Effective internal evaluation requires dependable data for decision makers. Influences on clinical and fiscal data dependability are discussed. The focus is on organizational influences, data quality control, and staff concerns. (Author/PN)

Despite the fact that funding for Title I continues to grow, and the program is now the major funding arm of "No Child Left Behind", the research reported here indicates that funds are not always spent in a way likely to accomplish the purposes of the legislation. In most urban districts a systematic bias is built into the district allocation…

Board members are accustomed to looking after the financial health of their institutions by reviewing budgets, revenue projections, capital needs, or the approval of specific expenditures. At many institutions the board only rarely gets to look directly at the heart of the academic enterprise: the quality of teaching and learning. However, growing…

This guide is aimed at lecturers and tutors providing higher education courses at further education colleges in England. It contains good practice guidelines with examples from more than 50 institutions, information requested by colleges, and suggestions. A companion volume for senior managers addresses policy issues and prospects for higher…

This "IssueTrak" discusses how facility planners and managers need an assortment of instruments in their toolbox so that they are able to select the best and most appropriate device for each project. A relatively new tool that should be at the disposal of all educational facility managers and planners is the construction delivery system of Job…

This discussion forum focused on Edison Schools and their new business initiative, Edison Affiliates. The forum included two vice presidents of Edison and the president and chief operating officer of Edison Schools. The first speaker explained that Edison Schools operates 150 schools with about 82,000 students nationwide. They constitute the 35th…

This document consists of five fact sheets from the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. The first fact sheet, Overview of Accreditation, provides information on the numbers of accredited institutions of higher learning in the United States and the types and numbers of accrediting organizations. The fact sheet also discusses the purposes of…

This monograph describes program models as having a program quality support component and three chronological program components: entrance into a program, participation in a program, and re-engagement in learning. The four components that make up a program model are defined by principles. A principle describes a guiding assumption about how to…

Conducted by the Pennsylvania Office of Children, Youth and Families, this study compared findings of unannounced and announced licensing inspections of child care centers and homes. A statewide random sample of 377 child care centers and homes were selected to be reviewed through an unannounced inspection. All had been inspected within the…

The advent of advisory councils presents a promising opportunity for schools to maximize a largely untapped resource for increased educational effectiveness. This modular training guide, which supplements "Developing Quality Schools: A Handbook," shows practitioners how to set the context for and apply the consensus decision-making…

This report describes the methods and procedures used for the 1999 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF:99). As did the first 2 cycles of this survey, NSOPF:99 serves the continuing need for data on faculty and other instructional personnel. NSOPF:99 used a sample of 960 institutions and 28,576 full- and part-time faculty employed at…

In their search for new ways to assess their agencies' success in working with children and families, child welfare administrators and senior managers are increasingly seeking regular and reliable sources of information that help them evaluate agency performance, make ongoing decisions, and provide an accurate picture for agency staff and external…

This case study evaluated the development, partial implementation, and review of an institutional and operational approach to quality management that was developed, during a decade of radical political change, at the University of the Orange Free State, resulting in the rapid transformation of higher education institutions in South African. Phase…

This guide provides information on the cooperative audit resolution for program improvement. It offers guidance for resolving audit findings, as well as tips on how to use the Cooperative Audit Resolution and Oversight Initiative (CAROI). CAROI is a collaborative method to provide alternative and creative approaches to resolve audit findings and…

This paper explores the use of student evaluation of teaching (SET) as part of the quality assurance cycle and suggests an alternative approach to evaluate the provision of teaching in tertiary institutions. SETs usually involve questionnaires that ask students anonymously to rate the quality of teaching on a 4- or 5-point scale. SETs have been…