With the majority of "good jobs" that pay a family-sustaining wage requiring at least some college education -- such as a technical certificate, associate degree, bachelor's degree or another credential of value -- ensuring the existence of high-quality postsecondary CTE [Career Technical Education] programs and programs of study is more…

Utilising insights from policy instrument theory, the article analyses the design, functioning and effects of the tools used by the Czech Accreditation Commission (CAC) and the Slovak Accreditation Commission (SAC) in the 2000s. Aside from programme accreditation, the other tools analysed are: institutional approval, institutional evaluations,…

The first student Six Sigma team (activated under a QEP Process Sub-team) evaluated the course and curriculum approval process. The goal was to streamline the process and thereby shorten process cycle time and reduce confusion about how the process works. Members of this team developed flowcharts on how the process is supposed to work (by…

Experimental teaching in general, and simulation in particular, have primarily been used in lecture rooms but in the future must also be adapted to e-learning. The integration of web simulators into virtual learning environments, coupled with specific supporting video documentation and the use of videoconference tools, results in robust…

This contribution shows the conditions of a change of prospect in higher education which is based on institutional and policy positioning in favor of the implementation of the devices of Validation of Acquired Experience (VAE) which is used to deliver a whole or components of a qualification (certification) on the basis of the knowledge and skills…

Most position descriptions for college and university faculty include benchmarks that indicate assumptions about collegiality. Criticism about this practice has been voiced for years. But case law in the United States has upheld the use of collegiality as a factor in decisions regarding faculty employment, tenure, and promotion. Indeed, several…

The findings from 20 years of research on undergraduate education have been unequivocal: The more actively engaged students are--with college faculty and staff, with other students, and with the subject matter they study--the more likely they are to learn, to stick with their studies, and to attain their academic goals. The existing literature,…

Typical validation studies on standard setting models, most notably the Angoff and modified Angoff models, have ignored construct development, a critical aspect associated with all conceptualizations of measurement processes. Stone compared the Angoff and objective standard setting (OSS) models and found that Angoff failed to define a legitimate…

Following Messick's definition of validity as a multi-faceted construct that includes contextual, substantive, structural, generalizable, external, and consequential dimensions, this study examined an established directed self-placement (DSP) system that had been functioning for ten years at a large university. The goal was to determine the extent…

We have developed and validated a tool for assessing understanding of a selection of fundamental concepts and basic knowledge in undergraduate introductory molecular and cell biology, focusing on areas in which students often have misconceptions. This multiple-choice Introductory Molecular and Cell Biology Assessment (IMCA) instrument is designed…

Although there is considerable activity in developing assessment protocols for undergraduate learning, there are few established models for assessment of student progress in multidisciplinary doctoral-level graduate education. To resolve this impediment in tracking graduate student development, we created a simple assessment tool based on the…

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), one of the most widely used annual surveys of undergraduates in the country, is specifically designed to assess the extent to which college students are engaged in empirically vetted good practices in undergraduate education. One of the major assumptions of the NSSE is that in measuring the extent…

The first aim of the present study is to validate an extended technology acceptance model (TAME) on the data derived from the faculty members of a university in an ongoing, computer mediated work setting. The study extended the original TAM model by including an intrinsic motivation component--computer self efficacy. In so doing, the study…

Colleges of education have come under scrutiny in their preparation of principals. Even professors of education have joined in the criticism characterizing these programs as bankrupt, fragmented, and going down a road to nowhere (Norton, 2002). This article is part of a collaborative research effort of the University Council for Educational…

This study aimed to develop and validate a problem-based learning environment inventory which would help teachers and researchers to better understand student views on problem-based learning environments. The development of the inventory included the following four steps: Item Formulation; Content Validation; Construct Validation; Reliability…