Performing quality or chasing rankings? Rethinking compliance-driven quality assurance in universities through the TESCEA transformative approach

Gloria Lamaro, Elly Kurobuza Ndyomugenyi and George Ladaah Openjuru

African Educational Research Journal
Published: November 21 2025
Volume 13, Issue 4
Pages 472-485
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17671768

Abstract

This study explores the dynamics of participatory quality assurance (QA) reforms at Gulu University, Uganda, under the Transforming Employability for Social Change in East Africa (TESCEA) project. Adopting a qualitative, interpretivist paradigm, the research employed a single instrumental case study design to examine how faculty, administrators, students, and external stakeholders perceived, interpreted, and engaged with QA processes. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and non-participant observation, and analyzed using thematic analysis with both deductive and inductive coding. Findings reveal that participatory QA design initially enhanced stakeholder ownership, collaboration, and alignment with institutional mission, particularly regarding employability, gender responsiveness, and community engagement. However, external compliance pressures from national accreditation and donor reporting gradually redirected focus toward proceduralism, producing mission drift, stakeholder fatigue, and constrained innovation. Strong leadership, intrinsic motivation linked to the social mission, and adaptive stakeholder strategies emerged as key enablers sustaining mission-aligned QA practices. The study contributes to theory by linking participatory QA, institutional isomorphism, and Theory of Change frameworks, highlighting the tension between locally meaningful reform and externally imposed accountability. Recommendations emphasize flexible accreditation frameworks, participatory governance, and context-sensitive evaluation to ensure sustainable, transformative QA in African higher education.

Keywords: Quality assurance, higher education, participatory governance, institutional reform, compliance pressures, TESCEA, Africa.

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