Abstract
The chapter identifies the rationales for and organization of internal quality systems in higher education institutions, and investigates how different rationales and ways of organizing quality systems play out in different institutions. Taking a starting point in three rationales for internal quality systems – as responses to external standards, as means to provide information to leadership, and as a source of information for academic development – the chapter examines the implications for the ‘quality work’ undertaken within these systems, and how such systems cater for these multiple expectations and the opportunities and dilemmas that emerge in the process. The analysis builds on four comprehensive institutional case studies, using qualitative interviews with various stakeholders and central institutional documents.