This article discusses the impact of resource reallocation by colleges and universities using Virginia Commonwealth University as an example. Alternative areas for creative reallocations noted include increased productivity/efficiency, quality improvement, growth by substitution, targeted fund raising, planned savings, categorical funding, tuition…

Issues pertaining to the quality of performance assessments, including reliability and validity, are discussed. The relatively limited generalizability of performance across tasks is indicative of the care needed to evaluate performance assessments. Quality control is an empirical matter when measurement is intended to inform public policy. (SLD)

It is argued that Total Quality Management holds problems for implementation in higher education institutions and has a core logic that goes against the educational and professional values of academe and the conception of work that unions espouse. Ways in which unions can solve the same problems differently are proposed. Specific criticisms are…

Drawing from the experiences of Rio Salado Community College (Arizona) in implementing Total Quality Management, discusses common barriers to change (e.g., time, aversion to change, and pitfalls of change); leadership failure as a cause of failure in TQM implementation; and the importance of constancy of purpose, employee empowerment, and…

An educator describes what our education system could look like in the next century if policymakers, teachers, and teacher educators committed to it. Strategies for achieving this vision through teacher education are discussed, and two policy recommendations are made: accreditation of all schools of education and their graduates, and minimum…

Western Europe's demand for quality higher education at lower cost is discussed. It is argued that the criteria for quality are determined by external interests, including governments looking for economic development through an improved labor market. The situations in Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom are considered.…

Presents an interview with Richard Kunkel, Executive Director of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) from 1984-90 (a time when NCATE was undergoing a major change). Kunkel discusses the impact of accreditation and the NCATE redesign on the improvement of the teaching profession. (SM)

Total Quality Management is described as a means for developing institutionwide participation in planning and implementing a continuous college improvement process and is contrasted with more traditional student outcomes assessment. Examples of using this approach to effect process improvement, comprehensive ownership and responsibility,…

Providers' demographic characteristics, training, support networks, business practices, and stability of services were examined relative to their caregiving practices. Results from a schematic model approach suggest correlations between some of these factors and variances in ratings of caregiver practices. (LB)

Three librarians--Barbara A. Genco from Brooklyn, New York; Eleanor K. MacDonald from Beverly Hills, California; and Betsy Hearne from Chicago, Illinois--share their perspectives on where popular literature should fit into library material selection and children's reading diets. Popular literature is defined as primarily that which has first…

The use of the Total Quality Management (TQM) approach by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Management approach to restructure the graduate school admissions process is described, and lessons learned from the venture are discussed. The resulting five-day admissions procedure now in place is outlined. (MSE)

The most effective colleges and universities in the next few decades will be those able to adapt to a changing workforce and shifting demands of business, political, and other environments. Effective institutions will build effective management teams, create new change strategies, focus on quality, and demonstrate learning from history. (MSE)

In an effort to improve an introductory statistics course, one business administration professor incorporated Total Quality Management principles into his instruction of the course. The experience illustrates common pitfalls and some quantifiable positive change, and provides ideas for further improvement. (MSE)

Application of the Total Quality Management approach to one aspect of the administration of South Bank University (England), the relationship between student as customer and university as supplier, is described. The technique includes development of service quality standards and agreements for each service, support, and academic department. (MSE)

Reviews the impact of reports written as a result of British educational policymakers' trips to the United States during the late 1980s. Examines crucial areas that caught the attention of the policymakers. (CFR)