Comparative study on quality self-assessment processes at higher education institutions in Algeria: a content analysis of self-assessment reports

Abstract

Algeria has introduced the institutional self-assessment as Quality Assurance (QA) approach in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) at the national level. It has been formalized in official reports communicated to the Ministry. The purpose of this study is to evaluate self-assessment practices implemented in HEIs in a comparative perspective. The method of qualitative content analysis of self-assessment reports was used, based on category system deduced from the literature review. Results show that the HEIs followed common approaches with some differences in the deployment of steps and the importance given to them. The study concludes by highlighting the implemented processes advantages and difficulties and producing important recommendations for improvement of future self-assessment exercises.