Purpose: The common approaches to quality assurance (QA), as practiced by most post-secondary education institutions for internal quality monitoring and most QA authorities for external quality monitoring (EQM), have been considered by many researchers as having largely failed to address the essence of educational quality. The purpose of this…

This booklet is designed to help prospective students, counselors, public agencies, and institutions better understand distance education accreditation and how the accreditation procedures of the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) Accrediting Commission work. It describes distance education and the accreditation process for distance…

"IMHE-Info" is the newsletter published by the Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE) programme of OECD. This issue includes: (1) Tertiary Education for the Knowledge Society; (2) The Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (AHELO); and (3) City-Regions in Focus. Publications of interest, IMHE News, and a calendar…

Outcomes assessment as a form of quality control for trade and technical schools begins with a mission statement, goals and standards, and selection of measurement instruments. Means of assessment include placement and graduation rates; student and alumni surveys; tests of subject matter, basic skills, and cognitive skills; and advisory committee…

This reference guide for evaluation of school lunch training is a revision of a United States Department of Agriculture guide that was published in 1961. The guide is designed to help school administrators evaluate the training acquired by school lunch program personnel that is provided in training sessions for these persons. The booklet contains…

This document reports Stage 1 of a study of quality assurance in nonadvanced further education in England and Wales. Stage 1 involved: (1) an assessment of the influence of external agencies and national examining bodies via a review of published documents and interviews with key personnel; (2) an exploration of the expectations and perceptions of…

Through offering insight into different approaches to quality assurance, with input from those who provide leadership in post-secondary education in British Columbia and Canada, this project's goal is to recommend whether Canadian jurisdictions should consider a new quality assurance regime, and to provide potential new models to consider in that…

A project evaluated the quality assurance (QA) processes put in place by the English National Board from 1998. The Quality Assurance Framework (QAF) represented a shift of emphasis in audit activity from approval/validation of programs to continuous annual monitoring and review. The evaluation used a mixture of methods, including survey and case…

This paper seeks to provide a rationale for evaluating Technical and Further Education (TAFE) programs by using a management system approach that is based on corporate planning. The first section reviews the sources of increased demands for accountability in TAFE (societal, economic, government, and legislative sources) and examines various…

This document is designed to introduce practitioners in the United Kingdom's learning and skills sector to the principles and practice of benchmarking. The first section defines benchmarking and differentiates metric, diagnostic, and process benchmarking. The remainder of the booklet details the following steps of the benchmarking process: (1) get…

This self-assessment manual and its companion publication on preparing for accreditation explains how further education (FE) colleges throughout the United Kingdom can use self-assessment to achieve and document measurable improvements in their operation and services to increase their chances for accreditation. The following are among the topics…

This book presents a blueprint for using a quality assurance-based approach to planning and developing open and distance learning (ODL) courses in the United Kingdom. The following are among the specific topics discussed: (1) typical aims of ODL (opening access to education; responding to student needs; designing self-study materials; student…

This document is intended to guide further education colleges and work-based learning providers through some of the commonly used tools, techniques, and theories of quality management. The following are among the topics discussed: (1) various ways of defining quality; methods used by organizations to achieve quality (quality control, quality…

This document presents an overview of the systems and procedures in place for certifying vocational qualifications in the Netherlands. Chapter 1 describes the following components of the Dutch education system: primary and special education; first phase of secondary education; second phase of secondary education; higher education; adult education;…

This white paper outlines a proposed framework for post-16 learning in England. Chapter 1 discusses the principles underpinning the new policy, which are as follows: investing in learning to benefit everyone; lifting barriers to learning; putting people first; sharing responsibility with employers, employees, and the community; achieving world…