Assessment and accountability are embedded in the context in which most colleges and universities operate. In the current climate, one is deeply entwined with the other. Originally, assessment in higher education meant assessing students. The broader appeal of the concept quickly claimed the attention of a multitude of constituents within the…

Discusses the evaluation and accreditation of postsecondary institutions. Considers the varieties of institutions accredited by the North Central Association and the criteria applied to candidates for accreditation status. Provides charts summarizing candidates for accreditation and accredited institutions by degree level and state. Lists members…

Focuses on the benefits that accrue to teachers as a result of their school's North Central Association's (NCA)'s membership. Proposes 12 reasons why NCA standards enhance the teaching environment. Considers questions related to school compliance, accountability, evaluation impact, student focus, expense of NCA membership, and institutional…

Studied the performance of rank (percentile) estimators in a basic two-stage hierarchical model capturing essential features of more complicated models commonly used to estimate effects. Simulation results highlight the need to assess whether even optimal percentile estimators perform sufficiently well to be used to evaluate teachers or schools.…

Literature review on organizational effectiveness focuses on major assessment models: goal attainment, human relations, open systems, internal processes, culture, and life cycle. A review of studies of nursing school effectiveness is used to present an agenda for nursing research. (SK)

Benchmarking is used in higher education to improve performance by comparison with other institutions. Types used include internal, external competitive, external collaborative, external transindustry, and implicit. Methods include ideal type (or gold) standard, activity-based benchmarking, vertical and horizontal benchmarking, and comparative…

A diagnostic model for evaluating community-based organizations takes into account the political, legal, social, economic, and cultural environment and the organization's structure, membership, goals, resources, philosophy, leadership styles, and rewards/sanctions. The ways in which both sets of variables either facilitate or inhibit the…

Discusses how colleges are praising the new National Survey of Student Engagement, but insist that institutional scores be kept private. (EV)

Shanghai Jiao Tong University has published on the Internet an Academic Ranking of World Universities that has attracted worldwide attention. Institutions are ranked according to academic or research performance and ranking indicators include major international awards, highly cited researchers in important fields, articles published in selected…

This review explores the context in which performance indicators and performance-based funding in community colleges have emerged as a means of measuring institutional effectiveness in community colleges. The article presents the history and context for performance indicators in community colleges and discusses the benefits and drawbacks of the…

This is a document that lays out the Mission of the NY College of Osteopathic Medicine's Mission Statement, It's 13 Goals and subsequent Objectives of Learning Outcomes. Benchmarks were established for each Educational Goal and defined further in Objectives. This document represents an historic attempt by NYCOM to address it's need for complete…

As universities become more invested in assessment and outcomes, department chairs and deans increasingly are asked to figure out why some departments score well on tests, and others dismally low. In this article, the author sets out some guidelines and processes for examining test score data, in order to save time for faculty members and…

During the past two decades, colleges and universities have used best practices from corporate management such as total quality management, strategic planning, management by objectives, benchmarking, data warehousing, and performance indicators. Many institutions of higher learning now have adopted comprehensive and multifaceted approaches to…

E-learning in the European Higher Education Area has stampeded its way to the foreground of the Quality Assurance (QA) forum, and has become a key issue among quality assurance agencies and institutions in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Because internet-based learning is currently such a relevant topic, there is a dire need for the…

This booklet is designed to help prospective students, counselors, public agencies, and institutions better understand distance education accreditation and how the accreditation procedures of the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) Accrediting Commission work. It describes distance education and the accreditation process for distance…