Quality assurance (QA) has become an important feature in higher education governance in Europe, with policies for increased harmonization and periodic accreditations as pillars. Still, the shift to emphasize quality development and enhancement entails that QA systems can attend to a wider range of considerations than before. This article studies the development in national QA systems and instruments in Denmark and Norway in the 2010s and incorporates welfare state literature to explain the use of QA instruments. The material for the study consists of documents, as well as decisions associated with QA instruments. Following a historical-institutionalist perspective, the article finds notable differences between the two countries, both in the organizations involved and instruments used. Denmark has emphasized the study programme level through periodic accreditations, while Norway has practiced one-off institutional accreditations and supervisions. The findings show an emphasis on relevance and employment in Denmark, and university status in Norway. The article considers the differences in light of features of higher education systems and politico-administrative regimes, but also highlights similarities in layering of instruments and the use of QA for social democratic welfare state goals. In this way, the findings illustrate that QA systems could serve distinct purposes despite harmonization.