Abstract
This paper explores the concept of quality assurance and its application to university language education programs. It begins by surveying approaches to external and internal quality assurance at leading universities around the world and among institutional organizations involved in the formulation of educational policy in order to understand recent developments in quality assurance internationally and in Japan. It then proceeds to consider the relationship between quality assurance and the notion of quality culture, taking the position that formal and structural measures for implementing quality assurance cannot lead to a higher quality in educational outcomes within institutions of higher education unless attention is also given to developing a quality culture. Finally, it considers the importance of developing a quality framework at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) in light of the Top Global University (or SGU) project and provides recommendations on how to address the issue of quality in language education programs at APU.
