This paper argues that current practices in law school accreditation do not address or reflect its stated purposes. Instead, the system is exclusionary, ignores content of instruction, increases the expense of legal education, allows too much faculty control, retards change, and limits competition. It does not primarily inform or protect the…

A discussion of external evaluation of a college or university program or unit looks at two different approaches used in the United States for accreditation purposes--standards of good practice and competency-based learning and review. Methods of maintaining consistency and eliminating bias are examined briefly. (MSE)

A recently implemented program of institutional evaluation in Spanish universities, designed with the intention of improving the quality of teaching, research, and administration, is discussed. Objectives and mechanisms for assessment in each of these areas are detailed. (MSE)

Two procedures for systematic organizational quality assessment are presented: (1) a distributional assessment to monitor individual, group, or unit performance by establishing real and maximum-feasibility parameters; and (2) a cost-assessment system based on utility analysis, to assign dollar values and benefits to quality interventions targeting…

The American Association of University Professors has censured the administrations of five colleges (Chowan College, Dean Junior College, Wesley College, New Community College of Baltimore, and Loma Linda University) for breaches of faculty rights. Censure was lifted for the Colorado School of Mines, the University of Northern Colorado, Sonoma…

Questions the value of accreditation as an effective force for improvement at large and/or prestigious institutions. Challenges institutions, accrediting agencies, and evaluators to emphasize the centrality of teaching and learning to all institutions in confirming quality. Offers suggestions for enhancing the value of the evaluation/accreditation…

A discussion of the use of performance indicators for evaluation and funding of higher education institutions by governments offers 10 lessons for governments and funding agencies, drawn from a study of the role played by performance indicators in the systems of Denmark, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. (MSE)

A Canadian public higher education official comments on the use of performance indicators for evaluating and funding higher education institutions. Focus is on putting the controversy over their use into perspective by narrowing the issues and arguments, clarifying them, and acknowledging inherent limitations of performance indicators. (MSE)

Offers guidelines for institutions completing the first cycle of Outcomes Accreditation to help them deal with confusing and uncertain issues during the transition period between review cycles. Discusses staffing, mission statement, the development of a student profile and environmental scan, target areas, and the phase following the transitional…

A study of the current program evaluation system in Dutch higher education consisted of a survey of institutions concerning their quality control and enhancement activities and 12 case studies of the experiences of universities and vocational institutions while conducting required self-evaluations and undergoing external evaluation. (MSE)

Thirty-two facilities for the elderly in Spain were compared with 55 such facilities in the United States through a Spanish translation of the Multiphasic Environmental Assessment Procedure of R. Moos and S. Lemke (1979). Implications of program findings for facility improvement and methodology for international evaluation are discussed. (SLD)

Argues that community colleges are becoming more reliant on support from external stakeholders to design programs and deliver services to customers. Suggests that colleges need to supplement traditional academic indicators of performance with external indicators, which involves a shift from a closed to an open systems-assessment approach. (JDI)

Describes the participation of Oregon community colleges in the Oregon Community College Unified Reporting System and in the Oregon Shared Information System, which involved 11 other state agencies. Identifies three key effectiveness indicators: workforce and economic development, access to postsecondary education, and literary skills and lifelong…

Examines strategic-planning models developed for higher education and compares them with accreditation models. States that accreditation can be integrated into the institution's strategic-planning process to add unity to the institution's efforts to effectively serve both internal and external constituents. (27 citations) (VWC)

Assesses the "evaluative state"--the historic background, the process and procedures used to evaluate institutions of public higher education in European Union countries. Reviews various types of evaluation used, changes in the concept and purpose of evaluation, and looks at some of the basic and long-term issues for the future, from its…