Each of the Total Quality Management principles used in industry can be appropriately and usefully applied in a college or university, with some change in vocabulary and emphases. Institutions will find the method helpful in competition for students, controlling costs, and answering demands for accountability. (MSE)

Describes an approximate document ranking process that uses a compact array of in-memory, low-precision approximations for document length. Combined with another rule for reducing the memory required by partial similarity accumulators, the approximation heuristic allows the ranking of large document collections using less than one byte of memory…

Before higher education proceeds further with its use of the Total Quality Management (TQM) approach, it should examine TQM mistakes and accomplishments by previous users in the business sector, then create its own model for appropriate and effective TQM application. (MSE)

At the University of Pennsylvania, Total Quality Management (TQM) principles were applied to its financial functions to ensure timely recovery of sponsored research funding and reduce research account overdrafts. TQM implementation both saved money and highlighted how important careful formation of the quality improvement team is. (MSE)

Describes types of cooperation which allow publishers, electronic companies, and software developers to share expertise and resources while developing hypermedia. Highlights include (S)GML (Standard Generalized Markup Language); producing hypermedia; authoring; and steps in the development of hypermedia, including database management systems.…

In a study of the utility of classroom assessment techniques (CATs) for improving quality of college instruction, ten instructors were trained in CAT use, implemented those techniques, and discussed experiences with other faculty. Faculty found CATs particularly helpful in certain areas of instruction and planned further use. Students also…

A top aide to Vice President Gore has been chosen to lead the U.S. Department of Education's effort to modernize delivery of financial aid to students and colleges. His office is the first federal government entity to be run as a "performance-based organization." Some fear he may politicize the office that lawmakers specified be led by a…

A national survey of college and university chief research officers conducted in July 1996 provided comparative data concerning the characteristics of research administration in a modern institution, including funding levels and sources, facilities and staff resources, and other program information. Data are grouped by institution type and sector.…

Discussion of the introduction of quality assurance into Spanish universities gives a brief recent history of the university system, describes first experiences in quality assessment during the 1990s and their results, and explains the structure and outcomes of the 1995 institutionalization of a national program for institutional evaluation.…

Entrepreneurial universities (nontraditional institutions that provide instructional services in alternative formats at multiple locations) face a variety of challenges as they attempt to incorporate quality assurance and improvement strategies. The development of these institutions; the resistance they face within academe; and the processes they…

Universities are "organized anarchies," with individual colleges and even departments pursuing independent objectives. The institutions themselves contribute to this organizational anarchy and to their own disintegration in how they organize themselves with regard to budget, in the incentives they give to colleges to raise their own funds, and in…

Residential treatment centers have faced many changes as the involvement of managed care has led to reduced lengths of stay and increases in the severity of problems treated at this level of care. This paper discusses the development of a new theoretical framework that combines social learning theory with the research on resilience to create a…

Under Deputy Secretary of Education Michael Golden's leadership, Pennsylvania has made great strides over the last two years developing useful informational tools to assist the Commonwealth's many school districts. While the School District of Philadelphia, along with the other districts, has worked collaboratively with the Commonwealth in this…

We developed web-based modules addressing fundamental concepts of introductory biology delivered through the LON-CAPA course management system. These modules were designed and used to supplement large, lecture-based introductory biology classes. Incorporating educational principles and the strength of web-based instructional technology, choices…

Performance support systems can play an important role in corporations by managing and allowing distribution of information more easily. These systems run the gamut from simple paper job aids to sophisticated computer- and web-based software applications that support the entire corporate supply chain. According to Gery (1991), a performance…