Concerns surrounding subscore use, which have traditionally been examined in large-scale educational testing programs (e.g., SAT, GRE)--namely, that "information obtained from subscores that seems intuitively useful may not contain additional information over and above the total score" (p. 2)--have been argued to apply equally to…

College rankings dominate the conversation regarding quality in postsecondary education. However, the criteria used to rank institutions often have nothing to do with the quality of education students receive. A decade ago, Pike (2004) demonstrated that institutional rank had little association with student involvement in educational activities.…

This paper reviews issues about quality including the United Kingdom government's statements (White Papers of 2011 and 2016) and the development of audits. Institutional educational policies could provide the basis for quality enhancement centred around the White Papers. The development of a 'quality framework' or schema for the production of…

This research explores the attainment of learning outcomes of first year seminar participants through institutional assessment and programmatic assessments methods. This research compared the lived experiences of first year seminar participants to their perceptions of leaning gains captured by the National Survey of Student Engagement. The study…

A growing number of college and university leaders believe that "U.S. News & World Report" college rankings can be misleading gauges of institutional effectiveness and do not adequately serve the interests of prospective students. Heading a list of specific presidential concerns are that the rankings "imply a false precision and…

Institutional Effectiveness is a process in which an Institution demonstrates its success in accomplishing its mission and meeting its goals. The Institutional Effectiveness process requires the University to establish outcomes based on its mission. Faculty and administrators align the University mission statement to academic programs and…

Discusses how colleges are praising the new National Survey of Student Engagement, but insist that institutional scores be kept private. (EV)