Making Meaning in Evaluation: Fulfilment and Frustration in Japanese University Quality Assurance

This study explores how evaluators involved in Japanese university quality assurance (QA)—including both internal staff and certified external reviewers—experience fulfilment or frustration in their work. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and the Job Demands–Resources (JD–R) model, the study conceptualizes evaluator fulfilment as arising from conditions that support autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Using a qualitative case study approach, data were collected from eight evaluators through open-ended responses and thematically analyzed. The findings reveal contrasting experiences between internal evaluators, who frequently reported procedural burden, ambiguous criteria, and formalism, and certified evaluators, who emphasized institutional politics, mission misalignment, and limited comprehension of policy frameworks. Despite these constraints, several participants also described a sense of professional growth, meaning-making, and collaborative potential. The study argues that evaluator fulfilment is not merely a personal sentiment but a structural indicator of the health of QA systems. It proposes practical reforms including the introduction of mission-sensitive rubrics, structured post-evaluation feedback mechanisms, and continuing professional development (CPD) for evaluators. These insights contribute to the growing recognition of QA as a professional, improvement-oriented process, and offer concrete policy directions for agencies and institutions aiming to enhance the integrity and developmental impact of university evaluation practices.