The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Improvement Act of 1987 created an annual quality award to promote quality awareness, recognize the quality achievements of U.S. businesses, and publicize successful quality strategies. The criteria used to determine winners of the award focus on the delivery of increasingly better value to customers and the…

This handbook outlines techniques and processes for improving institutional effectiveness and ensuring continuous quality improvement, based on strategic planning activities at Wisconsin's Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC). First, institutional effectiveness is defined and 17 core indicators of effectiveness developed by the Wisconsin…

In spring 1995, College of the Desert, in California, undertook a study to determine the perceptions of students at both its Copper Mountain and Palm Desert campuses regarding college services. A representative sample of students were administered a 7-point attitude scale (Student Satisfaction Survey developed by Noel-Levitz Centers, Inc.) both…

In February 1994, Antelope Valley College (AVC), in California, adopted a Student Equity Plan to determine the access and success of historically underrepresented students. As part of the Plan, AVC collected data on five student equity indicators: a comparison of ethnic group enrollment to representation in the service area, the ratio of courses…

This book addresses the issue of the appalling mismatch between what the economy needs and what the educational institutions actually provide. The book provides a blueprint for the radical reconstruction of schools, following many of the same principles that allowed some of the U.S. leading industrial organizations to rescue themselves from the…

The key to long-term institutional effectiveness is a comprehensive planning process that identifies a few vital goals that can be measured by an institution. Effective strategic planning involves five key elements: process-based planning, a systemic approach, integration with the budget process, an effective deployment process, and appropriate…

This report includes comprehensive goal, objective and indicator statement data; analysis of indicators; conclusions; and recommendations. Between 1990 and 1993, Florida's Pensacola Junior College (PJC) developed an assessment plan for institutional effectiveness that determined 53 goals, 145 objectives, and 238 indicators for the following 16…

In fall 1993 and in spring 1994, Florida's Pensacola Junior College (PJC) surveyed all Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, and certificate graduates, using the Two-Year College Form of the American College Testing (ACT) Student Opinion Survey. Information was sought regarding graduates' reasons for selecting PJC; ratings of PJC at the time of…

School-effectiveness and school-improvement researchers are increasingly looking to establish some kind of synergy between their respective fields; however, current attempts lack a clear understanding of organizations. School-effectiveness research tends to emphasize structural dimensions, while the focus in school-improvement work is on…

This guidebook offers strategies for creating a district context that is conducive to initiating and sustaining school improvement. Designed to provide resources for those working at school district level, the five stages of the school-improvement process are based on effective-schools research--organize, focus, analyze, develop, and…

Determining how to monitor and enhance school effectiveness is one of the major concerns in current education reforms in different areas of the world. This paper describes the existing conceptual and practical possibilities and dilemmas in developing a framework for monitoring school effectiveness. The paper identifies the different types of…

This booklet is the third in a series of profiles of "what works" at high schools in the High Schools that Work program. It contains 42 outstanding practices descriptions arranged in categories representing the key practices of the High Schools that Work program: (1) redesigning and refocusing vocational studies; (2) developing a high…

Many educational reforms that have focused on fragmentary improvement and remedial treatment did not lead to long-term effectiveness. This paper examines a new direction for educational reforms in Hong Kong and other international contexts. The new direction should include the following 10 tendencies: (1) toward multiple school functions from…

In December 1995, Florida's Saint Petersburg Junior College undertook a study of graduates from 1994-95 to obtain information on their current activities, determine their satisfaction with programs and services, and obtain data to supplement college reports. Of the 2,612 completers from 1994-95, 1,410 completed surveys. Study findings included the…

America's ability to compete, its democratic system, and the future of its children depend upon all children achieving educational success. The Business Roundtable (BRT), representing some 200 corporations, believes that systemic changes are needed to realize essential educational goals. The new educational system advocated by BRT is committed to…