The George Mason University (Mason) offices responsible for institutional reporting and assessment were merged to strengthen and solidify their functions and expertise. The organizational structure creating the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning (OIEP) was intended to engineer a new paradigm where assessment would inform the…

What are the emerging assessment trends of today that will profoundly affect tomorrow's practice? As part of the 2024 International Conference on Assessing Quality in Higher Education, Busby and Fulcher moderated as three panelists discussed the future from their vantage points. Topics included the role of accreditation in advancing assessment…

It is incumbent upon universities to deliver quality degree programs that produce employable graduates with discipline-specific knowledge and a well-developed set of generic skills known as graduate attributes. To safeguard the achievement of these outcomes, this paper argues for a holistic, longitudinal approach to degree planning known as…

It is widely acknowledged that the curriculum and knowledge in higher education (HE) are especially visible through (and often constructed by) assessment practices. If this is the case, it matters greatly what perspectives and theoretical tools are brought to bear on the task of understanding these practices. Having briefly set out three…

In higher education, the principle of constructive alignment for devising teaching, learning activities and assessment tasks is the underpinning concept in curriculum design and development to achieve intended learning outcomes. Student's deep learning is critical and it is the responsibility of the curriculum developer to make sure that synergy…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) Capstone Assessment as Faculty Development (Rowanna L. Carpenter, Seanna M. Kerrigan, and Vicki L. Reitenauer); (2) Using a Doctoral Program Entrance Assessment: Reflections on a Pilot Program and the Admissions Process (Robyne Elder); (3) Highlights of the 2018 HEDS…

The article deals with the experience of the use of the system of internal monitoring of the quality of higher education in UK Universities. There has been analyzed the existing model of the system of higher education monitoring at the level of a higher education institution within the scope of the British higher education model, discovered by a…

The new quality framework, "How good is our college?" is a tool to support and enable colleges to evaluate the quality of provision and services alongside reporting on progress in relation to outcome agreements. It is designed to be used by all college staff. Colleges will evaluate the quality of their provision and services using the 12…

The most fundamental problem of colleges is that, in some respects, the people within them don't learn very well. Most faculty, staff, and administrators in higher education genuinely believe in the importance of undergraduate learning and want to improve it. And many colleges innovate a lot, frequently in an effort to make those improvements. But…

A group of external consultants conducted a review of the political science programs at the institutions within the state university system of Florida and made recommendations based on their findings. Their research focused on three questions: (1) How well does the department integrate itself into the university's mission? (2) How well does the…

An initial review of philosophy and religious studies programs in the state university system of Florida was conducted in 1983-84. This is a report of the five year follow-up review conducted to assess the progress made in response to the original recommendations and to report on current program status. A systemwide overview with recommendations…

Among the benefits derived from a detailed curriculum analysis is the actual analysis process itself. Creating a curriculum diagram can lead to better understanding of what can and should be taught. (Author/BB)

A model for evaluating the effectiveness of graduate programs is proposed. It is emphasized that the primary purpose of this model is to provide graduate program administrators with data that will aid program assessment and curricular improvement. Examples of five forms useful in gathering data are appended. (MM)

Reviews recent trends among institutions of higher education to rename departments and course content in the area of foundations of education as departments of policy studies and content as the study of educational policy. Suggests that professional educational organizations work on defining the boundaries and meanings of educational policy…

The implementation of a unified national system of non-degree courses in business administration, the Business Economic Council (BEC) courses, replaced the ordinary national diploma and certificate courses in business administration in British colleges in the 1970's. Widespread faculty concern that these new courses have not been providing…