Purpose: This paper is the first part of a comprehensive report about a research study that aims to assess the relationship between the university experience and student outcomes as a means of determining a university's success in meeting its educational goals. Design/methodology/approach: It focuses on the research methodology deployed.…

Purpose: Despite the abundance of research on quality management there is no universal consensus on how best to measure quality in higher education. This paper undertakes a critical evaluation of the different methods used to assess the quality of provision in higher education departments in the UK. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on relevant…

Purpose: To provide a view of quality in accounting education from the perspective of a critical stakeholder group--academic accountants. The identification of this view adds to the growing discussions around quality, and how it is assured in higher education. Design/methodology/approach: Applying a framework for defining quality in higher…

In recent years, numerous studies in the field of service quality have been carried out. However, relatively few studies have addressed the specific context of higher education. The purpose of this study has been to examine what dimensions constitute quality in higher education and to compare these with the dimensions of quality that have been…

Higher education in Flanders has seen some major changes in the 1990s. One of the key elements of the new higher education regulations was the quality assessment system. This exemplified best the government's policy of granting all institutions of higher education autonomy, making them responsible for their policies, while still keeping the…

Feedback from students can inform improvement in higher education institutions and be part of the students' role in university management. To be effective it is important to"close the loop": from student views, through identifying issues and delegating responsibility for action, to informing students of the action resulting from their expressed…

This study identifies the responsibilities of the bodies and institutions involved in the implementation of the Bologna Process. They include the levels of Europe, nations, higher education institutions, departments, degree programmes, teachers and students. The future planning is analysed using the Balanced Scorecard approach designed for the…

This paper contains a consideration of the nature and role of warrants for research conclusions in educational research. The paper argues the need for an explicit warrant in the form of a logical and persuasive link between the evidence produced and the conclusions drawn (with appropriate qualifications and caveats). It describes social scientific…

The contradiction between equity and efficiency is an important issue common to the development of higher education worldwide as well as a problem that many thinkers, politicians, pedagogues, sociologists, and economists, both past and present and in China and abroad attempted to solve. There is an abundance of expositions on equity and efficiency…

Most policymakers, charter school operators, and others immersed in the charter school movement since it began in the early 1990s have focused their attention primarily on charter schools, not on the public bodies that license these schools to operate. As the charter school movement has grown, there has been increasing recognition that effective…

Quality is fast becoming a policy priority in states and localities around the country. As a result, formal and informal networks of youth organizations are seeking and developing strategies to help them assess and improve performance. This report takes a close look at efforts underway in three networks and provides a preliminary framework for…

Purpose: The study seeks to examine the relationship between the implementation of the ISO 9000 quality management system and educational outcomes of schools, measured by student achievement on the state-mandated tests and school attendance rates--graduation rates, in the case of high schools. Design/methodology/approach: The study was conducted…

Open Source Software (OSS) has introduced a new dimension in software community. As the development and use of OSS becomes prominent, the question of its integration in education arises. In this paper, the following practices fundamental to projects and processes in software engineering are examined from an OSS perspective: project management;…

Recent evaluations and research syntheses of afterschool programs rated as high quality show they are associated with increases in student achievement and other positive socio-behavioral outcomes (Lauer et al., 2006; Vandell, Reisner, & Pierce, 2007). Those examinations provide a springboard for the next much-needed area of…

This article introduces the issue of articles on research assessments and rankings. It focuses on the British Research Assessment Exercises (RAEs) and New Zealand's Performance Based Research Fund (PBRF). It contrasts these with systems that are not tied to funding formulas and emphasise quality enhancement rather than quality assurance. It…