Purpose: This study investigates how the increased use of part-time and nontenure-track instructors may result in grade inflation. Design/methodology/approach: This research uses ten years of registrar data at a Midwest State (USA) institution to perform a multiple regression grade analysis. Findings: Evidence is found that part-time and…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a general review for USA and international academic faculty and administrators of the dominant themes and history of quality and assessment in both industry and Higher Education, and how they relate to each other in order to stimulate and encourage debate as well as influence policy.…

National policy agendas for quality assurance in higher education (HE) are increasingly influenced by supra-national trends and decisions. Taking Spain, Switzerland and The Netherlands as examples, the paper analyses how supranational trends are re-interpreted at the national level and how recently formulated national policies combine the demands…

There has been a substantial and potentially significant shift in the UK approach to quality in higher education in the last few years. In England, Wales and Scotland there has been a growing interest in quality enhancement to supplement existing frameworks for quality assurance. In the words of the Chief Executive of the Quality Assurance Agency…

One issue facing countries in transition concerns how to ensure quality for a broader and more diverse set of institutions. Quality assurance processes (i.e. accreditation, accountability and assessment) have particular relevance today as higher education undergoes dramatic changes in countries in transition, as the world becomes more…

This article introduces the agency theory to the field of higher education research. By applying agency theory to the inter-organisational relationship between government and higher education institutions, it is possible to illustrate general problems facing control and governance in a more theoretical and analytical way. The conceptual arsenal…

This paper attempts to explain how the German higher education system strategically used quality assurance, through the new system of accreditation, to offer globally recognisable degrees such as the Bachelor's (Bakkalaureaus) and Master's (Magister) degrees. We also discuss the types of effects that this strategy has produced on the current…

For more than 50 years, adolescent peer group treatment has been both glorified and criticized. Quality control has been a problem for the Positive Peer Culture (PPC) treatment modality throughout its history. The following article includes observations and commentary on the history, strength-based elements, and criticism of PPC.

There are a several lenses through which quality in higher education can be viewed. One views quality improvement at the macro or university level, another focuses at the micro or educational-delivery level. One sees quality assessment as an administrative "check-off", the other sees quality as a continuous improvement in educational delivery. One…

This paper considers the development of intermediary, or buffer, bodies dealing with quality assurance in higher education in Central and Eastern Europe over the past 10 years. It relates these developments to the context of communist-era centralisation and control, and to more recent interventions by international aid agencies. The lessons that…

Academics, although committed to quality in research and teaching, continue to resist quality assurance processes within their universities. This apparent paradox reflects a series of disputes surrounding issues of power, definition and efficacy. This article reports on a study of 30 academics from 10 Australian universities and details their…

Many educators choose to believe that learning to read and write is as natural as learning to listen and speak, even though scientifically based research does not support their belief. However, most educators (as well as the public) believe that most students must be taught mathematics to learn it. Moreover, there is a body of research evidence…

This brief identifies the features of high-quality after-school settings that have emerged from the research and are reflected in program quality tools. It also examines key research linking program quality to positive developmental outcomes; it reviews current practice in program quality assessment; and it offers considerations for policymakers…

The use of rigorous assessment in an Information Literacy program can be used to persuade reluctant faculty and administrators to buy into a program. A "culture of assessment" also assures quality control for internal and external audiences. Information Literacy at Wartburg College is unique in that it is a required component of five…

Prior to 1991, all higher education institutions in the Soviet Union were state institutions. There were some 900 higher educational institutions in 1990, including only 70 major universities, still referred to as VUZy, from the Russian "vysshee uchebnoe zavedenie". This acronym is popularly used to refer to all types of higher education…