Quality Assurance and the Changing Meaning of Autonomy and Accountability Between Home and Overseas Campuses of the Universities in New York State

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify how the meaning of autonomy and accountability changes between domestic and overseas campuses of the universities in New York State. The article confines to and examines the shift of the quality assurance mechanism between two contexts. The article argues that home campuses of the University of the State of New York (USNY) emphasize substantial autonomy and managerial, professional, and market accountability, which are mainly shaped by the state’s regulatory mode, the market and the accreditation scheme of a regional accrediting body, Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). The meanings of autonomy and accountability of the USNY’s overseas campuses are far more complex and hybrid than those within the U.S. territory mainly because of shift in the state’s regulatory mechanism, different implication of the MSCHE’s practice for the meaning of accountability, and the involvement of new regulatory bodies—authorities in host countries.