This article describes a mentorship assessment structure designed to improve doctoral student-research advisor mentoring relationships. We report the experiences of students and advisors as they completed the process to assess the feasibility, utility, and impact of engaging in mentorship assessment.

During the past few decades, faculty developers within the United States and internationally have steadily become more aware of the need to do a better job of assessing their programs. They are part of institutions of higher education that are also growing more aware that they not only need to "support" learning by professors and students but they…

Marymount University is a midsized, independent Catholic university whose mission combines a liberal arts foundation with career preparation and opportunities for personal and professional development. The university is moderately selective with a highly diverse undergraduate student population. Approximately half of Marymount undergraduates are…

A number of universities in the United Kingdom (UK) have launched institution-wide initiatives recently to embed inquiry and research more firmly into the student experience. Among these, the Centre for Inquiry-based Learning in the Arts and Social Sciences (CILASS) led a five-year development program at The University of Sheffield (TUOS) between…

In 2006, Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) launched a major initiative, the Top 25 Project, to embed inquiry-guided learning (IGL) into its largest-enrollment courses across the university. These are generally entry-level classes and thus affect many students: 75 percent of incoming students on its main campus in 2010 were in at least one Top 25…

The term "assessment" sends shivers down academic spines. For faculty, it signals marching orders from external parties who may or may not appreciate the subtle and not always quantifiable value of faculty efforts. For administrators, it means the dual challenge of recalibrating internal measures to meet external mandates but also…

When the Global Intercultural Experience for Undergraduates (GIEU) at the University of Michigan, was in it's infancy, faculty and administration were looking to create a comprehensive program that would have a profound impact on the way students learned at the university and on the way faculty approached their students and taught. This was in…

Examines the degree programs that are proliferating on-line and discusses the need to employ clearly articulated criteria for their evaluation. Discusses "Best Practices for Electronically Offered Degree and Certificate Programs," developed by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, as a guide for such assessment. (EV)

Examines the evaluation of teaching in entire programs, departments, and institutions. Discusses the varying levels of evaluation and their corresponding methodologies, asserting that these indicate the broadening context in which the evaluation of teaching is now taking place. (EV)

This chapter discusses Video-based Supplemental Instruction, a variation of the SI model. (Contains 6 figures.)

With 138 sites nationwide and over 70,000 teachers participating each year, the National Writing Project offers readily available opportunity for improved writing instruction. Essentially a staff-development program, the project is based on the belief that the key agent in educational change is the teacher. (Author/MLW)

The Metropolitan Area Schools Project offers a model of collaboration built up from the expressed needs of the constituencies it is designed to serve. The project focuses on the improvement of inner-city math and science education. The Project developers' role of broker is described. (Author/MLW)

Winthrop University (South Carolina) has linked classroom research with program accountability in its Learning Research Project, which focuses on general education. The pilot and implementation phases of the project are described, noting problems, frustrations, and rewards in each. The experiment has convinced administration and faculty that…

The background of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute experiential program, how it was established, and how it currently operates are described. The Major Qualifying Project and the Interactive Qualifying Project, faculty roles and administrative structures, the humanities and evaluation of the program are discussed. (MLW)

The Center for the Advancement of Academically Talented Youth demonstrates the contribution that colleges can make to the education of students who are ready for a level and pacing of instruction not available in the schools. This Johns Hopkins University program is described. (Author/MLW)