It is important for policymakers and managers of higher education institutions knowing how well their universities are operating. This article aimed to show that data envelopment analysis (DEA) can be an excellent benchmarking instrument in higher education. First, by using several inputs and outputs at the institutional level, DEA can identify…

Processes for moderating assessments are much debated in higher education. The myriad approaches to the task vary in their demands on staff time and expertise, and also in how valid, reliable and fair to students they appear. Medical education, with its diverse range of assessments and assessors across clinical and academic domains presents…

This study uses bibliometric data to assess the performance of educational research in Australian universities. It provides an alternative perspective to the Australian government's Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) assessment. ERA results suggest that the performance of educational research is substantially less compared to other…

Within their teacher preparation courses and field experiences, preservice teachers are introduced to numerous instructional practices, not all of which are considered research-based. For this reason, instruction in how to evaluate the effectiveness of one's practices is essential, but it is often a lacking component of initial certification…

The value of the National Association for Developmental Education (NADE) accreditation process is far-reaching. Not only do students and programs benefit from the process, but also the entire institution. Through data collection of student performance, analysis, and resulting action plans, faculty and administrators can work cohesively towards…

This study aimed to explore the perceptions of Indonesian academics towards the implementation of Performance Indicators (PIs) on teaching and research. The study was a case study using semi-structured interviews, conducted with 30 academics in three state universities in Indonesia. The results of the study revealed academics believed that outcome…

This study examined career and technical education (CTE) centers in Michigan and their potential alignment with the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award in Education. CTE center leaders and their faculty were asked to provide their perceptions of how well their organizations meet Baldrige quality elements, using a version of the Baldrige Assessment…

EU-Russia higher education cooperation has continued despite global tensions including Crimea incorporation. One example of this cooperation is the development of Finnish-Russian double degree programmes. This paper focuses on institutional environments where double degrees develop and asks how and why they produce uncertainty from inside Finnish…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) Using National Benchmarking Data to Improve Student Learning in Chemistry at Lebanon Valley College (Marc A. Harris); (2) Mutually Dependent Outcomes: Using Assessment to Improve First-Year Retention and Student Learning (Alan Bearman and Elaine Lewis); (3) Emergent…

The global context of contemporary higher education demands international benchmarks. Quality assurance of teaching and learning would benefit from the insights gained from cross-cultural assessments. If cross-cultural assessments are used it is imperative that equivalence is assured, requiring attention to the technical standards used. In this…

Until the late 1990s, Qatar's educational system used the intrinsic-nationalistic and cultural traditions of Arabic schools. The Qatari leadership and stakeholder was outdated; hence, they approached the RAND Corporation to examine and analyze the existing educational system and recommend options for building a new educational system. The RAND…

The year 2015 marks the twentieth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, with a goal to contribute to gender equality globally. As scholars continue in their quest to "take stock" of the ways in which gender and education work in tandem to achieve greater gender equality, we observe a revival in interest…

This article emphasizes the urgent demand for measurements of university internationalization and proposes a new approach to develop a set of internationally applicable indicators for measuring university internationalization performance. The article looks into existing instruments developed for assessing university internationalization,…

The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) has developed twelve professional values and competencies that all students in accredited programs must demonstrate before graduation. This study asked Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication (ASJMC) program administrators which competencies…

The discourse that an educated workforce is essential for a prosperous and sustainable economy in a knowledge-based society has invited heightened policy interest in higher education. In effect, many industrialized countries are approaching, or have already reached universal access, with the majority of their age cohorts enrolling in higher…