Examines the development of quality assurance in higher education delivered through open and distance learning. Highlights include recent publications on quality assurance, factors for change, key terms, debate about organizational mission, management, customers and students, competitive environment, and philosophy of professional- versus…

School managerial control is derived from perceptions of behavioral interactions between teachers and administrators along two dimensions: regular patterns of rules; and discretionary behaviors reflecting the quality of managerial performance. Analyzes interactive effects of these dimensions across four control processes within curriculum and…

This article argues that, in the United Kingdom, the discussion of quality in higher education reflects a conceptual confusion and is generating practical consequences that may be catastrophic for higher education. A distinction is made between two approaches to policy concerning quality, based on selection of appropriate ethical standards. (MSE)

A quality assessment at the University of Jyvaskyla (Finland) started with self-evaluation followed by a foreign visiting group's evaluation. The positive effects of the evaluation were commitment, organizational self-understanding, a new frame of planning activities, future orientation, and a new position in external relations. (Author/JDD)

A 1992 review of National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education standards emphasized the need to address educational technology. New standards were adopted in 1994. The paper discusses revised unit standards, guidelines for addressing technology categories, significance of change in unit standards, using accreditation standards for…

The Maryland Center for Quality and Productivity at the University of Maryland has developed a methodology that enables the management team of an organization to define its critical performance dimensions. A set of metrics is offered to help colleges and universities assess whether quality management is improving their performance. (DB)

The use of taxonomies of types and levels of learning for student assessment in higher education is discussed. Five taxonomies designed for a variety of instructional areas are described. The reasons for their use are examined from four points of view: pedagogical, professional, quality assurance, and management. (MSE)

Discusses methods of textual documentation that can be used for software documentation. Highlights include measurement of text comprehensibility; methods for the measurement of documentation quality, including readability and the Cloze Procedure; tools for the measurement of text readability; and the development of the Reading Measurability…

There is evidence that the traditional methods that nations have been using for quality control in education may no longer be sufficient. This article summarizes different viewpoints from which quality in education and training have been considered. (JOW)

The absence, until very recently, of widespread debate on policy concerning quality assurance in German higher education is attributed to the fact that, historically, German education has been highly standardized and those standards were presumed to persist even with mass higher education. Current expansion and economic crises have stimulated…

Considerations in selecting quality novelty/variety entertainers to perform at colleges and universities are outlined. Advantages of this genre include newness, package marketing, affordability, ease of planning, great visual effects, ease of drop-by programming, custom tailoring, mass appeal. Concerns include limited individual interaction in…

It is suggested that approaches to research assessment vary according to national context. In the United States, higher education is dominated by market forces; in Britain and Australia, emphasis is on interinstitutional competitiveness; in northern Europe, focus is overall system efficiency. Performance indicators and peer review of research are…

Movements toward quality assurance in Australian and U.S. higher education systems are compared and found largely similar. One element, oversight of the federal government in this process, is seen as the principal difference. A national quality assurance effort is in place in Australia, but not in the United States. (MSE)

Total Quality Management is not a fad. Human resource development must be aligned with the culture of continuous improvement to make it work. Changes may be necessary in hiring, promotion, and performance appraisal. (SK)

The equity audit is a new tool with remarkable power to identify, analyze, and evaluate a given school districts' quality control. In three case study school districts located in urban areas of New York, North Carolina, and Arkansas, considerable inconsistency and incongruity were documented in student placement practices, promotion and retention…