Promoting inclusive and equitable postsecondary learning environments is a global priority Postsecondary institutions, particularly community colleges' career and technical education (CTE) programs, are increasingly held accountable for achieving education-related sustainable development goals (SDGs) and are expected to provide knowledge of the…

In Portugal, the agency for assessment and accreditation of higher education has recently included in its remit, beyond programme accreditation, the certification of internal quality assurance systems. This implies lighter touch accreditation and aims to direct institutions towards improvement, in addition to accountability. Twelve institutions…

As participation in online learning continues to expand, higher education institutions must implement policies and procedures to ensure quality at the course, program, and institution levels. In this paper, the authors describe a process that the State University of New York (SUNY) System implemented, utilizing the OLC Quality Scorecard, to help…

Successful colleges require effective leadership and governance. Effective governing boards are comprised of trustees who are committed to excellence in performing their duties. How do governing boards assure they are effective? One way is through ongoing board and trustee education and development, to provide the skills necessary to govern well.…

This white paper describes the construct validation of the Community College Instructional Development Inventory (CC-IDI). The CC-IDI is an institutional assessment tool designed to inform professional development programming for instructional faculty. The instrument was developed to serve as a standardized assessment tool to determine the…

California community colleges have been inconsistent in their efforts to meet the program review and planning accreditation standards established by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC). To assist colleges in their effort to meet the accreditation standards and to improve educational quality, the ACCJC developed the…

For colleges seeking to improve student outcomes, new technologies often appear to hold the promise of transformative change. Across the country, colleges are using technological tools to enhance reform efforts related to how they teach, how they provide supports to students, and how they guide students through programs of study. In order for…

Faculty and staff in Taiwanese technical colleges are required to perform school self-evaluations. Most members of technical colleges come from postsecondary schools and are thus unfamiliar with school self-evaluation procedures. An effective school self-evaluation involves a complete ECB, making it necessary to build faculty and staff evaluation…

The literature describes various approaches that community colleges use to achieve institutional effectiveness; however there is no information about how Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) go about this process. The purpose of this article is to review some principles and processes of accountability and to describe the strategic review and…

This article presents the author's response to "How Do We See What We See? Pedagogical Lacunae and Their Pitfalls in the Classroom" by Jennifer A. Rich. McKinney describes how she tweaked a rhetorical analysis assignment to have it produce more summary, description and response. She stresses that teachers can create a more rhetorically viable…

In 2007 the faculty at Miami Dade College joined the student body in signing a covenant "to build a foundation for the success of future students." The event capped a two-year effort on the part of the faculty to articulate the foundations of a 21st-century college education and codify them into 10 clear statements. However, creating a…

"Characteristics of Excellence in Undergraduate Research" ("COEUR") is based on the collective experience, over many years, of Council on Undergraduate Research members who have engaged undergraduate students in research, developed undergraduate research programs, mentored new faculty to include undergraduate research in their…

The six regional accrediting agencies in the United States have created a set of standards based on best practices in colleges and universities. The evolving perception of an effective institution is one that uses data, assessment, and evaluation results to improve programs and services and strives for a high level of institutional quality. While…

The purpose of this article is to identify key ways in which program review provides information and documentation demonstrating that a community college is effective. This is accomplished through both the program review process (the means by which reviews are conducted) and the product (program review reports and supporting evidence). The various…

In this essay, the authors chronicle the overhauling of their English department's rubric design, curriculum, and portfolio in order to emphasize a wider range of "real-world" writing. The authors share that in the process of their overhaul, they redefined their identity--how they thought of themselves and how they wanted to approach…