The "Flexner Report" of 1910, which described 155 U.S. and Canadian medical schools, is discussed, along with its influence on later studies of academic quality. Scholars almost universally agree that the Flexner Report dramatically changed the nature of medical education in the United States, although they disagree about how this…

As Canadian colleges face clientele shifts, stabilization of staffing, increasing emphases on nontraditional programs and delivery systems, and changing job markets for graduates--all within a context of escalating costs and inflation--educational leaders are under increasing pressure to develop meaningful approaches to institutional evaluation.…

The program review guide provides a framework and a source of reference for the monitoring staff of the New York State Education Department's Office for Education of Children with Handicapping Conditions. The manual simultaneously provides a means for school districts, the Boards of Cooperative Educational Services, and other agencies to monitor…

Research and evaluation activities have gradually evolved from the selection of an improvement and evaluation model, as well as data collection using an attitudinal survey and application of case study procedures along with focus group interviews, to the preparation of summary documents and specific policy recommendations. This document presents…

The school self-study process for participants who had been through it before was compared with the process in schools new to self-study using the "K-12 School Evaluative Criteria" (1983). Self-studies had been completed by pilot schools in the 1981-82 school year. Personnel from 11 schools with a previous self-study and 123 participants with no…

Because the mass marketing of educational support services through franchised reading clinics is growing on a daily basis, both reading specialists and reading supervisors need to become aware of the growth of this industry and of its implications for the educational system. Primary forces in the franchising movement, Sylvan Learning Corporation,…

Basic information about each of 50 accrediting bodies that have been evaluated by the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation (COPA) and recognized as meeting acceptable levels of quality and performance is provided. Information was supplied by the individual accrediting bodies, who were asked to update and verify the accuracy of information from…

The proceedings of the 1981 annual meeting of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, which focused on the issue of accreditation, are presented. Two papers on accreditation as well as the business meeting of the Association are included. In "Accreditation on Trial--The Indictment," Fred F. Harcleroad provides a historical…

A set of recommendations is provided regarding data collection and reporting to support and facilitate the accreditation process in postsecondary education. The following chapters are provided: (1) introduction (types of accreditation, evaluation of standards, potential users, and the development process); (2) conceptual schema (conceptual…

A description is provided of the self-study program review process developed by Genesee Community College (GCC) as an alternative to the traditional Middle States evaluation process. First, the paper examines the history of self-study at GCC from 1980, when a committee was created to coordinate a study of the college which would fulfill…

A survey was conducted in Washington State to measure the general public's awareness and perceptions of community college capital funding needs; to evaluate the feasibility of success for a statewide capital funding initiative campaign based on increased property tax assessments; and to serve as a baseline study for future campaign strategies. The…

Colleges and universities in California may be accredited or approved by four different agencies to offer approved programs of teacher education: the State Department of Education's Office of Private Postsecondary Education (OPPE) (for private institutions); the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC); the Commission on Teacher…

Measures of institutional quality for 98 research universities were measured by the technique of spatial configuration to determine similarities and differences among the institutions. The use of research measures that directly address the concept of institutional quality or prestige was also examined (composite institutional scores derived from…

A description of the accreditation process, an analysis of developments that have affected accrediting agencies, and evidence of their productive response are provided in this introductory paper. Issues regarding evaluation of nontraditional education are also addressed. (Author/LBH)

This paper discusses social and organizational differences between client-focused, volunteer-staffed programs and comparable paid-personnel programs. Particular attention is given to the effects of these differences on three aspects of the evaluation process: initiation of the evaluation, need for process evaluation, and utilization of evaluation…