Provides a review and critique of current institutional approaches to quality and offers suggestions for the enhancement of quality in the two-year college through self-assessment and program design encompassing inputs, outcomes, the educational process, and the integrality of these concepts. (AYC)

Reports on the methods and findings of a study to: (1) decide how to measure an institution's potential for change and its concomitant readiness to receive federal funds for improvement of instruction, and (2) to determine who should assess this potential--institutional representatives or outside evaluators. (AYC)

Discusses six elements necessary to effect change in a community college: the motivation to change, a vision of the future, knowledge of the institution's present status, a planning framework and process, adequate personnel and financial resources, and an evaluation/assessment mechanism. (DMM)

Defines institutional effectiveness concepts, including accountability, alignment, assessment, baseline, benchmark, change, compatibility, competency, cost control, cost efficiency, excellence, family measure, goal, indicator, institutional effectiveness, journal, key indicator, longitudinal data, measure, mission, norm, objective, outcome,…

Reports on a survey of community college faculty chairs and administrators to identify institutional initiatives to enhance student performance on the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST), assess faculty acceptance of and support for the CLAST mandate, and determine uses of aggregate CLAST scores in formative and summative evaluations. (DMM)

Defines critical academic skills that should be the hallmark of Kansas community college graduates, in anticipation of a legislative mandate for a common accountability measurement system. Presents five key critical competencies: oral and written communication skills, interpersonal and team skills, critical thinking and complex problem-solving…

Describes the methods and findings of a survey of current quality assessment practices in two-year colleges. Lists traditional quality measures and five approaches to assessing educational quality. Concludes that though many colleges are involved in formal quality assessment, there is limited agreement on definitions or measures of excellence.…

Reviews the reasons for conducting institutional assessments regardless of college size. Identifies the elements of institutional effectiveness and translates them into six questions with quantifiable answers, which when tallied produce an overall assessment of program effectiveness. (DMM)

Presents a model for assessing institutional effectiveness within the context of an accreditation self-study, drawing from the recent experiences of the Collin County Community College District (CCCCD). Reviews the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools' criteria for institutional effectiveness and the institutional research, organizational,…

Presents an overview of the 10 standards currently assessed under Tennessee's performance funding model for 2-year colleges. Provides findings from a study of performance funding coordinators' perceptions of the standards at 14 public 2-year institutions. Indicates that coordinators generally believed that the current model provides good measures…

Describes a study of 478 graduates from a community college to determine their self-assessment of improvement in general education competencies, their perceptions of the college's success at incorporating general education into its technical curricula, and the benefits and side effects of self-assessment as a strategy to determine general…