This paper discusses empirical comparisons of higher education institutions across world regions. It argues that institutional data systems have the potential for complementing global comparisons promoted by rankings by providing sensible information on institutional size, budgets, staffing, enrolments and activity profiles. With this perspective…

Subscore reporting under item response theory models has always been a challenge partly because the test length of each subdomain is limited for precisely locating individuals on multiple continua. Diagnostic classification models (DCMs), providing a pass/fail decision and associated probability of pass on each subdomain, are promising…

Current trends in e-Learning focus mainly on personalizing and adapting the learning environment and learning process. Although their increasingly number, theses researches often ignore the concepts of capitalization and reuse of learner experiences which can be exploited later by other learners. Thus, the major challenge of distance learning is…

This case study presents a conceptual model of researcher performance developed by Deakin University Library, Australia. The model aims to organize research performance data into meaningful researcher profiles, referred to as researcher typologies, which support the demonstration of research impact and value. Three dimensions shaping researcher…

Catalan speakers have traditionally constructed the Catalan language as the main emblem of their identity even as migration filled the country with substantial numbers of speakers of Castilian. Although Catalan speakers have been bilingual in Catalan and Castilian for generations, sociolinguistic research has shown how speakers' bilingual…

Three university ranking systems in vogue have been shown in the previous issue of "Higher Education Review" to be capable of modifications to make them more parsimonious by using only about half of the number of predictors currently in use. This makes some of the predictors "redundant" as they contributed little to the overall ranking. It is…

Given the recent consideration by the Thai government of a national language policy, this article considers the status of Thailand's treaty obligations regarding linguistic human rights in education. It presents a general background, a brief linguistic profile of Thailand, a concise summary of the concept and importance of linguicide, and a…

This article profiles Loren Pope, a college consultant and a former education editor at "The New York Times" who touted "no name" colleges and called the nation's most famous university, Harvard University, a rip-off. In his influential book "Colleges That Change Lives" (Penguin, 1996), Mr. Pope profiled 40 institutions--most of them small…

This article reports that when Nian Cai Liu, director of Shanghai Jiao Tong's Institute of Higher Education, posted his first ranking of the world's top 500 universities on Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Web site, in June 2003, he thought the list might interest Chinese education officials, along with a few scholars of higher education. Instead…

The paper takes a retrospective look at the work of Henry Evelyn Bliss, classificationist theorist and author of the "Bibliographic Classification". Major features of his writings and philosophy are examined and evaluated for the originality of their contribution to the corpus of knowledge in the discipline. Reactions to Bliss's work are analysed,…

Although the term deaf-blind implies a complete absence of hearing and sight, in reality, it refers to children with varying degrees of vision and hearing losses. The type and severity differ from child to child. The key feature of deaf-blindness is that the combination of losses limits access to auditory and visual information. Children with…

Congenitally, profoundly deaf children whose first language is British Sign Language (BSL) and whose speech is largely unintelligible need to be literate to communicate effectively in a hearing society. Both spelling and writing skills of such children can be limited, to the extent that no currently available assessment method offers an adequate…

This article describes the Annehurst Curriculum Classification System (ACCS), which classifies both learners and curriculum materials according to multiple characteristics, so that materials can be matched to the individual student. This retrieval system is adaptable to a card file, for single classrooms, or to computer retrieval for resource…

Information technologies (IT) continue to grow in importance for independent colleges and universities. Increasingly, students assume a digital world, from online application and registration, to course materials, to communicating with classmates and professors. To stay competitive for students as well as to enhance instructional and…

Approximately 30 policies and classed profiles are presented in this first comprehensive collection development policy statement for the California State University at Sacramento (CSUS) Library. The profiles--which comprise the bulk of the text--were prepared by examining each part of the curriculum and matching each with the corresponding call…