Evaluation and quality assurance in higher education are closely linked to system governance. The paper proposes four possible patterns of university system governance, according to locus and focus of governance. This frame of reference takes into consideration the Italian university system over the past twenty years where great changes have taken place and evaluation has been introduced.
The paper pinpoints those characteristics that Italian university system governance has taken on over time which are in line with the external (locus), negotiation-based (focus) pattern. This model requires strong support by suitable evaluation systems geared to fully implement the ENQA guidelines.