This document analyzes the inspection reports of the five further education (FE) colleges in Britain that have achieved a grade of 1 for quality assurance (QA), identifies key lessons for the improvement of programs in other FE colleges, and refers to helpful FE publications. The five colleges consisted of two general FE colleges, one sixth-form…

This document discusses the importance of maintaining the quality of DACUM (Developing a Curriculum) occupational analyses and presents a 2-page checklist detailing DACUM quality performance criteria. The introduction to the checklist discusses various "infractions" discovered during an analyses of some curriculum/program developers'…

This document, which is designed for individuals responsible for curriculum development and delivery at further education (FE) colleges in Britain, offers guidance on curriculum planning, implementation, and evaluation and contains an instrument for monitoring quality throughout the curriculum change process. The first half of the document details…

This report draws on the first two years' experience, findings, and research of the seven strands of the Raising Quality and Achievement (RQA) Program to draw general conclusions about issues being addressed, progress made, and challenges remaining for colleges in the United Kingdom. It defines quality and achievement, describes the national…

This paper provides an introduction to a particular systems-theoretical approach to problem-solving in the management of education usually referred to as soft-systems methodology (SSM), developed by Peter Checkland in the 1970s. SSM should provide a powerful tool for managers in education at any level who have a strategic role because it can be…

The United States Department of Education (ED), Office of Inspector General (OIG), describes in its semiannual report its provisions for audit, investigation, fraud detection and prevention, as well as other activities. The first section reviews management improvement and preventive activities including recommended changes to legislation and…

This packet contains resources and guidelines for developing General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs) for further education programs in Britain. The materials are designed to be used flexibly to determine strategies or define priorities, aid problem solving in developing systems for GNVQs, audit and review existing systems, and provide…

This document has two parts: (1) course outlines and unit lesson plans for 10 vocational courses; and (2) course descriptions. competencies, and topical outlines for 7 courses in a quality assurance curriculum. In the first part, outlines and unit lesson plans are provided for the following courses: standards and specifications, materials, basic…

This brief report summarizes a longer document with the same title. Many colleges and universities, in responding to public demand for higher education and the external challenges it creates, are employing Total Quality Management (TQM) techniques to improve quality, increase productivity, and decrease cost. The quality improvement process itself…

Defining and developing a quality control technician curriculum for an associate degree program is a difficult and puzzling job. There are as many definitions of quality control and curriculum ideas as there are educators asked. However, one could start by dividing the field into its major areas--heavy manufacturing, maintenance, research, and…

The philosophies of adult education and Total Quality Management (TQM) are compared, and it is proposed that their combination can result in a powerful educational tool. A case study illustrating the merging of TQM and adult education principles in a community college business curriculum is presented. Strategies for making adult learning a more…

This booklet is designed to assist General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQ) coordinators, National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) coordinators, staff development managers, enterprise unit managers, and assessor training coordinators in ensuring that sufficient numbers of staff members at British further education colleges are trained and…

This document explains the Youth Training Scheme (YTS) in Great Britain. It is intended for YTS managers, coordinators, and tutors but may also be useful to curriculum and staff developers at colleges and training organizations. The manual begins with an introduction that gives the background and rational for the YTS, and it ends with a 60-item…

This bulletin provides descriptions of two of the most widely used business and industry quality models--the British Standards Institution system (BS5750) and Total Quality Management (TQM). The focus is on applications of the models in further education colleges. The first section clarifies what the term "quality" means, in general and…

This trainer's guide is intended to assist supervisors of work-based career training projects in helping students learn all aspects of the inspection process in manufacturing. The guide is one in a series of core curriculum modules that is intended for use in combination on- and off-the-job programs to familiarize youth with the skills, knowledge,…