This paper outlines the preponderant approaches to external quality evaluation, including the purpose, focus, object, rationale, and methods of external evaluations. Accountability, compliance and, in some countries, control are much more frequent rationales for external monitoring than improvement. Research on the impact of quality monitoring is…

Quality system awards offer blueprints for assessing quality in vocational education as well as in business and industry. The three most prestigious awards recognizing quality improvement in business and industry are the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award, Deming Application Prize, and ISO 9000 Registration. When comparing standards for the quality…

This report of the Panel on Quality Improvement in Student Financial Aid Programs examines the quality control of federal student financial aid programs covered by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and offers recommendations calling for sweeping revisions of the present system. The report explores: (1) the quality control practices…

A study investigated the value of professional certification within the context of Massachusetts manufacturing companies with reported sales of at least $10 million but no more than $25 million. The specific certification evaluated was that of Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) as awarded by the American Production and…

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)

To maximize freedom from personal and political conflicts of interest, decentralized mechanisms of federal program evaluations are needed. Block grants mean that state legislatures and governors will become more responsible for oversight of funds. Three proposals are presented for helping the states deal with these increased evaluation…

Created in 1987 by the International Organization for Standardization, in Geneva, Switzerland, ISO 9000 is attempting to develop a world standard to help companies and other institutions measure and monitor their quality-control efforts. This article describes four school districts' successful efforts to secure ISO 9000 certification. (MLH)

This paper reports a recent national study by the Centre for the Study of Higher Education into contemporary practices in student assessment in Australian higher education and the issues of quality assurance facing the sector in the light of public speculation and concern about academic standards. A major issue emerging from the project is the…

This guide to self-evaluation and improvement builds upon the advice given in the publication "A Guide to Evaluating Services for Children and Young People Using Quality Indicators" (HMIE, 2006) (A summary of the quality indicators is reproduced in Appendix I). Local authorities, agencies and professionals who have responsibilities for…

This evaluation guide resulted from a 2-year project that conducted literacy audits at 10 manufacturing companies, assessed 3,291 workers, developed customized assessments and curricula, and provided 104 courses to 948 participants in the Chicago area. The guide is a hands-on resource to assist companies, unions, or educational agencies in setting…

The evaluation criteria and procedures described in this report were developed at the Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) for conducting audits of the college's programs, disciplines, and support services. Part I provides an introduction to the audit process, which involves the following steps: (1) identification of curricular areas to be…

The identification, validation, dissemination (IVD) process represents a quality control effort whose ultimate purpose is to validate and disseminate projects of proven educational quality and significance. The IVD and the Joint Dissemination Review Panel (JDRP) processes are complementary, although their procedures and criteria are distinct. JDRP…

Research at the United States Army Aviation School, Fort Rucker, Alabama, sought to improve the school-wide training quality control system. Investigators studied: 1) the relation between the grades a student received from instructors and those he received from a checkpilot; 2) the effect of checkpilots' prior information about students' progress…

GAO prepared this report under the Comptroller General's authority as part of an effort to assist policy makers in determining how federal disability programs could more effectively meet the needs of individuals with disabilities and addressed it to each committee of jurisdiction. In this report, GAO assesses: (1) the extent to which state…

The Higher Learning Commission (HLC), a commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), accredits Wyoming's seven community colleges. Institutional accreditation is a voluntary process that serves the critical purposes of quality assurance and institutional and program improvement. Colleges that are accredited by the HLC…