Assessment practitioners are well aware that evidence of learning improvement in higher education is scarce. A Learning Improvement Community has been created to promote learning improvement. Recently, this group created a "Readiness for Learning Improvement Tool." Given learning improvement projects are resource intensive, this tool was…

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…

This book offers a roadmap for developing, growing, and sustaining living-learning communities (LLCs) that promote student success and enhance the undergraduate experience. Drawing on the Best Practices Model presented in "Living-Learning Communities That Work," as well as updated research and rich, real-life examples from LLC…

As members of the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED), universities across the United States are restructuring EdD programs to better prepare professional practitioners with the practical skills and theoretical knowledge needed to improve the educational environments that they serve. The hallmark of these programs is often the…

This paper reports on the design, development and evaluation of a novel process for quality assurance of assessments for entire educational programmes. The process was developed and tested by multidisciplinary teaching staff and consists of five phases: inventory, analyses, evaluation, planning change and realising change. The process for quality…

The article reviews the general context of the situation that has arisen in Russian education after the new provisions of the Federal Law of 29 December 2012 "On Education in the Russian Federation" went into effect. The law has been enacted in response to the need to develop a new concept of teacher education. Currently, about 270…

This book aims at discussing the development of MOOCs in China in relation to MOOCs in other countries or areas. Based on the history of MOOCs, we summarize and compare the development of MOOCs in China and other countries with empirical evidence from a comprehensive investigation about MOOCs in Asian, United States, and Europe. Then we discuss…

As higher education institutions develop fully online course programs to provide better access for the non-traditional learner, there is increasing interest in identifying students who may be at risk of attrition and poor performance in these online course programs. In our study, we investigate the effectiveness of an online orientation course in…

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to present and compare collective efforts of higher education institutions working through regional networks in introducing and promoting education for sustainable development (ESD) and environmental education (EE) in two most significant EU boarder regions. Efforts to support EE/ESD in higher education are…

In 2007-8 the Australian Catholic University (ACU National), undertook a project to develop new resources to provide training and support in eLearning for staff and students. The project was undertaken by a multidisciplinary team drawn from all six campuses and was led by an externally contracted Project Manager/eLearning specialist. This…

Planners strive to develop the best programs and strategies to enhance student learning and advance their institutional mission while meeting their desired outcomes. This work, while rewarding, can be time intensive and demanding and developing new initiatives is not without risks. Some common reasons these efforts fail include: lack of buy-in…

This paper presents a brief overview of Qatar University's history since it was started in 1973. Its primary focus is on the various small, but important, steps taken by the University to address the needs of quality assurance and enhancement. The Qatar University Reform Plan is described in detail. Its aims are to continually improve the quality…

This document presents a speech delivered by Chancellor Bill Goertz at the meeting of the State Board of Higher Education last November 19, 2009. In his speech, Chancellor Goertz reports that: (1) according to a Delta Cost Project report, North Dakota ranked among the top five states in regard to market-based productivity; (2) the Midwest Higher…

Changes made by 41 institutions of higher education to improve the quality of teacher education are briefly reported in this news release, as examples of responses to the need to improve educational quality. In general, institutions are raising standards, changing their programs, offering faculty and staff development activities, developing…

The purpose of this planning project is to develop policies, plans, and procedures to improve higher education in Wisconsin. To achieve this goal, attention was concentrated in the following areas: (1) budget analysis, (2) fund disbursement, (3) distribution of costs among students, local, state, and federal governments, (4) projections of space…