This article addresses assumptions that currently guide personnel training and technical assistance in organizations providing services to people with disabilities. Implications of a quality improvement perspective are then considered as they apply to new perspectives on roles, on decision-making processes, and on evaluation. (DB)

The University of Southern Queensland's Centre for Further Education and Training, which offers distance teaching and training courses to a wide range of mature students, developed a quality assurance framework to guide its efforts to improve the quality of its distance courses for teachers and trainers with little or no training in educational…

Examines the use of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) methods for the design, development, and delivery of courses and programs through distance education. Topics discussed include problems in implementing QFD; implementation of QFD in training design; and QFD's contribution to service quality improvement in distance education. (Contains 28…

Training must be preceded by a well-articulated quality strategy and must be designed to facilitate its implementation. Each phase of the training curriculum should build on the preceding phase so that people will have the knowledge and skills they need when they need them. (JOW)

Lists reasons why people shy away from trainer recertification programs, benefits of attending such programs, and considerations that users and purchasers of training programs might keep in mind in order to get the best quality programs and service from their vendors. (CT)

The philosophy of accreditation is discussed in a paper commissioned by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools for a project on "Rethinking Accreditation." After defining accreditation and distinguishing it from assessment, evaluation and "meta-evaluation" are discussed, including the nature of accreditation in…

To assist in the redesign of accountability systems, the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) and the Center for Research on Evaluation, Student Standards, and Testing (CRESST) sought to assemble knowledge from new research on emerging accountability systems. A book, "Redesigning Accountability Systems for Education," edited by Susan…

Discusses the evaluation of library reference service; examines problems with past evaluations, including the lack of long-term planning and a systems perspective; and suggests a method for continuously monitoring and improving reference service using quality improvement tools such as checklists, cause and effect diagrams, Pareto charts, and…

Papers on local area networks (LANs), modelling techniques, software improvement, capacity planning, software engineering, microcomputers and end user computing, cost accounting and chargeback, configuration and performance management, and benchmarking presented at this conference include: (1) "Theoretical Performance Analysis of Virtual…

In an internationally competitive training environment, implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) in vocational education can provide a comparative advantage in preparing the type of work force required for micro and macro economic reforms. The concept of TQM can be used as a management tool to improve the standards of vocational training.…

A useful, values-oriented human resource development (HRD) program evaluation approach is one that is empirical with its orientation derived from a social/technical perspective. The optimum mix between the technical skills of evaluation and the required social skills of evaluation delivery is crucial for the quality assurance process. The core to…

A framework is presented for understanding how errors arise in institutional research, and principles are suggested to avert errors in work processes of institutional research offices. Error is defined as a product which fails to meet professional standards, has unacceptable process limitations, or is unacceptable to a client. The following four…

Stage Two of the Title IV Quality Control Project is an evaluation of quality of the United States Department of Education's major student aid programs. The study sought to identify, measure, and analyze error during the 1985-86 academic year in each of the five major Title IV programs, including the Pell Grant program, the Campus-Based programs…