Quality-Oriented AI: A Socio-Technical Governance Framework for Higher Education

Eren Çanga

Quality-Oriented AI: A Socio-Technical Governance Framework for Higher Education

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly transforming higher education governance, quality assurance, teaching, research, and societal engagement; however, its implications for institutional quality, academic values, and sustainable quality culture remain insufficiently theorized. This study examines AI in higher education through a governance-sensitive and quality-oriented analytical framework and introduces the concept of quality-oriented AI, defined as AI systems designed and governed to support reflective governance, evidence-informed decision-making, ethical accountability, and sustainable quality enhancement. A qualitative exploratory research design was employed, drawing on purposefully selected academic and policy-oriented materials, including higher education quality assurance frameworks, institutional strategic plans, AI roadmaps, academic literature, and selected institutional narratives. Through an inductive thematic analysis, the study examined how AI is conceptualized across four institutional domains: leadership, governance, and quality assurance; education and teaching; research and knowledge production; and societal engagement. The findings show that AI reconfigures quality processes in domain-specific ways. In leadership, governance, and quality assurance, AI supports strategic foresight, continuous monitoring, institutional coordination, and accountability, while also raising concerns about technocratic governance and metric-driven oversight. In education and teaching, AI enables learning analytics, early intervention, curriculum alignment, and pedagogical responsiveness, but creates tensions related to pedagogical autonomy, equity, and the relational dimensions of learning. In research and knowledge production, AI strengthens research mapping, performance analysis, and strategic research governance, while reshaping epistemic priorities and definitions of academic excellence. In societal engagement, AI enhances the visibility and assessment of public value, yet may reinforce narrow, metric-driven interpretations of social impact. The study contributes by conceptualizing quality-oriented AI as a socio-technical governance framework, demonstrating differentiated AI–quality interactions across institutional domains, and identifying the governance conditions required for responsible AI integration in higher education. The results indicate that AI contributes to higher education quality not through technological sophistication alone, but through governance design, transparency, ethical oversight, human judgment, stakeholder participation, bias assessment, contextual interpretation, and alignment with academic values.

Keywords

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Quality Assurance in Higher Education

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Eren Çanga ^*
0009-0008-0746-1834
Italy

Publication Date

June 30, 2026

Submission Date

April 15, 2026

Acceptance Date

June 8, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 01 Number: 01

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA25MB54HF

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RIS / Bibtex

APA

Çanga, E. (2026). Quality-Oriented AI: A Socio-Technical Governance Framework for Higher Education. Journal of Accreditation and Quality Assurance in Higher Education, 01(01), 53-86. https://izlik.org/JA25MB54HF

AMA

1.Çanga E. Quality-Oriented AI: A Socio-Technical Governance Framework for Higher Education. JAQAHE. 2026;01(01):53-86. https://izlik.org/JA25MB54HF

Chicago

Çanga, Eren. 2026. “Quality-Oriented AI: A Socio-Technical Governance Framework for Higher Education”. Journal of Accreditation and Quality Assurance in Higher Education 01 (01): 53-86. https://izlik.org/JA25MB54HF.

EndNote

Çanga E (June 1, 2026) Quality-Oriented AI: A Socio-Technical Governance Framework for Higher Education. Journal of Accreditation and Quality Assurance in Higher Education 01 01 53–86.

IEEE

[1]E. Çanga, “Quality-Oriented AI: A Socio-Technical Governance Framework for Higher Education”, JAQAHE, vol. 01, no. 01, pp. 53–86, June 2026, [Online]. Available: https://izlik.org/JA25MB54HF

ISNAD

Çanga, Eren. “Quality-Oriented AI: A Socio-Technical Governance Framework for Higher Education”. Journal of Accreditation and Quality Assurance in Higher Education 01/01 (June 1, 2026): 53-86. https://izlik.org/JA25MB54HF.

JAMA

1.Çanga E. Quality-Oriented AI: A Socio-Technical Governance Framework for Higher Education. JAQAHE. 2026;01:53–86.

MLA

Çanga, Eren. “Quality-Oriented AI: A Socio-Technical Governance Framework for Higher Education”. Journal of Accreditation and Quality Assurance in Higher Education, vol. 01, no. 01, June 2026, pp. 53-86, https://izlik.org/JA25MB54HF.

Vancouver

1.Eren Çanga. Quality-Oriented AI: A Socio-Technical Governance Framework for Higher Education. JAQAHE [Internet]. 2026 Jun. 1;01(01):53-86. Available from: https://izlik.org/JA25MB54HF