20 Years of Efforts to Establish and Implement a Quality Assurance System in Greek Higher Education

Abstract

The establishment and implementation of a quality assurance system in Greek universities is a policy theme that always
reinforced the conflict in the specific policy arena. Policy document analysis is used for the analysis of the efforts on producing and
implementing such policies. Relevant data is drawn by a larger scale research, in which, higher education is considered as a policy arena
where actors form networks that try to translate their common beliefs into public policy. Paper’s hypothesis is that quality assurance
policies in Greek universities are being developed following and in agreement with corresponding European education policies since Greece
is both an EU member and a participant on Bologna process. Although these external influences result the establishment of relative to
European developments legislative framework, Greek governments face hindrances during implementation of these policies. To overcome
the intense and reactions they indirectly prompt evaluation of universities by various, not institutionalized, evaluation programs.