The specification of standards in higher education has long been the subject of international debate. This text covers the rationales, operational issues and perspectives on benchmarking and standards from international viewpoints.

Introduction; I: A Rationale for Benchmarking and Threshold Standards; 1: Historical and Contextual Perspectives on Benchmarking in Higher Education; 2: How Can Threshold Standards Assure and Enhance Quality?; 3: Benchmarking Theory — A Framework for the Business World as a Context for its Application in Higher Education; 4: Benchmarks and Templates — Some Notes and Queries from a Sceptic; II: Operational Issues for Benchmarking and Threshold Standards in Higher Education; 5: Describing Higher Education — Some Conflicts and Conclusions; 6: Institutional Comparisons — Reality or Illusion?; 7: Benchmarking Across Subjects in an Institution; 8: The Business Approach to Benchmarking — An Exploration of the Issues as a Background for Its Use in Higher Education; III: UK Perspectives in the Development and Use of Benchmarks and Threshold Standards; 9: UK Experiences in the Development of Benchmarking and Threshold Standards; 10: Benchmarking in law; 11: Collaborative Accreditation — Benchmarking in a Professional and Academic Partnership to Recognize Programmes of Continuing Professional Development — a Case Study; 12: Benchmarking, Assessment and the Multidisciplinary Curriculum; 13: Towards Multidisciplinary Benchmarking; IV: International Perspectives in the Development and Use of Benchmarks and Threshold Standards; 14: International Benchmarking — Fact or Fantasy?; 15: The United States' Perspective on, and Experiences of, Performance Indicators and Threshold Standards — How is Quality Determined?; 16: Assuring Standards in New Zealand's Universities; 17: Benchmarks and Threshold Standards —A New Zealand Polytechnic's Perspective on the Approach; 18: Approaches to Degree Standards and Quality Assurance in Post-apartheid South African Higher Education-Comparative Perspectives; 19: How Can Benchmarking Work to Best Effect in Higher Education?