Quality culture in education: a fragile balance between people and data

by Lucien Bollaert

Content & format

Quality culture refers to an organisational culture that intends to enhance quality permanently and is characterised by two distinct elements: on the one hand, a cultural/psychological element of shared values, beliefs, expectations and commitment towards quality and, on the other hand, a structural managerial element with defined processes that enhance quality and aim at coordinating individual efforts. It is crucial to distinguish these two concepts: quality culture and quality assurance. Whereas Quality assurance processes are something tangible and manageable by institutional decisions, the cultural aspect of quality culture – shared values, beliefs, expectations and commitment – is far more difficult to identify and change. Elements to do that range from the development of vision, mission and strategy through new styles of leadership, rewarding, empowerment of all stakeholders’ engagement and communication.  

Learning outcomes 

The participants understand the (importance of the) difference between quality culture and quality assurance and how to address both in order to improve.  

About Lucien Bollaert

Lucien Bollaert is an independent international QA expert, keynote speaker at many conferences on QA, author of peer-reviewed articles and visiting professor in New York. He is member of the boards of AEQES and EQ-Arts and until end 2019 member of the Policy and Standards Committee of the Irish QQI. In 2019 the 2nd updated and enlarged edition of his successful book “A Manual for Internal Quality Assurance in Higher Education – Looking for a new quality in HE in a new world” was published. At the moment he helps circa 10 countries to (re)create (inter)national QA and Qualifications Frameworks through European and other projects.  

Lucien Bollaert was between 2009 and 2015 member of the executive board of the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO). In June 2012 he was elected as member of the management group of the European Consortium for Accreditation (ECA). Before this he was acting general director and director of education and research at the University College of West Flanders (Belgium) and chair of the experts’ committee on quality assurance of the Ghent University Association. He was member of the E4 group which developed the first European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) and the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR). He was vice-chair of the EQAR Register Committee since its foundation in 2008 until 2016. Lucien Bollaert was a founder-member of the organising committee of the European Quality Assurance Forum (EQAF). He was also member of the first experts’ working group on the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). For many years he was the Flemish Bologna expert on quality culture, quality assurance and learning outcomes.