Assessing the quality of architecture schools

Quality has become the initial concern of almost all institutions. Whether producing goods or providing services, these institutions realized that effective quality management will improve their standards and therefore will make them more profitable. Universities as institutions of service and sometimes production have been carefully establishing proper means to manage the quality of their research and education. In order to manage quality of education, departments in the universities should have the necessary knowledge regarding their services. The present study was structured to find out the parameters of quality in architecture education. In this research three different assessment procedures were carried out in different phases. In the first phase, descriptive appraisals were conducted to define the elements of quality education in Architecture. The second phase was for analysing the existing curricula of two schools considering to what extent they fulfil the quality requirements stated in ACE quality directive for architecture education. The third phase was structured to examine students’ and instructors’ perception in terms of satisfaction. Findings of the survey revealed that the architecture schools in northern Cyprus need to make necessary modifications to meet the expectations of their students and faculty members regarding quality. Consequently, the universities with architectural programs should redefine the role, purpose and responsibilities of their schools and should use research and practice based information to determine their administrative and academic policies and practices regarding quality.