A Cultural Revolution in the Universities

Abstract

Audits were introduced in Sweden in an effort to foster self-regulation by the universities when central regulation was decreased in 1993. It was believed that internal systems of quality assurance were the optimal means for increased quality and efficiency of Swedish universities and university colleges. This paper claims that an unspoken intermediary was to change the internal culture of the universities, from ‘cloisterism’ to ‘new collegiality’. In line with neo-institutionalism, new behaviour was to be stimulated by new institutions. In other words, audits were to change the incentives and increase the rewards for proponents of change. The struggle for change could be understood as a game-like situation, where audits affect pay-offs. The adoption of new means of internal quality assurance is used as a measurement for the spread of the new culture. Rough data from six institutional audits indicate that a ‘cultural revolution’ is taking place and that audits are enhancing it. Further explanations are discussed, as well as possible means of improvement.