ABSTRACT
A Centre for Quality Assurance and Evaluation of Higher Education was established by the Danish Ministry of Education and Research and began operating on 1 July 1992. Although the Ministry tends to focus on quality control, the Centre's mandate clearly includes quality assurance and development, which are more attractive to the higher education institutions. The Danish higher education system consists of thirteen universities and university-level institutions and a large number of non-university institutions, many specializing in the health sciences. It has traditionally been subject to a high degree of central steering. The growing international interest in quality issues has not been greatly reflected within the Danish institutions of higher education, and the initiative for introducing evaluations and quality assurance came from the Committee of Chairmen of the Danish Education Councils. A specific Danish dimension in evaluations is the substantial role given to users in the procedures. The attitudes of students, graduates and employers are surveyed intensively.
