Higher education is in transition, evolving continuously. This evolution has been accelerated by the post-cold war economic liberalization and the economic, political, and technological changes in the 21st century. Revolutionary developments in information and communication technologies (ICT) have led to a networked and borderless society (Coville, 2013; Eaton, 2001). There is also a felt need for the quality assurance and universalization of programmes offered by higher educational institutions (HEIs), given their variety and number. Accreditation systems, the principal means of quality assurance of HEIs are also under pressure. Possible implications for accreditation in this context identified by Van Damme (2001) are as below:

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促进和规范教育机构：认证的作用

高等教育正在转型，并且在不断发展。冷战后的经济自由化以及21世纪的经济，政治和技术变革加速了这种发展。信息和通信技术（ICT）的革命性发展导致了一个网络化和无边界的社会（Coville，2013； Eaton，2001）。考虑到高等教育机构（HEI）的种类和数量，还存在对质量保证和计划普遍化的需求。作为高校质量保证的主要手段的认证体系也面临着压力。Van Damme（2001）在此背景下对认证的可能含义如下：