Abstract:

The paper is focus on the diversification of higher education institutions in the specific context of the Romanian university system by integrating the quality strategic approach in the global strategy of the Higher Education Institution (HEI). The present paper brings in highlight the nature of relations between creativity/ diversity and standardization/ predictability and it tries to show that the relation creativity/diversity–standardization/predictability acquires new meanings and dichotomous issue is eliminated, in the context of Quality strategic approach.

The Romanian universities are substantially similar in terms of organizational structures, institutional missions and strategic plans, faculty, educational process and so on. The omogenity of higher education system represents an important theme because  it may have, in practice, undesirable effects on university autonomy. Over the longer term, a uniform education system tends to become more inflexible and, as a whole, less efficient.

The quality assurance system has been exercised in Romania, pressures towards homogenization of higher education. By nature of standards and quality indicators used, but more generally by its philosophy, quality assurance has encouraged higher education institutions to conform to relatively rigid institutional models or prototypes, both in content and in the process. Conversely, institutions which were removed from these models and associated standards have been penalized.
This research will try to demonstrate that implementation of the quality strategic approach model that we propose, is able to lead to:
a)   Allowing more varied learning options for students and adapting more strong to their needs;
b)   Allowing a higher level of flexibility to universities to changes that occur at the social level;
c) Providing opportunities for social mobility, more appropriate cover of needs
on different labor markets (e.g. demand for different specialties), and providing the necessary opportunities for innovation (Van Vught, 2009).

To make this research we collected and analyzed data from different sources:
-sociological surveys, commissioned by the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ARACIS) in 2010 to measure perceptions of teachers, students and employers on the state of  quality education;
-Interviews in-depth -conducted in 2010, with experts ARACIS who have interacted in external evaluation visits to the various institutional arrangements developed by universities in what concerns the quality of education;
-experimental benchmarking exercise–developed by ARACIS during 2009 – 2010; Quality Barometer. Quality state of higher education in Romania-2010