ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the role and scope of national quality assurance agencies in the emerging global context. It seeks to understand the mechanism of accreditation and ranking done by specific parameters and distribution of their weights, and analyse the scope, significance and limitations of this system. In the name of improving efficiency in Higher Education Institution (HEIs), the quality assurance system should be cautious while advocating corporate-type management in education so as not to undermine the transformative role of higher education. Accreditation and ranking are different forms of quality assurance mechanisms that are expected to enable a higher education system to maintain its quality. Ranking, done by independent agencies, particularly helps in realising the position of an institution according to its performance in comparison to others, whereas accreditation assigns a particular grade to an institution if it qualifies for it.
