The paper explores international comparisons of the extent of commonality or diversity in the main national external quality assurance frameworks for higher education. It has been suggested, from an European survey, that there are common features in national quality assurance frameworks (van Vught and Westerheijden (Quality Management and Quality…

Integration of technology in all forms of education has narrowed down the gap between the on- and off-campus students and has resulted in the use of the more broad-based term "distributed learning". Consequently, distance learning is seen as a subset of distributed learning, focusing on students who may be separated in time and space from their…

The educational history of the Sultanate of Oman has undergone rapid development. In 1970, there were three primary schools. Today, there is universal education, with modern public and private institutions. In 1985, the first teacher education institutions offered a diploma programme. In 1994, six Colleges of Education, offering a degree, were…

Although the world is changing, quality management remains an area of relative calm. Many institutions continue to use elaborated versions of a model that is developed by the Council of Academic Awards and conceived at a time when higher education was not so exposed to market forces, when the policy and regulatory environment was relatively…

Robert Birnbaum argues that higher education tends to adopt management fads -- newly conceived techniques enjoying brief popularity but which fail to live up to their promoters claims at the point when the corporate sector and government are discarding them. Although fads may have failed in these sectors because of various reasons, their failure…

This article provides a comparative analysis of the systems used for the "accreditation" of degree-granting institutions in the USA (accreditation) and the UK (audit). The authors begin by outlining the similarities and differences between the two processes. They point out that audit is not the subject of political controversy in the way…

Over the last two decades, reforms to initial teacher education in England have formalised the partnership agreements between universities and partner schools, and increased the emphasis on quality assurance of the system. These changes are discussed within the context the University of Nottingham Partnership and in relation to the role of its…

Purpose: To develop a method for benchmarking teaching and learning in response to an institutional need to validate a new program in Dentistry at the University of Sydney, Australia. Design/methodology/approach: After a collaborative partner, University of Adelaide, was identified, the areas of teaching and learning to be benchmarked, PBL…

Purpose: To provide educationalists with an understanding of the key quality issues relating to multiple-choice tests, and a set of guidelines for the quality assurance of such tests. Design/methodology/approach: The discussion of quality issues is structured to reflect the order in which those issues naturally arise. It covers the design of…

Purpose: The United Kingdom (UK) has recently published secondary education value added measures. This paper examines whether the approach used could also offer a possible method for measuring value added in higher education (HE). Design/methodology/approach: Previous attempts to measure HE value added in the UK, such as comparative value added…

Purpose: To analyze the main elements of continuous improvement (CI) in higher education and the concerns of academia's stakeholders in the implementation of such an approach. Suggests guidelines for the development of a culture more receptive to the implementation and maintenance of a CI approach in higher education. Design/methodology/approach:…

Purpose: To consider the shortcomings and strengths of the subject review process with a view to identifying criteria that might be used to assess the value of externally administered quality assurance processes in higher education. Design/methodology/approach: Use is made of material from a variety of secondary sources blended with personal…

This article addresses frequently asked questions about two new policies: a five-year term for NAEYC Accreditation and a 15-day window for validation visits, with 24 hours advance notice. How the five-year policy applies to a program seeking NAEYC Accreditation depends on the program's status in the accreditation process.

This article examines parallel developments in the fields of quality assurance in higher education and in environmental policy. Starting from empirically grounded analytical frameworks for the two fields separately, Fischer's framework of policy argumentation is overlaid on both to gain deeper understanding of underlying similarities and…

The European dimension in quality assurance grows and glows. In this article, we try to relate the European objectives, as stated in the various European initiatives, to the national quality assurance systems of The Netherlands and Denmark. This will be done by looking closer at the objectives regarding quality assurance and internationalisation,…