The evaluation of educational or social programmes is paramount for establishing success or impact in higher education. Evaluation questions about programme goals (e.g. better performance of first-year students) or about the quality of programme strategies (design and implementation) and effectiveness of delivery (coordinator inputs and…

Attention shifted in recent years from design and implementation to use and usefulness of quality assurance. Scientific studies focus increasingly on quality assurance's impact on curricula and individual teachers. Which factors influence follow-up activities and what is their relation to improvement of education? One factor that we single out is…

Discussion of the benefits and drawbacks of distance education and online instruction in higher education focuses on quality control. Topics include quality of product, of learning, and of technology; student prerequisites; instructional design; faculty support systems; and program design, including professional development versus academic degree…

A systems approach that stresses functional relationships among persons and units and examines transactions and processes provides a useful foundation for understanding, assessing, and improving academic advising. Implications of this approach in college advising for fostering system quality and meeting the institution's mission are examined. (MSE)

Documents the approach and the design decisions taken during the establishment of a quality system for teaching activities in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Leeds. Describes the motivations for performing the work, how it was organized and resourced, the approach adopted, and the impact of the Higher Education…

Quality Function Deployment, a set of concepts and tools used in manufacturing engineering to link consumer needs with product design, can also improve academic advising systems and processes. The technique promotes structured, logical examination of students' advising needs and their relationship to advising system design, processes, methods,…

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education's accreditation standard requires that teacher education programs be based on essential knowledge. This article describes five attributes of a knowledge base for program design as a set of beliefs; an organizing theme; source documents; a program model; and program outcomes and evaluation…

The key concepts and methodologies of quality assurance programs used in health service delivery systems are reviewed, and it is suggested they could be readily applied to Canadian universities as a powerful administrative and curricular development tool that would define and enhance the quality of students' educational experiences. (Author/MSE)

Discussion of the introduction of quality assurance into Spanish universities gives a brief recent history of the university system, describes first experiences in quality assessment during the 1990s and their results, and explains the structure and outcomes of the 1995 institutionalization of a national program for institutional evaluation.…

Discusses the role of educational development units (EDUs), which support improvement of teaching in Australian universities, focusing on the tension between the individual faculty consultation function and the unit's role at an institutional level. Suggests these two levels of action should be considered complementary and necessary. Describes…

A preliminary design for a quality control (QC) system for the Pell Grant Program is proposed, based on the needs of the Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA). The applicability of the general design for other student aid programs administered by OSFA is also considered. The following steps included in a strategic approach to QC system…

The University of Maryland Dental School's revised predoctoral general practice program includes a clinical component simulating actual practice, including patient, personnel and office management, team-building, marketing, specialist referrals, and quality control. The program is described and patient, student, and faculty responses to it are…

The Veterans' Administration new Primary Ambulatory Care and Education (PACE) program at the Sepulveda (California) VA Medical Center, departs from traditional VA medical education models by shifting focus of care from inpatient to outpatient settings. The program uses an interdisciplinary team approach and stresses managed primary care. Aspects…

This study investigated the status of instruction in cultures and languages other than English in Queensland, Australia in preparation for development of comprehensive and coherent public policies for the field. The report addresses the following topics: the policy development process (project background and the nature of language education…