Accreditation in higher education institutions continues to be regarded as the seal of collegiate quality even while questions have been raised about its effectiveness and what the process accepts as evidence of improved student learning. As a result, many regional accrediting agencies are requiring higher education institutions to implement…

The Program Quality Criteria include ten components designed to help validate a comprehensive career and technical education (CTE) program. Upon a self review or third party review, any program may use this instrument to determine how the program has made progress in its development. The review instrument is not designed as an evaluation tool,…

A guide designed to assist any California community college in objective self-appraisal of its occupational education programs is presented. It is divided into two volumes. This volume provides the data necessary for an understanding of COPES, the procedures for its application, and time guidelines for scheduling its use. COPES is an acronym for…

As part of a project designed to identify appropriate and feasible methods of evaluating vocational education, this essay provides a perspective for evaluating vocational education in terms of outcomes. The first of four sections provides a rationale for studying educational outcomes. Section 2 focuses on the nature and meaning of outcomes and the…

Discusses ways program administrators can do a better job of justifying their curricula in light of high costs and limited enrollments. Describes procedures used at Community College of Philadelphia for assessing new programs (the comprehensive feasibility study) and determining the success of existing programs (the academic audit). (DMM)

A social learning model focusing on intrinsic outcomes of vocational programs is proposed. It would assess technical skills and knowledge, communication skills and literacy, and personal skills and attitudes. Instruments should be devised to measure characteristics of the learning setting, learner involved activities, and nature of consequences of…

Management by objectives process used as a system for writing end of year reports and evaluating occupational education programs. (SN)

Stakeholders in Taiwan's process for reviewing and approving senior vocational school (SVS) textbooks were surveyed to identify ways of improving the process. The questionnaire contained items examining respondents' demographic characteristics, their opinions of Taiwan's existing SVS textbook review and approval process, and suggestions for…

The COPES Subsystem for the handicapped attempts to improve the quality and availability of occupational education for the handicapped student who attends a California community college. The subsystem facilitates achievement of its purpose by: (1) providing easily administered procedures for studying aspects of occupational education related to…

This study examines recent manpower training evaluation studies to illustrate how local program managers can evaluate their programs for greater program effectiveness. An evaluation model was developed to assess the long-term impact of specific classroom and on-the-job training programs on selected participants. Guidelines for program planning are…

Excerpts of the NIE Vocational Education Study are presented. Areas covered include federal goals, distributing funds, special needs students, sex equity, improving planning, extending and improving programs, strengthening evaluations, and options for change. (CT)

This user-oriented evaluation handbook was prepared to assist State Advisory Councils on Vocational Education (SACVE) in their efforts to respond to various evaluation responsibilities prescribed in the 1976 Vocational Education Amendments. The contents of this handbook, which include basic steps in conducting a performance audit, are divided into…

A draft of untested instruments and procedures for evaluating vocational/technical education programs, intended for discussion and use in field tests, is presented. The guidelines, criteria, and evaluation methods presented are divided into two major categories--institutional form and program form. Items within each category are grouped under the…

The purpose of the COPES subsystem in consumer and homemaking education (CHE) is the improvement of the quality and availability of CHE programs and services for students of California community colleges. It achieves this purpose by: (1) providing easily administered procedures for studying CHE programs, (2) offering professional assistance in…