Abstract

The evaluation of university activities is a much debated issue. The evaluation mechanisms have played a central role in the reform processes involving European universities and are pivotal in the internationalisation process of the university sector by promoting a processes of mutual recognition among national university systems. This article describes the supranational relevance of this trend and presents the milestones of the teaching and research evaluation models in five countries (France, Germany, England, the Netherlands, Spain) by highlighting the links between national evaluation exercises and the decision-making processes within universities. The aims of this review are: to identify some evolutionary trends in the evaluation processes carried out in the European universities; to establish a relationship between national systems, autonomy of universities and internal evaluation mechanisms; and to highlight the issues concerning the impact of evaluation mechanisms on academic behaviours.