Encouraging Collaboration in the field of Quality Assurance and Quality Enhancement

There is increasing pressure on higher education institutions (HEIs) and the quality paradigm has been one response to this (Hénard and Roseveare (2012). While quality assurance agencies with audits often are seen as one key actor to put pressure on HEIs to be transparent and accountable, we will in this paper analyse and discuss how quality assurance agencies can foster collaboration in the field of quality assurance and enhancement. Can collegiality and cooperation counteract the accountability logic? Is there room for enhancement and assurance in the same measures? We will study audits and Centres for Excellence in Education managed by the Norwegian Quality assurance agency, NOKUT.