The Role of the Internal Quality Assurance Units in Continuous Improvement in Albanian Public Universities
Keywords:
universities, higher education institutions, quality assurance and assessment, internal quality assurance unit, service qualityAbstract
Universities during their operation undertake improvement strategies to be as competitive as possible in their sector. One of the ways that universities use to develop policies and procedures as a preliminary step for continuous quality improvement is to create Internal Quality Assurance Units. Albanian Public Higher Education Institutions have officially created these units especially during the last decade, initially as a requirement regarding periodic external accreditation, but later seen as a natural necessity for continuous improvement. The focus of this research paper is to show the role of the Internal Quality Assurance Units in continuous improvement in Albanian Public Universities and for the development of their quality culture. Data from national public bodies, as well as interviews directed to the students and academic staff from Albanian Public Higher Education Institutions have been used to analyze and discuss about this topic and to give possible suggestions regarding optimizing and maximizing the work of these units to make these universities well-known and competitive nationally and as possible regionally.
References
Altbach, P.G., Reisberg, L., & Rumbley, L.E. (Eds.). (2019). Tracking an academic revolution: Quality assurance and global higher education. Springer.
Decision of the Council of Ministers no.824/2021 - On the approval of the Higher Education Quality Code, amended. Web page. https://qbz.gov.al/eli/vendim/2021/12/24/824/0474655e-1794-4844-91ef-3d77019321e5
EHE (European Higher Education) Institute (2026). Internal Quality Assurance Policy (IQA). Web page. Retrieved on 26/05/2026 from https://eheinstitute.com/European-Higher-Education-Institute-Internal-Quality-Assurance-Policy.pdf
ENQA - The European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (2026). Web page. Retrieved on 26/05/2026 from https://www.enqa.eu/about-enqa/
ESG - Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area. (2015). Brussels, Belgium.
Eurydice. Web page. Retrieved on 26/05/2026 from https://eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu/eurypedia/austria/quality-assurance-higher-education
INSTAT (2026). Web page. https://www.instat.gov.al/sq/temat/tregu-i-punes-dhe-arsimi/arsimi/#tab2
Irubor, B.G., Akpotu, N.E., Asiyai R.I. (2025). Evaluation of external efficiency instruments and their relationship with quality assurance in Delta State Public Universities. International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Research and Educational Development, Vol.1, Issue.4, www.ijamred.com
Herminingsih, A., Saputra, R.D.A. (2025). Building quality culture of Higher Education by implementation of Internal Quality Assurance System. Journal Eduvest. 5(1): 601-610
Kayyali, M. (2023). An Overview of Quality Assurance in Higher Education: Concepts and Frameworks. International Journal of Management, Sciences, Innovation, and Technology IJMSIT Review Paper
Kehm, B.M. & Teichler, U. (Eds.). (2020). The rise of quality assurance in higher education: International challenges and practices. Springer.
Law no.80/2015 - On higher education and scientific research in HEIs in the Republic of Albania, amended. Web page. https://qbz.gov.al/eli/ligj/2015/07/22/80/e74c8fac-eac9-44fd-bbb3-30e98b337dc8
Magaldi, D., Berler, M. (2020). Semi-structured interviews. In: Zeigler-Hill V., Shackelford T.K. (Eds.) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_857
MES (Ministry of Education and Sports) - Statistics on higher education 2023-2024. Web page. https://arsimi.gov.al/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Vjetari-Statistikor-per-Arsimin-2023-2024.pdf, pp.74
Odeh, M., Aldaaja, Y., Al-Ramahi, N., Khanfar, I., Flayyih, N., Tariq, E., Maamari, B.E. (2025). Quantifying the usage of creative technology to improve the quality assurance in developing countries’ higher education institutions. Applied Mathematics and Information Sciences, 19(1), 25-33. https://doi.org/10.18576/amis/190103
Opdenakker, R. (2006). Advantages and disadvantages of four interview techniques in qualitative research. Forum: Qualitative Social Research Sozialforschung, Vol.7, no.4, art.11
QAAHE (2026a). Web page. Retrieved on 26/05/2026 from https://www.ascal.al/en/quality-assurance/iqau
QAAHE (2026b). Web page. Retrieved on 26/05/2026 from https://www.ascal.al/en/about-us/mission-and-activity
QAAHE (2026c). Web page. Retrieved on 26/05/2026 from https://www.ascal.al/sq/bordi-i-akreditimit/vendimet/vendimet-e-mbledhjes-27-mars-2026
Qefalia, A. (2025). The Importance of Accreditation Process on the Quality of the Albanian Higher Education Institutions. EIRP 2025 Proceedings - The 20th Edition of the International Conference: European Integration - Realities and Perspectives, 20(1), 303-312
Qefalia, A., Barolli, E., Totoni, A. (2012). Aspects of quality improvement in the Albanian public higher education. Albanian Socio Economic Journal, Year XVIII, no.1(70)
Qefalia, A. & Totoni, A. (2012). Quality improvement methods and their usage in Albanian Public Universities. Review of Economic and Business Studies (REBS) Journal, no.9, Vol.5, Issue 1, Doctoral School of Economics / Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Iasi, Romania
Qefalia, A & Rrumbullaku, O. (2010). Accreditation impact in assuring and continuous quality improvement in Albanian higher education. International Conference in Tirana, Albania: ‘Economic & Social Challenges and Problems - Facing impact of global crisis’.
Sanyal, B.C. & Martin, M. (2007). Quality assurance and the role of accreditation: An overview. In Global University Network for Innovation (Ed.), Higher education in the world 2007: Accreditation for quality assurance (pp. 3-17). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Tandberg, D.A., Martin, R.R. (2019). Quality assurance and improvement in higher education: The role of the states. State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO), National Association of System Heads (NASH)
Tavares, O., Sin, C., Videira, P. (2016). Quality in context - embedding improvement. European Quality Assurance Forum 11th - European Quality Assurance Forum 17-19 November ‘16
Tran, C.A., Van, D.H., Nguyen, T.T.P., Nguyen, T.T.T., Nguyen, T.M. (2025). Research in higher education quality assurance worldwide (2003–2023): a bibliometric analysis from the Scopus database, Cogent Education, 12:1, 2479405, DOI: 10.1080/2331186X.2025.2479405
Vettori, O., Ledermüller, K., Schwarzl, C., Höcher, J., Zeeh, J. (2017). Developing a quality culture through internal quality assurance: Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria; International Institute for Educational Planning7–9 rue Eugène Delacroix, 75116 Paris, France
Webometrics - Global web rankings for universities (2026). Web page. Retrieved on 20/05/2026 from https://www.webometrics.org/albania
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 EIRP Proceedings
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material
- for any purpose, even commercially.
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
-
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
