Quality Governance and Institutional Negotiation in Indonesian Islamic Higher Education under Globalised Policy Regimes

This study investigated how Indonesian Islamic higher education institutions interpret and enact quality management in a globalised policy environment. Drawing on qualitative interviews with institutional leaders, quality assurance personnel and academic staff of state and private Islamic universities, the study conceptualised quality management as a socially constructed and value-laden practice rather than a purely technical process. Guided by a value-negotiated quality management framework, the analysis examined how global policy instruments such as accreditation systems, outcome-based education and audit mechanisms were translated and negotiated in institutions grounded in Islamic education values. The findings revealed a persistent tension: while audit-centred quality systems provided institutional legitimacy, accountability and access to resources, they also narrowed pedagogical practices and marginalised the ethical, spiritual and holistic dimensions that were central to Islamic education philosophy. Islamic values were strongly articulated in institutional missions but were weakly embedded in formal quality indicators, and they often functioned more symbolically than operationally. Leadership practices played a mediating role by partially reinterpreting audit requirements through value-oriented perspectives. The study contributes to global quality management debates by highlighting the need for more context-sensitive and pluralistic approaches that recognise the moral purposes of higher education.