Understanding the needs of end users (customers, stakeholders) and the simultaneous application of new methodologies for the implementation of strategic plans in order to meet the needs of external (employers) and internal consumers (students and teachers) are essential elements of quality management in higher education. This article aimed to investigate the general state of modern quality management in higher education. A survey of consumers of educational services in Ukraine was conducted in order to study the current state of quality management in higher education. Interested parties’ theory and total quality management methodology in quality management of higher education served as the basis for the research methodology. The requirements of the administration and departments of higher educational institutions, students and employers in Ukraine to the quality of education were studied. Requirements for meeting the needs of consumers of educational services have been developed. During the study, the principle of ‘student‐centred learning’ and the protection of key interests of students were implemented. It was found that the quality of higher education in Ukraine is characterised by a significant level of dissatisfaction. An empirical assessment of the gap between expectations and actual experience of obtaining higher education was carried out and the discrepancy between education in Ukraine and the requirements of stakeholders was proved.

Each country in the world has its own individual approaches to the quality assurance system of higher education, so the quality of educational services in each country is different. The developing countries should be guided by the standards and recommendations put forward by the world’s leading countries in the field of the assurance system of higher education in order to improve the quality of education services. The purpose of the scientific investigation is to formulate the objectives and analyze the practical aspects of functioning of the quality assurance system of higher education. In the study’s framework of the practical aspects of the higher education’s quality in European Union’s countries, the methods of general analysis have been used, including comparison and grouping; at the same time, the presentation of statistics is also demonstrated by graphical methods. The practical aspects of quality assurance of higher education in European Union’s countries have been analyzed, which is reflected in the dynamics of the number of students who have received higher education, the structure of higher education degree seeking applicants, the employment rate of graduates who have graduated from higher education institutions (Employment rates of recent graduates), the World University Rankings, the Europe Teaching Rankings, rating of the strength of the higher education system (the QS Higher Education System Strength Rankings). Proposals for ensuring the proper quality of higher education and a high level of educational services to educational institutions of the European Union have been presented.