Current directions in institutional evaluation, guidelines for evaluating institutions, types of evaluation, and some problems in assessing institutional quality are discussed. (MSE)

Reports on a study of factors affecting the responsiveness of 15 North Carolina community colleges to 30 service area industries. Indicates that the elements considered most important to both college and industry personnel were reliability, presidential commitment to training, instructional quality, tailored courses, and special funding for…

Addresses the imperative for strategic and tactical planning to support the viability of the two-year college. Describes a process for approaching strategic planning, comprising the following steps: self-identification, self-analysis, analysis of service area, informed decision making, and the development of a marketing plan. (CBC)

Approaches to evaluating agricultural research organizations so that they can contribute more effectively to increased food production are outlined, focusing on the need to evaluate the operations and output of each organizational component and on assessing a variety of organizational factors. (MSE)

Some traditional criteria for judging institutional effectiveness are outlined and nine more reliable dimensions for evaluation are suggested including student, faculty, and administrator satisfaction; student academic, career, and personal development; system openness and community interaction; access to resources; and organizational health. (MSE)

Reviews interrelated factors affecting a school's organizational health and describes nine steps administrators can take to enhance the school's climate. Suggests using the Organizational Health Instrument or a similar diagnostic tool to collect data on the school's organizational health. (PGD)

The results of a survey of department chairmen in nine British university-level institutions concerning the system of external evaluation, especially the duties and approaches of examiners, are discussed. (MSE)

Summarizes findings from an evaluation of the Academy of the Canyons, a "middle college high school" which operates on the College of the Canyons (California) campus and is open to 11th and 12th grade students whose needs are not being met by the large comprehensive high schools. This evaluation, prepared as a component of the Academy's…

This report presents a framework for thinking about the multiplicity of charter school management activities and how they connect with each other. It demonstrates that there are three management tasks: building support and legitimacy within the authorizing environment; mobilizing effective operational capacity to deliver services; and defining a…

The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) is the accrediting agency for the California Community Colleges. This report offers information regarding the role of faculty in the accreditation process. WASC Accreditation teams--made up of administrators, faculty members, and governing board members--evaluate institutions. The process…

This report outlines the work and results of an Educational Assessment Task Force at Mount Hood Community College (Oregon) that was charged with improving institutional planning, strengthening programs and services, and meeting external accountability demands. The task force addressed both institutional effectiveness (the annual assessment of…

Regional accreditation is an important and viable way for institutions to regulate themselves through standards development and their attainment as examined through peer review. Cycles of accreditation are useful in comparing and contrasting overall institutional effectiveness over time and against mutually agreed upon parameters. In the past 15…

This paper examines the purpose, validity, and reliability of performance indicators in higher education, focusing on the experience of higher education institutions in the United Kingdom. Specifically, it studies the role of student entry and exit performance, teaching and staff quality, retention and completion, and placement in employment as…

This paper provides an overview of Ontario's colleges of applied arts and technology as leaders in applied learning, accessibility, training, quality and innovation, affordability and accountability. Highlights of the diversity of college activities and innovations are included but do not reflect a comprehensive picture of colleges' initiatives.…

The 2000 Factbook about the University of Alaska-Anchorage (UAA) provides student enrollment data, student performance data, faculty information, and financial information. The UAA encompasses a university system, five affiliated community colleges, and a distance learning program. Work has been completed for UAA's decennial institutional…