, in two international locations. The case study universities were in British Columbia (BC) in Canada, and Scotland in the United Kingdom (UK). The realities of contemporary, multilevel, HE governance, were acknowledged in a comparative, global to local exploration of critical factors for QE. The inclusion of Scotland, as a member of the EHEA, allowed both cases to be compared in the context of EHEA guidelines. The findings were approached through three levels: there were factors external to BC and Scotland, factors at BC and Scottish government policy level and factors internal to the institution. Quality itself was understood through stakeholder priorities and theory on teaching excellence. HEQA was approached comprehensively to include a full exploration of the relationship between accountability and enhancement, as two recognized and central purposes for HEQA. The findings are significant for university teaching and learning. Five overarching factors for QE were identified which permitted comparison of the two systems and universities through similarities and differences. There is a tentative model here for exploring how QE is shaped, and currently being approached by different government and universities. At local level, the study adds to the limited number of studies on recent HEQA policy evolution in BC but, perhaps more importantly, places BC’s evolving approach in wider international context. Conclusions from the research confirm that global HE governance reform, to which HEQA has been core, has had profound influence on the role, value and status of teaching and on what is valued as knowledge. HEQA continues to have implications for ancient tensions between the university and state.