What do we rely on when evaluating the quality of universities? Evolution of external quality assurance mechanisms in Chile

Abstract

The contemporary higher education systems depend on the existence of institutions responsible for ensuring the quality of their activities. The Chilean case is no exception in this regard. The creation of the Higher Education Council in 1990 was the starting point for the development of an expert assessment system for universities, consolidated with the inauguration of the National Accreditation Commission in 2006. Despite their importance, there do not seem to be studies on the history of these quality assurance mechanisms, nor on how their evolution can be explained from a general sociological theory. To make progress in this analysis, the authors, following Niklas Luhmann's thesis, put forward that trust is socially constructed and that its form of configuration depends on changes in the structure of society. Using these ideas, the evolution of quality assurance mechanisms in higher education since the 19th century in Chile is reviewed and the results suggest that the emphasis on expert knowledge is a recent phenomenon which can be explained as a consequence of the change in the way society is structured. This sociological analysis, based on Luhmann's theory of social systems, ends with a summary, possible lines of research, and recommendations for higher education policy.