In the early 1990s, the Quality Assurance Unit of Strathclyde (Scotland) Education Department involved parents in the school inspection process by surveying over 34,000 parents of school and preschool students. Survey responses concerning satisfaction with the parent-school relationship and educational quality are analyzed and interpreted in terms…

Describes the system of external institutional evaluation in Netherlands universities, distinguishing between the organizations conducting the assessment itself and the follow-up. The primary assessing organization is a private one, funded and governed by the 14 universities, and uses discipline-based assessment teams. The follow-up assessment is…

Reports on a Dutch study examining qualitative aspects of internationalization in Dutch higher education institutions, and examines the ways Dutch institutions evaluate Dutch students' academic experiences abroad. Raises the question of whether existing systems meet stated standards for quality assurance. Makes some recommendations for…

Texas A&M University's Evans Library conducted a survey (SERVQUAL) to measure service quality in terms of tangibles (appearance of facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication materials), reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Discrepancies between expectations and perceptions were found in reliability, responsiveness,…

Relates a college president's efforts to use total quality management concepts at his school to achieve a universitywide transformation. Describes how the program was conceived and ways in which personnel were trained and educated about quality. Discusses how quality principles were implemented and the effects of such actions. (RJM)

System-wide assessment in higher education can be influenced by political issues, which are in turn preoccupied with market forces and technological development. This generates a climate inimical to ethical quality and conflicts with academic work. If academic work is to make its best contribution to society, administration must move beyond…

Describes changes in management and accreditation among Canadian health organizations caused by changing federal transfer payments and philosophies of service. Examines the status quo of evaluation in organizations based on either quality assurance or continuous quality improvement. Challenges facing evaluators in the health care sector are…

Explores the importance of leadership, vision, purpose, organizational culture, motivation, and change as aspects of organizational life that Total Quality Management (TQM) does not adequately address. Offers the concept of learning organizations as a preferable approach, arguing that this method is a needed element in the leadership and…

Depicts the origin, functions, classification, and characteristics of performance indicators (PIs) and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using PIs in determining the quality of education. Concludes that school quality in Hong Kong (China) should be promoted through school self-evaluation rather than whole school inspections. (CMK)

Outcomes assessment reduced to its simplest definition is quality control. Characteristics of the new Accreditation Standards for Dental Education Programs include: patient oriented, take a definite posture in relation to the specialties, create a minimally educated practitioner, are process oriented, and provide a form of quality assurance in…

The American Dental Association Office of Quality Assurance's current programs include liaison with national health organizations, a comprehensive report of quality assurance, a health policy agenda for the American people, encouragement of peer review organizations, a Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, and…

Describes features of the Western Library Network's database, including the database structure, authority control, contents, quality control, and distribution methods. The discussion covers changes in distribution necessitated by increasing telecommunications costs and the development of optical data disk products. (CLB)

After raising tuition for a number of years, some states are trying to freeze or reduce public college tuition. These changes arise from concern about reduced enrollments and image, and it is hoped that legislatures will respond with increased appropriations. Some critics fear a compromise in educational quality. (MSE)

The phenomenal growth of distance-learning programs and the possibility of a virtual university have increased concerns about how to ensure that higher education programs delivered via telecommunications are of good quality. The Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications has formulated guidelines, presented here, for…

A consultation quality control model (CQCM) developed for an expert system (ES) integrated both ES performance measures and end-user judgment values. Simple decision theory concepts were used to design the CQCM. Results show end users belong to different categories characterized by utility functions and the weights they assign to ES consultation…