This article seeks to nuance arguments about the impact of broad policy technologies of auditing processes upon teachers' practices by providing empirical evidence of the effects of such processes, in context. Specifically, the article draws upon a cross section of teachers' accounts of schooling practices in a specialist, academically oriented…

This article is about student engagement and in particular the engagement of students in internal institutional quality assurance processes in the UK. It discusses the extent to which the introduction of more explicit internal and external quality assurance processes militate against the notion of the student as a part of a "cohesive learning…

The Shanghai Education Evaluation Institute (SEEI), expanding from the Shanghai Evaluation Institute for Higher Education first established in 1996, is an institution under the management of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission. Among the provincial education evaluation agencies in China, it is by far the largest in terms of its scale and…

Operating a quality assurance system in tertiary education is the rule rather than the exception, because of the belief that it will improve quality. However, proving this is not easy. This study examines three ways of providing the evidence: the a "priori" method, the stepwise backtracking method, and the external evaluation method. The…

A framework is described to assist institutions in evaluating the extent to which activities described as "quality improvements" or "quality enhancements" are likely to directly improve the student experience. The framework classifies ways of improving the student experience into "coaching improvements",…

This paper offers a fresh look at measurement-based assessment of learning at university level. The paper draws on a rich literature that informs what quality entails for our universities. The quality assessment measurement (QAM) scale used has been designed centering on six set of competency parameters: resources, teaching and learning, research,…

Purpose: This paper reports on an empirical study exploring the way in which campus-based higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UK apply their internal quality assurance and enhancement (QA/QE) procedures to their e-learning courses. The purpose of this paper is to identify those characteristics of e-learning courses which affected the…

Purpose: This paper aims to compare the ways in which a range of quality frameworks have been validated and to identify a number of factors that have an impact on validation processes. Design/methodology/approach: Seven examples of published quality frameworks applicable to the field of e-learning are described and the methods used to validate…

This article outlines a methodology for characterising features of programme-level assessment environments so that the relationship between features of the assessment environment and students' learning response can be studied. The methodology was developed through the detailed case study of nine undergraduate degree programmes: one in each of…

Purpose: This paper aims to show the process of designing and measuring learning competencies in program development. Design/methodology/approach: The paper includes cross-sectoral comparisons to draw on programmatic and pedagogical strategies, more commonly utilized in vocational education, and transfer the application of these strategies into…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study the EFQM model self-assessment in a Spanish university. Design/methodology/approach: A case study methodology is used based on five services provided by a public university in Spain. Findings: The findings show the steps that one university can follow in order to apply this exercise in a successful…

Quality is fast becoming a policy priority in states and localities around the country. As a result, formal and informal networks of youth organizations are seeking and developing strategies to help them assess and improve performance. This report takes a close look at efforts underway in three networks and provides a preliminary framework for…

Recent literature on academic program review or evaluation is reviewed, including case study reports of ways in which systematic reviews of programs have been designed and carried out at selected colleges. Attention is given to procedures that have been used or suggested for collecting information. (MLW)

The initial implementation of the Total Quality Management approach by 10 Boston-area (Massachusetts) institutions is summarized. The institutions include Babson College, Bentley College, Boston College, Boston University, Lesley College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University, University of Massachusetts at Boston, Wentworth…

Three university programs of continuous quality improvement, based on the Total Quality Management approach, are described. The institutions are the Georgia Institute of Technology; Pennsylvania State University; and University of Maryland at College Park. The report attempts to look beyond the mechanics of the programs to discover what is being…