Abstract
<jats:p>Many national quality assurance agencies initially expected that the higher educational institutions (HEIs) would inevitably develop internal quality systems and a quality culture as a result of the external quality impact at the beginning of the so-called "An era of quality." This study suggests that internal and external quality assurance, as well as quality improvement, need to be better balanced. Having conducted external academic quality assurance for over 29 years, what we have explored is that each nation must develop its own quality assurance system, taking into account the culture of society and the nature of students, that can be used to develop more effective settings for assuring academic standards of excellence. In spite of this, articles indicate that academia is susceptible to complacency and disinterest. This paper reflects the behavior and performance of faculty involved in external and internal quality assurance requirements at their institutions. Overall, this review concludes that quality assurance systems have not yet improved higher education, even after 29 years. Although those findings are a result of Omani and Lebanese public and private higher educational institutions, they possibly also have a few relevance for different nations dealing with comparable challenges.</jats:p>