Research in higher education quality assurance worldwide (2003–2023): a bibliometric analysis from the Scopus database

Quality assurance in higher education is vital for the development of educational systems, improving teaching and research capacity, and enhancing global institutional reputation and competitiveness. This study assesses the state of research on quality assurance in higher education across countries, identifies leading nations, examines international cooperation networks and highlights the achievements and emerging trends in quality assurance in higher education. Using bibliometric analysis with Biblioshiny and VOSviewer, we analyzes a dataset comprising 675 published works on quality assurance in higher education from the Scopus database (2003 - 2023). Findings reveal 1537 authors and 23,540 citations in total, with averages of 14.75 citations and 2.49 coauthors per document. The UK, USA, Australia, Germany and South Africa are the most influential countries. Leading contributing organizations include the University of Hong Kong, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Universitas Jambi and the University of Kassel. Key journals are Quality in Higher Education (78 articles) and Quality Assurance in Education (67 articles). Emerging trends are sustainable development in education and educational policies assurance. New findings provide a comprehensive overview of global higher education quality assurance, offering insights for scientists, universities and countries to identify new directions, foster collaboration and promote research in this area.