Concerns about academic standards, whether created by states from scratch or adopted by states under the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) banner, have drawn widespread media attention and are at the top of many state policymakers' priority lists. Recently, a number of legislatures have required additional steps, such as waiting periods for…

Although scholars have scrutinized many aspects of academic life in psychology, the topic of leadership for psychology programs has remained elusive. This article describes the importance of high-quality leadership in the development of thriving psychology programs. The author offers a strategy for evaluating leaders to help provide developmental…

Explains the need for meaningful performance measures in libraries and the Total Quality Management (TQM) approach to data collection. Five tools representing different stages of a TQM inquiry are covered (i.e., the Shewhart Cycle, flowcharts, cause-and-effect diagrams, Pareto charts, and control charts), and benchmarking is addressed. (Contains…

This report concerns the use of benchmarking as a strategy for assessing and improving efficiency and productivity of administrative processes and instructional models in colleges and universities. The introductory chapter addresses the need for new tools and strategies to meet the increased competition and the higher demand for accountability…