“It’s paradoxical, but it works” - Towards ambidexterity in external quality assurance: the case of Roman Catholic ecclesiastical higher education

This article focuses on organizational responses to seemingly paradoxical mandates, in the context of external quality assurance in higher education. With the promulgation of the Apostolic Constitution Veritatis Gaudium in 2018, Roman Catholic ecclesiastical higher education institutions have been required to be evaluated by a designated external quality assurance agency, the Holy See’s Agency for the Evaluation and Promotion of Quality in Ecclesiastical Universities and Faculties (AVEPRO). Operating internationally, the Agency is tasked to both evaluate quality with an accountability mindset and promote quality with a continuous enhancement outlook. These two approaches to quality processes can be considered conflicting notions. Using the lens of paradox theory and organizational ambidexterity to observe the nature of and responses to tensions, this study considers how AVEPRO managed the challenge of reconciling both QA and QE imperatives. Although ambidexterity studies have mainly focused on the private sector, this analysis shows that this theoretical framework can provide a relevant lens in other contexts where paradoxes exist, such as external quality assurance agencies in higher education. Findings show that an innovative organizational structure and a creative mindset can reconcile quality assurance and quality enhancement processes through different channels.