One principal preparation program in Illinois experienced severe turbulence following the statewide redesign of all principal preparation programs. Myriad problems contributed to a cascading turbulence that negatively skewed stakeholder perceptions of program quality. In addition, the program failed two national accreditation submissions and faced…

In October of 2019, I presented at the IUPUI Assessment Institute in Indianapolis on the topic of academic program review. While almost every campus conducts program reviews, the definition, purpose, structure, and integration of assessment in program reviews is not universally understood, accepted, or implemented. This paper summarizes essential…

Health professions students can increase their understanding of how social determinants impact health equity through experiential learning opportunities. Using key informant interviews with faculty and staff familiar with experiential education programs in medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, public health, and social work, we sought to…

The author examines the process for applying for National Association for Development Education (NADE) accreditation. The multi-year process began when the English faculty of the community college she works at reviewed data from the National Community College Benchmark Project. The data showed low success rates and poor persistence from…

With the majority of "good jobs" that pay a family-sustaining wage requiring at least some college education -- such as a technical certificate, associate degree, bachelor's degree or another credential of value -- ensuring the existence of high-quality postsecondary CTE [Career Technical Education] programs and programs of study is more…

Can an academic institution be truly free if it relies on government funding? Federal dollars mean federal mandates, and those mandates grow increasingly draconian. More and more, they stifle debate on open questions, demand denial of verifiable scientific truths, eliminate due process for students accused of misdeeds by other students, or insist…

In this brief, Kent Scheffel offers a unique combination of expertise on dual credit and concurrent enrollment as he reviews questions of quality, program accreditation, and education policy for concurrent enrollment offerings from a national (National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP), local (Lewis and Clark Community…

The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) is turning the tide and calling colleges and universities to account. The ACTA is making significant progress in the campaign to make higher education accountable, affordable, and effective. ACTA's goal is for America to be again able to say our nation's higher education is the envy of the world.…

In 2015, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) celebrated 20 years of hard-charging higher education reform. Once a lone voice in the wilderness, ACTA is now leading the charge in their vigorous campaign to restore academic excellence, academic freedom, and accountability to American higher education. Core curricula, accreditation…

As research continues to underscore the positive impact high-quality early childhood programs have on young children, numerous states have implemented quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS) to measure and improve the services young children receive across a wide range of early learning settings. These state systems range from two to five…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) "Just Right" Outcomes Assessment: A Fable for Higher Education (Catherine M. Wehlburg); (2) Editor's Notes: Helping Faculty Members Learn (Linda Suskie); (3) Focus on the Bottom-Line: Assessing Business Writing (Michael Cherry and George Klemic); (4)…

While there is consensus among policymakers and practitioners about the importance of strong leadership in early childhood education, there is scant research on effective models of leadership development for administrators of early childhood programs, particularly those working in the child care sector. This is cause for concern because the…

The Higher Learning Commission (HLC or the agency) is a regional institutional accreditor that accredits (or preaccredits) over 1,000 degree granting institutions in 19 states, tribal institutions and including those programs offered via distance education within these institutions. Most of the institutions accredited by HLC use the Secretary's…

Teachers have the greatest school-based effect on the achievement of any child in their classrooms, but highly effective principals can positively affect the achievement of every student in their schools. The difference between a highly effective principal and an average one is equal to two-to-seven months of extra learning per year for each child…

This qualitative study examined the development of the partnership between the American Library Association (ALA) and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). The research focused on archival documents from the ALA Archives at the University of Illinois Archives. The archival research focused on documents during the…