Towards a better understanding of quality concepts and issues in higher education

In order to ensure effectiveness and efficiency of higher education for improving the performance and quality of individuals, organizations and societies, the quality topic should be approached seriously and professionally. Quality in higher education is a complex subject, with many ways of interpreting quality, and many theories, models and performance indicators used to try to quantify and evaluate the quality. One way of looking at the question of quality, especially of public institutions, is to ask whether they are 'fit for purpose'. That, however, simply moves the question somewhere else, rather than answering it. Does a large organization like a university have a single purpose? Is the purpose of a university constant over time? And whose purpose is important in assessing quality? The answers to all of these questions are contested, and it is possible, though probably fruitless, to spend a great deal of time defining the purpose of the higher education institutions and their quality. Therefore, the goal of the article is to show a theoretical approach regarding how quality can differently be treated and achieved in higher education institutions. (C) 2016 D. Susniene, D. Zostautiene, G. Sargunas, E. Juzeniene. Peer-review under responsibility of the Kaunas University of Technology, Panevezys Faculty of Technologies and Business