Is Global Quality Assurance System of Higher Education in United States, Vietnam and Japan Possible? Japan Foundation Japan Studies through Collaboration

Higher education has jumped into the quality movement with expectations of enhancing the excellence of education being received by students. The total quality management philosophy that dominated the manufacturing industry has found its way into the education industry. W. Edwards Deming developed a set of 14 quality management principles, which can be applied to the education sector (Hughey, 2000; Prasad, 2017). Accreditation is a mechanism to inform the employers, the public and students that a university or program has met the minimum standards for quality. The injection of accountability and accreditation into the educational system has raised the expectations of an institution. External accreditation has been growing worldwide in importance. This paper looks at the development of accreditation within the United States, Vietnam, and Japan. An educational curriculum was seen to be a pillar needed for growth for each country. It became apparent that all three countries realize the importance of quality and are heavily involved in the assessment process. There are some differences in who controls the curriculum and the assessment process. However, continuous improvement is universally shared among the three countries. Developing an understanding of the accreditation process will contribute to the literature surrounding accreditation and quality assurance.