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Quality of higher education in EU countries assessed by constructing a composite quality index

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  • Râlea, Ioana-Alexandra
  • Pintilescu, Carmen

Abstract

Improving the quality of higher education is an increasingly important objective of any country's economic policy. Therefore, the evaluation of quality in higher education became important for the policy-decision makers and has led to the development of various methodologies by researchers over the years. In our paper we assessed the quality of higher education by constructing a composite index for a 3-year period, 2020-2022, considering ten variables reflected in four dimensions for the EU countries: teaching, research, institutional and economic dimensions. In order to construct the quality indices, the principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to determine the importance of each variable; the weighting method was used to extract the factor coefficient score matrix loadings. This type of evaluation carried out regularly and objectively could represent an important support for the authorities and the higher education board members to improve the quality of their institution. By applying a panel data analysis, we measured the influence of some economic indicators on these quality indices. Through this study we observed the differences between EU countries in terms of higher education and the importance of each measurement dimension used. These findings can be used to compare the dynamics of higher education quality in each country.

Suggested Citation

  • Râlea, Ioana-Alexandra & Pintilescu, Carmen, 2024. "Quality of higher education in EU countries assessed by constructing a composite quality index," MPRA Paper 124707, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:124707
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Pilar Murias & José Miguel & David Rodríguez, 2008. "A Composite Indicator for University Quality Assesment: The Case of Spanish Higher Education System," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 89(1), pages 129-146, October.
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • B23 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Econometrics; Quantitative and Mathematical Studies
    • C33 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • C43 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Index Numbers and Aggregation
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions

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