While the stated aim of quality assessments is to improve the quality of the products
and services offered by universities, some faculty view them as instrumental
in justifying government budget cuts in education. By means of a survey
administered to more than 300 faculty from 20 academic programmes undergoing
quality assessments, we studied perceptions of the reasons behind the assessments.
The results of our analysis show that faculty participation in the assessment process
significantly decreases the chances that faculty believe quality assessments are
carried out for instrumental reasons. In addition, those who believe assessments are
carried out for quality improvement reasons are more likely to rate the assessments
as legitimate and to be more identified with the academic programme that is being
assessed. This study emphasizes the significance of faculty attributions about
quality assessments and shows that faculty participation is crucial in overcoming
initial scepticism towards external interventions.