Resumo: Having concluded the 1st cycle of the Polytechnics Education System, it is time to make a balance and reflect upon the way the whole process occurred and question whether our objectives have been achieved. Thus, this article suggests a framework of the process from the point of view of the economics of education, in a way that one can see self assessment as a component of the new public management. In this context, the institutional autonomy is accompanied by the obligation of accountability to the several stakeholders interested in the process of higher education. Further on, we present a critical view of the assessment process and raise some questions directed to those who are involved in the future of the institutions. Therefore, we suggest giving some thought to this issue, in order to question whether the objectives of the evaluation – considered as an instrument for good management, raising competitiveness – have been fulfilled. We end this phase/chapter by enclosing the opinion of Professor Veiga Simão. In conclusion, and after a decade of accompanying the assessment in higher education, we have suggested a new model of assessment, centred in the institutions and coordinated by a National Accreditation Association.
