This volume presents a rich account of the development of accreditation and evaluation in 20 European countries. The authors are leaders in the field and they have cooperated in this effort by writing richly different, often deep and insightful analyses of the situation in their country. The two editors have added a synopsis detailing the main trends, and sketching commonalities as well as contrasts in the developments across Europe. The book shows how accreditation is becoming a main mechanism in the steering of higher education all over Europe. The book is unique in its analysis of forces driving towards the spread of different models of accreditation in the emerging European Higher Education area. Readers will obtain an up-to-date picture of the state of affairs of accreditation in the framework of evaluation activities in Europe. They will gain an understanding of why accreditation and evaluation systems have evolved the way they have, and subsequently, they will obtain more realistic views on potentialities for European comparability and cooperation in this area.

This volume is of interest to researchers and policy-making staff in higher education, especially those involved at the level of national systems for quality assurance, accreditation, internationalization and the Bologna process. It is also of interest to Master/PhD students in (higher) education management.

In the US, the university administration runs its own office of "insti- tional research" in order to base its decisions on systematic information. Furthermore, higher education research can rely on a relatively stable academic basis if study programmes on higher education exist. Again, this is most frequently the case in the United States. Finally, governments and other macro-societal actors sometimes have their own offices or institutes of policy research and prepare the policies of the actors they report to. In addition, research on higher education can be institutionalized in a - riety of ways. Often, research institutes on higher education are quite visible. They were established as specialized research units within or outside insti- tions of higher education; but no common institutional basis can be observed for this type of institution across the countries. Third, the major themes of research on higher education also differ - tween countries. It has frequently been said that in European countries it was more prone to analyse macro-societal issues of higher education, whereas in the US it tended to study the inner life of higher education institutions, s- dents, and the teaching and learning processes.

In the US, the university administration runs its own office of "insti- tional research" in order to base its decisions on systematic information. Furthermore, higher education research can rely on a relatively stable academic basis if study programmes on higher education exist. Again, this is most frequently the case in the United States. Finally, governments and other macro-societal actors sometimes have their own offices or institutes of policy research and prepare the policies of the actors they report to. In addition, research on higher education can be institutionalized in a - riety of ways. Often, research institutes on higher education are quite visible. They were established as specialized research units within or outside insti- tions of higher education; but no common institutional basis can be observed for this type of institution across the countries. Third, the major themes of research on higher education also differ - tween countries. It has frequently been said that in European countries it was more prone to analyse macro-societal issues of higher education, whereas in the US it tended to study the inner life of higher education institutions, s- dents, and the teaching and learning processes.

This volume presents a rich account of the development of accreditation and evaluation in 20 European countries. The authors are leaders in the field and they have cooperated in this effort by writing richly different, often deep and insightful analyses of the situation in their country. The two editors have added a synopsis detailing the main trends, and sketching commonalities as well as contrasts in the developments across Europe. The book shows how accreditation is becoming a main mechanism in the steering of higher education all over Europe. The book is unique in its analysis of forces driving towards the spread of different models of accreditation in the emerging European Higher Education area. Readers will obtain an up-to-date picture of the state of affairs of accreditation in the framework of evaluation activities in Europe. They will gain an understanding of why accreditation and evaluation systems have evolved the way they have, and subsequently, they will obtain more realistic views on potentialities for European comparability and cooperation in this area.