Diversity, liberalization and competition are three issues which have emerged as major challenges to the tertiary and higher education sector in Jamaica as that sector has expanded to increase access and move towards meeting the goal set by CARICOM in 1997 that 15% of all school leavers should be enrolled in tertiary education by 2005. The liberalization of ‘trade in services’, which includes higher education, to be introduced in 2005 under the umbrella of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) will permit free higher education exchange in services across country borders, and this will certainly result in a number of new tertiary education service providers seeking a market and finding a receptive one in Jamaica and the Caribbean.

In the face of this increasing diversity of offerings in the tertiary sector, and the competition generated, quality assurance issues must be a central focus. It is an assurance of quality that will protect and preserve public investment in education at this level as well as the interests of those persons who have a stake in the process. The paper examines the issues, and identifies the policy concerns related to ensuring that quality is maintained and that Jamaican and Caribbean stakeholders are protected in terms of the quality of the education being offered.