Upper-level college administrators in the Western accreditation region were surveyed about how well the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) served its constituency. Questions concerned consumer protection as an objective of accreditation, emphasis on disseminating information about the accreditation process, and potential policy…

Reviews some approaches to organizational effectiveness suggested by organizational theorists, reports on the applications of these theories in libraries, develops some hypotheses regarding the assessment of performance in libraries, and describes a model which synthesizes some of the approaches. A 52-item reference list is attached. (Author/JL)

Using student achievement in geometry as an output, 17 Punjab (India) schools were dichotomized as productive or underproductive. The global and analytic picture of such schools was viewed in terms of process and structure variables associated with school, classroom, teachers, and students. (Author/SJL)

Sources of reading concerning ecosystem theory and applications are identified and abstracted. (Author)

Many small, private colleges lack the resources to develop a planning, management and evaluation (PME) system and the result is planning becomes a neglected function. An in-depth study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the Detroit Institute of Technology is described. (MLW)

Many Middle Eastern students in Western graduate programs in higher education wish to undertake evaluations of home country institutions, but their approaches reflect significant cultural differences. Issues confronting students and supervisors in this context are discussed, and a relatively recent "fourth generation" approach to…

This article reviews the history of accreditation of institutions of higher education in the context of the coming Congressional reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. It reports on the recent establishment of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and identifies organizational principles including the need for accreditation to be a…

Describes a peer review visit to a fictitious high school using the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA-CASI) Performance Accreditation Framework and School Improvement Process. From the perspective of a steering committee member, describes the peer review team orientation, meetings and interviews, and…

Reviews recent research about program and school evaluation, including studies of qualitative evaluation methods, replicability in program evaluation, assessment of equity in schools, triangulation, site-based management, approaches to evaluating staff development activities, state reform efforts, and educational inequality. (DMM)

The London Education Authority (LEA) stresses the importance of developing the interface between quantitative models of assessment and qualitative assessments, describing an interdisciplinary approach to the development of models of educational accountability, recommends an alternative method, data envelopment analysis, and compares it to the…

A broad description and critique of assessment activities in colleges and universities is presented. The ideals of assessment are discussed along with organizational realities that temper and restrain them. Suggested strategies for practicing assessment that reduces perils and enhances contributions are provided. (MLW)

Defines "quality" in terms of community college mission and discusses approaches to institutional assessment. Reports on a study of two-year college publications on quality, indicating that key variables in the colleges' definitions of quality included accessibility, faculty, curriculum, student support services, transferability of credit, and job…

Provides 20 questions and answers concerning the process by which a British center of outdoor education, training, or recreation can become approved to award national vocational qualifications. Discusses institutional evaluation procedures, issues of educational competence, fees, and consortium arrangements for small centers. (SV)

Argues that rapid change and tight resources demand reality-based planning, rather than planning models that ignore internal and external customers or emphasize process over product. Describes the Strategic Guidance Model (SGM) which provides colleges with strategic visioning, organizational assessment, environmental scanning, quality improvement,…

Provides background on accreditation in higher education and examines the role of accreditation in development of the academic library. Topics addressed include performance measures for libraries, accreditation in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, accreditation criteria, prerequisites for a successful evaluation, benefits of…