The literature on quality management at higher education institutions has for some time been working on the basis of two issues: a) the diversity of ideas as to what “quality” means, which makes it harder to apply the principles of quality management in this context; and b) the idea that this diversity is in some way a response to the different positions occupied by stakeholders in regard to the processes and institutions of the sector. It has been suggested that students, employers, administrations in charge of funding and academics may hold different positions concerning the purposes of universities and, therefore, concerning the criteria on which their quality should be assessed. However, those stakeholders have rarely been asked directly what concept of quality they defend. This paper presents the results of a survey of deans of Spanish university faculties and schools in which this question was put to them. Their answers contrast with some of the commonplaces of current literature.

This article sets out to investigate the notions Spanish university teaching staff have of quality in education, on the assumption that those notions give a reliable picture of the attitudes of teaching staff towards education policy design and university management. The paper takes an empirical approach, collecting opinions telematically via a questionnaire. The responses show that teaching staff prefer modern notions of quality in teaching, and those closer to the culture of their educational institutions, but are not confident that their managers share those preferences. The opinions of teaching staff can provide useful information for the design of education policies and quality management systems applicable to Spanish universities.

Purpose -This paper aims to present the opinions of teaching staff at Spanish universities regarding the relative importance of a number of quality factors, and perceived levels of development of those factors in the context of their work. Design/methodology/approach -The paper takes an empirical approach, with the opinions of teaching staff being collected via questionnaires and by telematic means. Findings -Lecturers surveyed are particularly pessimistic in regard to the conditions in which students enter university, and probably do not share the priorities that education policy authorities and university management bodies proclaim in their discourses and policies. Research limitations/implications -This research may be supplemented with the use of more qualitative methods and extended to other geographical and cultural contexts. Practical implications -The opinions of teaching staff comprise useful information for the design of education policies and quality management systems applicable to Spanish universities. Originality/value -No studies have to date been conducted in Spain to identify the opinions of university teaching staff in regard to determinants of quality. Taken as a whole, the paper enables a diagnostic analysis to be made of university education quality conditions in Spain from the viewpoint of teaching staff.

This paper is based on the current debate concerning the criteria for quality assessment of higher education in a knowledge society, focusing attention on its pertinence. It is approached from dualities in the university task of producing and transmitting knowledge that intervenes in the analysis of the pertinence criteria for evaluating quality: knowledge use value versus exchange value, or market rules versus other social agents' demands. The need for a comprehensive pertinence defined by two dimensions, internal and external, is justified.