Education aiming at students' competence development asks for new assessment methods. The quality of these methods needs to be assured using adapted quality criteria and accompanying standards. As such standards are not widely available, this study sets out to examine what level of compliance with quality criteria stakeholders consider…

This paper discusses three central issues relating to quality and standards: clarity, comparability and responsibility. The issue of clarity is that we have reached a point of disjunction between the questions being asked by the public and the answers being provided by quality assurance professionals. The issue of comparability comes in two forms:…

A diploma mill is commonly recognized as an entity that will award a degree for substandard academic work. However, there is no universal agreement among different higher education institutions as to what constitutes minimum standard academic work or minimum knowledge and skills required of graduates. The author states that many of the negative…

E-learning in the European Higher Education Area has stampeded its way to the foreground of the Quality Assurance (QA) forum, and has become a key issue among quality assurance agencies and institutions in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Because internet-based learning is currently such a relevant topic, there is a dire need for the…

An examination of national and regional developments relating to quality assurance and accreditation systems in the three main countries having a campus of the University of the West Indies, Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, provides an appreciation of some of the emerging provisions in the region to respond to the concerns of the…

The use of rigorous assessment in an Information Literacy program can be used to persuade reluctant faculty and administrators to buy into a program. A "culture of assessment" also assures quality control for internal and external audiences. Information Literacy at Wartburg College is unique in that it is a required component of five…

To provide a deeper understanding of issues related to collaborative reconstruction and simultaneous renewal, the author provides a historical perspective of professional development schools (PDSs) and an overview of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education PDS standards and assessment process, with a focus on inquiry and…

Accreditation is a primary means of quality assurance in North American higher education. The seven sections of this handbook (an eighth will follow) explain the accreditation process of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS). The first section, "An Introduction to Accreditation by ATS," provides…

In its effort to simplify the accreditation process, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education has limited the amount of documentation that a program can use to support its efforts for accreditation. With this "no frills" approach, the rubrics or scoring guides that accompany assessments provide critical information about the…

This paper reports a recent national study by the Centre for the Study of Higher Education into contemporary practices in student assessment in Australian higher education and the issues of quality assurance facing the sector in the light of public speculation and concern about academic standards. A major issue emerging from the project is the…

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…

Reports on the system by which Nigerian journalism students must qualify to receive their degrees. (RL)

Nebraska's approach to standards, assessment, and accountability, the School-based Teacher-led Assessment and Reporting System (STARS) is based upon local control and the belief that classrooms and teachers must be at the heart of student learning and accountability. STARS relies on locally-developed assessment systems to accurately measure and…

When the federal Commission on the Future of Higher Education delivered its final report to the secretary of education in September, accreditors and many higher-education leaders breathed a small sigh of relief. The document did not endorse an early recommendation that the current accreditation system be completely dismantled. Now, though, just a…

Five contributors identify essential means for the college to assure high standards, quality control, and consistency in assessing the prior learning of adults. Types of learning include work or military experience and life experience; assessment methods include examination, portfolio examination, and competence-based programs. (Author/MSE)