A quality management system is an essential and mandatory instrument for maritime higher education institutions mandated by the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers. To design an effective quality management system, it is strongly recommended to take the most comprehensive model of the…

Crowdsourcing is an emerging research area that has experienced rapid growth in the past few years. Although crowdsourcing has demonstrated its potential in numerous domains, several key challenges continue to hinder its application. One of the major challenges is quality control. How can crowdsourcing requesters effectively control the quality…

Evaluates the Swedish model of quality assurance of higher education by examining the response of institutions to 27 quality audits and 19 follow-up interviews. Discusses the relationship between top-down and bottom-up approaches to internal quality assurance and suggests that, with growing professionalization, more limited result-oriented audits…

The "Setting the scene" deliverable of the QMPP project (www.qmpp.net) has been authored by Mr. Ari-Matti Auvinen (HCI Productions Oy) and many QMPP project partners. In addition to the definition of the scope of the project, it includes also a good list of references to the literature of user-generated content as well as good web links…

The text's primary purpose is to influence the actions of local school leaders, and it argues that standards-based reform is as much about confronting strongly held beliefs and values about schooling as it is about creating standards, documents, and assessment tools. Examples of organizational learning activities designed to increase individual…

Governments, public funders of research and universities worldwide are increasingly recognising that improving the dissemination of research raises their research profile and contributes to national competitiveness. The traditional system of research publishing is inefficient, uncompetitive and restrictive. It limits access by researchers and…

This deliverable identifies key approaches for quality management in peer production by benchmarking peer production practices and processes in other areas. (Contains 29 footnotes, 13 figures and 2 tables.)[This report has been authored with contributions of: Kaisa Honkonen-Ratinen, Matti Auvinen, David Riley, Jose Pinzon, Thomas Fischer, Thomas…

These five working papers present the recommendations of the Australian Early Childhood Association (AECA) regarding accreditation for early childhood education programs in Australia. The papers, written in response to the Interim National Accreditation Council's (INAC) proposed accreditation model, are entitled: "A Suggested Framework for…

Cason and Cason's model of performance rating was used to determine the extent to which variation in reviewer standards affected the reliability and validity of the program review process used to select papers for inclusion in the annual program. Data analyzed were the overall recommendation for acceptance and ratings on seven quality criteria…

This report presents the results of the joint 2005-06 project of the Nordic Quality Assurance Network in Higher Education (NOQA). The project focused on the European standards and guidelines for quality assurance agencies, examining them in a Nordic perspective. The project aimed at interpreting and clarifying the European standards and guidelines…

In this paper the author assesses the state-of-the-art on quality assessment and monitoring of medical care and makes recommendations for needed research in this area. Following a brief introduction, the content is presented in two sections. The first, providing a frame of reference, covers definitions; quality assessment and program evaluation;…

Unlike traditional postsecondary education, continuing professional education (CPE) does not have a long-established system of legally recognized program providers coupled with a quality control mechanism of institutional and specialized accrediting bodies. Accrediting bodies are just beginning to insist on CPE quality standards comparable to…

This report summarizes the work of the Georgia Express project staff and the five task teams that provided research services to the Georgia Task Force on Adult Education. (The purpose of the Task Force was to review Georgia Adult Education's current goals, objectives, and procedures and to make recommendations for program improvement.) The report…

This bulletin provides descriptions of two of the most widely used business and industry quality models--the British Standards Institution system (BS5750) and Total Quality Management (TQM). The focus is on applications of the models in further education colleges. The first section clarifies what the term "quality" means, in general and…

This paper explores the issues surrounding quality in higher education and its necessary adaptation to the online world of educational delivery. A historical perspective on quality standards is presented, and characteristics of recent models for quality control are outlined. Quality-related issues in Walden University's (Minnesota) two new online,…