英国高等教育外部质量评价的转型与发展研究

Research on the Transition and Development of External Higher Education Quality Evaluation in UK

英国大学有着院校自治和学术自由的传统,同时英国高等教育也十分重视维护基本的学术标准,并以法制引导高等教育的转型与发展。在英国高等教育外部质量评价的发展进程中,政府通过外部问责、法制推动、质量提升和以生为本的评价策略,不断引导着大学的实质性自治;而另一方面,无论是原有的质量核证,还是新的质量检视都重点强调"轻触或微触"、"门槛标准"、"量体裁衣式"的检视方式,以保障大学的程序性自治。所以,英国高等教育的外部质量评价的转型实际上也是政府与大学相互博弈的结果,转型与发展中所积累的丰富经验及其背后成因,也将为其他国家形成适合于自身特点的评价方法提供一种借鉴。

This article introduces that British universities have the tradition of professional autonomy and academic freedom. The threshold academic standards are also attached importance to in British higher education, and the legal systems are taken to steer the transition and development of higher education. The British government continuously guides university substantive autonomy through some evaluation strategies in the developing process of external higher education evaluation in UK such as accountability, legal system, quality enhancement and students at the heart of the system. At the same time, either the former quality audit or the new quality review keeps focus on the review methods for ＂light-touch or lighter touch＂, ＂Tailoring reviews to individual circumstances＂ and ＂threshold standards＂ to protect university procedural autonomy. So the transition of British external higher education evaluation actually is the result of gaming between government and universities. The profuse experience accumulated and their reasons formed in the transition and development will provide other countries which develop characteristic evaluation methods suited themselves for reference.