QUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Abstract

Quality, understood both as a standard of something as measured against other things of a similar kind or the degree of excellence of something, or even as a distinctive attribute or characteristic possessed by someone or something is one of the key concepts used in evaluating any product or service. Nowadays, quality became a notion almost as important as profit or market share. In the last decades, it became one of the key factors even in the process of evaluating educational institutions, and, among them those in the field of higher education. In our paper we intend to present the actual interpretations of our key notion and how it can be applied in the field of higher education. We also want to present the main techniques that can be used in the quality management of those institutions, with special regard to the European Union. And, last but not least, we want to show some potential trends in the field of quality management.