QUALITY ASSURANCE AS A GOVERNANCE CAPABILITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION: A COMPARATIVE LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS OF TURKISH RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES

Abstract

This study examines how quality assurance (QA) systems influence the emergence of different governance trajectories in Turkish higher education institutions. Rather than approaching QA only as a compliance or accreditation mechanism, the study treats it as a governance capability that shapes organizational coordination, institutional learning, strategic integration, evidence-based decision-making, and the functioning of the Plan–Do–Check–Act (PDCA) cycle. The central argument is that institutions operating under the same centralized regulatory framework do not produce similar governance outcomes. Instead, institutional differences become visible through the degree to which QA practices are internalized, institutionalized, and incorporated into broader governance structures. The research is based on a qualitative longitudinal comparative design supported by document analysis. Institutional Self-Evaluation Reports (ISERs), Institutional Accreditation Reports (IARs), interim evaluation reports, strategic plans, and related governance documents produced between 2016 and 2024 within the Turkish higher education QA system were examined in order to trace institutional governance configurations over time. Four research universities—Hacettepe University, Sakarya University, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, and Dokuz Eylul University—were selected through purposive and theory-oriented sampling to capture different institutional trajectories. The findings indicate that universities exposed to the same QA framework may still follow substantially different governance paths. The study also suggests that accreditation outcomes are closely related to institutional context, organizational learning, and administrative integration. In this respect, the article contributes to higher education governance literature by interpreting QA not as a procedural endpoint, but as a long-term institutional capability-building process.