The purpose of an academic advisory board is to provide feedback and recommendations to college representatives for an identified academic program or grouping of programs. It is a mechanism through which academic program representatives, typically faculty and program coordinators and/or department chairs, maintain consistent connection with…

Providing and using technical assistance for capacity building within educational agencies is a complex endeavor. The U.S. Department of Education funds technical assistance centers to support state education agencies (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs) in the capacity-building process. Established in 2018, the Center to Improve Social and…

The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) requested assistance from the Region 8 Comprehensive Center (Region 8 CC) to co-facilitate and design a Stakeholder Review Committee. This request is a component of the Indiana (IN) Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) and Social Emotional Learning Initiative (2020-R8-I-002 IN-02-Year2). The purpose of…

This paper reports on the findings of an international case study in which researchers examined two mathematics departments (Canada/UK) in which the sustained use of technology was strategically established in a mathematics degree program. This case study forms part of a larger research initiative which involved an extensive literature review…

This article describes the creation of the Master of Science of Computer Science and Information Systems at University of North Carolina Wilmington. The creation of this graduate degree was funded by the Sloan Foundation as a new type of program, the Professional Master's. The program was designed with significant industry input, and is truly…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate decision making in the Common Core State Standards Initiative as the change process moved from research, development and diffusion activities to adoption of the Common Core State Standards by the states. A decision-oriented evaluation model was used to describe the four stages of planning, structuring,…

Seattle University has an industrially sponsored, yearlong, senior design program that has been in existence for more than 20 years. Students work in teams of three or four under the guidance of a liaison from the sponsoring agency and a faculty advisor. The students prepare a proposal in the fall quarter detailing their plan and a design report…

In 1975, the departments of English, history, modern foreign languages, and philosophy at Frostburg State College (Maryland) cooperatively proposed a master of arts program in modern studies. A survey was conducted to assess reactions to the program proposal. Three populations were surveyed: (1) undergraduate English, history, and foreign language…

CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS ARE CONSIDERED TOGETHER AS A DYNAMIC SYSTEM MARKED BY GROWTH, CHANGE, AND MODIFICATION. DEVELOPING THE CONCEPT OF A SYSTEMS APPROACH, SEVEN BASIC DOCUMENTS UTILIZED IN THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS ARE RANKED ACCORDING TO SOURCE, THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR FORMULATION, AND PROVISIONS FOR CONTROL--(1) LAW, (2) BOARD…

Typical characteristics of program reviews, illustrations of to whom the reviews relate in a university setting, and conditions and expectations that may enhance the use of the results of program reviews are described in this report. It is argued that program reviews do not serve all levels of a university equally; the primary beneficiaries of the…

Factors reported to be important in the design, implementation, and evaluation of professional development programs for department chairs are described. Attention is also directed to results from a goal-focused evaluation of the 6-year-old program to train new department heads in the nine state universities of Florida, a program that is being…

A framework for strategic planning within academic departments is outlined. Elements include analyzing the strategic situation of all constituencies (department, institution, competitors, students, student employers), development of mission statement and departmental objectives, development of strategic market-target and curriculum options,…

This paper describes a faculty-designed program evaluation procedure established at Appalachian State University in North Carolina, focusing on the Communication Department. The assessment potential of this process is examined and, following an explication of the process itself and the Program Evaluation Committee (PEC) Report, the five elements…

An approach to cost analysis that begins in the department, the lowest organizational level, is discussed, using tables designed to outline the distribution of instructional staff resources and academic program characteristics such as enrollment, student characteristics, curricula requiring the course, and staff cost data, by course. (MSE)