| Summary: | External quality assurance has become a pivotal aspect of chinese higher education, as the subject
of quality in higher education has gained prominence in china since it is highly related to the
prosperity of the economy and the stability of society. It developed very late and is also immature
in china, particularly for private undergraduate colleges; the related research is limited. This
study is to identify the elements of external quality assurance in private undergraduate colleges,
to explore the changes in external quality assurance in private undergraduate colleges, to identify
the challenges of external quality assurance in private undergraduate colleges, and to understand
the expectations from stakeholders in external quality assurance and private undergraduate
colleges. The researcher employed stakeholder theory and governance theories to guide this thesis.
With regard to the methodology, the researcher designed the research through a qualitative case
study with the guidance of epistemology and social constructive orientation. The interview analysis
was utilised as the research instrument. The sample size was 17, six respondents from external
quality assurance experts in one evaluation centre, and 11 middle-level leaders from academic
affairs offices and employment departments in six private undergraduate colleges. The method also
involves triangulation, data collection, data analysis procedures, and ethical consideration. The
data was analysed by nvivo 1.71 mac version according to the research questions and sub-questions.
It is found that in the first question, there should be various stakeholders in external quality
assurance, particularly within the market, which includes third-party agencies, associations,
parents, students, the masses, industries, peer colleges, media, public universities,
teachers, and international markets.
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