The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) is a specialized accrediting body created by the American Counseling Association (ACA) and its membership divisions to provide a nationally based standards review process for the counseling profession's graduate level preparation programs. Accreditation of…

A preview is given of ASHE-ERIC report no. 7 which focuses on commuting students at colleges and universities and how institutions of higher education can begin to respond to these students' special circumstances that are greatly affecting their educational experience. The diversity of commuter students and their educational goals requires the use…

The heightened interest in college program review is traced to a widespread interest in improving educational quality and the need to respond creatively to financial constraints and external expectations for accountability. Current program reviews have also been designed to aid in decision making about resource reallocation and program…

In examining current practices and issues in the accreditation of schools of education, this digest first lists the agencies responsible for accreditation--governmental, professional, and regional. A description is given of the accreditation process in California which includes four procedures that might be applied to any teacher education…

The essays in this collection argue that community colleges have much to gain by seeking out and maintaining positive recognition of the features that distinguish them from other colleges in the region and state. In addition, the sourcebook contains articles discussing the process of conducting a search for institutional distinctiveness and ways…

This digest discusses the development and implementation of performance indicators in higher education, focusing on the factors driving increased demand for accountability in higher education and the use of performance indicators. It discusses the public and political concern for increased emphasis on undergraduate education, productivity,…

Several major studies have identified student commuters as being at particularly high risk for attrition from higher educational institutions. This report reviews the knowledge that exists about students-as-commuters in depth. Among the implications for educational policy makers is the need for commuter institutions to provide opportunities to…

The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) was organized in 1981 as the accrediting agency responsible for reviewing and evaluating counseling and student affairs practice in higher education programs against a set of nationally recognized standards. The CACREP accreditation process incorporates a pattern…

This volume addresses the efforts in several states, including California, Florida, North Carolina, and Washington, to determine the economic gains of community college graduates by measuring their post-college earnings. Articles include: (1) "Economic Benefits of a Community College Education: Issues of Accountability and Performance Measures"…

Institutional self-study is an appropriate method for determining quality and demonstrating accountability which can lead to academic and administrative excellence. With a trend toward state and federal government involvement in higher education, colleges will do well to conduct internal program assessments in order to maintain control. A…

Community colleges generally conduct little research. Further, there is no generally accepted national research agenda for community colleges, no consistently funded national agency charged with studying the institutions as unique entities, and few educational researchers directing their attention toward them. The research that is undertaken on…

The strengths and weaknesses of the traditional external quality controls exerted by government and accrediting bodies to monitor colleges and universities are examined, along with the importance of institutional self-regulation. Government involvement in American higher education is traced historically, showing that until recently the oversight…

Professional evaluation of career counseling programs is becoming increasingly important as funding becomes more limited and accountability more pervasive. This digest describes a Canadian approach used by an outside team to evaluate seven small career counseling programs. Evaluators addressed two basic goals: appraise the effectiveness and…

Purposes for academic program review and diverse institutional approaches to college program review are considered, along with possible outcomes and ways to improve program review. Attention is directed to program review practices at 30 representatives institutions. As background, predominant types of program review over the past 15 years levels…

The amount of literature on program evaluation decreased in 1996, continuing a trend begun in the late 1980s. One exception to this is the literature on assessment. Another frequent issue is the technique of evaluation. Many examples of research on evaluation are from international settings, where accountability and evaluation appear to be…