Critical Synthesis, Structural Gaps, and Policy Pathways
The strategic governance of quality assurance mechanisms represents a defining challenge for Turkish tertiary education during periods of acute institutional disruption. Scholarly perspectives emphasize that strategic choices in national quality frameworks dictate how institutions balance structural autonomy with centralized accountability mandates (Quality Assurance: Strategic Choices for Higher Education in Turkey, 2011). In this context, systemic evaluations of Turkish higher education underscore the necessity of robust evaluation indicators that remain resilient across diverse operational environments (Quality in Higher Education in Turkey, 2019). However, a critical research gap persists regarding how external quality frameworks, specifically those governed by YÖKAK, accommodate emergency adaptations without compromising foundational accreditation benchmarks. While established evaluation models effectively track conventional institutional performance metrics, they frequently overlook the fluid operational realities faced by regional campuses undergoing sudden physical, organizational, and pedagogical dislocation. Consequently, institutional attempts to maintain educational continuity often conflict with standardized documentation requirements and rigid compliance criteria. Furthermore, existing literature fails to articulate multi-site calibration methods that account for systemic regional vulnerabilities during extended disaster recovery phases. The scope of this analysis faces certain methodological limitations, including primary reliance on institutional policy documentation, the uneven distribution of physical infrastructure damage across regional campuses, and the evolving nature of post-disaster administrative mandates. Addressing these structural constraints remains vital for reconciling immediate disaster response protocols with long-term quality assurance objectives across affected higher education systems.