In this study, four recent self-initiated educational quality projects at Swedish universities are compared and analysed. The aim is to contribute to an increased understanding of quality management in contemporary higher education.

The projects are found to be built on similar rationales linked to accountability, reputation building and strategic management, and on similar ambitions regarding raising the status of education. Although there are links to the shared external policy context, the projects differ considerably in their actual design and implementation. This is interpreted as an active adaptation to the unique internal academic norms and cultures that exist in each university.