Begun in 1977, British efforts toward school improvement through monitoring and accountability have failed, partly because of the failure of school self-evaluation and teacher resistance to monitoring and concern about professional autonomy. However, inspectors, researchers, and teachers have increased our understanding of school effectiveness.…

Analyzes the efficacy of the policies and procedures for accrediting the two-year branch campuses of baccalaureate-degree granting institutions and off-site extension courses. Reviews regional accrediting commissions' written policies and responses to telephone surveys. Suggests a more proactive approach to accreditation to maintain public…

Discusses the relevance of general education to the associate degree and the shortfalls of current accreditation methods in properly evaluating the success of such programs. Suggests that accreditation agencies may play a role as a change agent in transfer, faculty credentials, and the integration of general education into career curricula. (MAB)

Discusses the context of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools' decision to require all institutional self-study reports to address assessment. Highlights issues to be considered in assessing the outcomes of majors and general education, and warns of pitfalls. (DMM)

Discusses the expectations of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools with respect to the assessment/documentation of student academic achievement, identifying characteristics of effective assessment programs (e.g., flows from institutional mission, has a conceptual framework, has faculty ownership, is cost effective) and offering…

Discusses considerations in designing an institutional assessment program (i.e., relevance to mission, potential audiences, potential uses, acceptable data/evidence, analysis/interpretation, and logistics). Includes a worksheet to judge inclusion of assessment data for accreditation. (DMM)

Compares commercial and locally developed assessment instruments in terms of assessment purposes, match between instrument and local programs, logistics, institutional acceptance, quality, and student motivation. Recommends identifying information needs, considering costs, designing a measurement plan, reviewing relevant literature, involving…

A National Association of College and University Business Officers project collects data on college administrative and business costs and compiles them for comparative purposes. The unpublished findings are available to participants to gauge institutional efficiency. However, some feel more institutions must participate for data to be useful. (MSE)

Traces the revision of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges's "Criteria for Accreditation" to emphasize further the results of education, expressed in terms of planning, evaluation, and institutional effectiveness. Discusses benefits of the new emphasis and the ever-evolving nature of the…

Discusses the Western Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities' new standards focusing on assessment as a means of enhancing institutional/program quality. Provides the background and context, the role played by the commission in implementing the initiative. Includes "A Compendium of WASC Standards Assessing Institutional…

Summarizes the ways in which the Education Pilot Criteria for the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award were adapted for use in institutional self-assessment. Presents the perceptions of academic deans in the North Carolina Community College System regarding current and future applications of continuous quality improvement principles in the…

Discusses evidence from the British Universities Council for the Education of Teachers to the House of Commons Select Committee concerning methods of preservice teacher education evaluation by the Office for Standards in Education, explaining that the evidence represents a significant critique of the impact of recent teacher education reforms. A…

Discussion of funding for public colleges and universities in the United States looks at different mechanisms for measuring institutional performance, recent experiences with performance indicators for purposes of funding and the pitfalls and limitations of their use, the current status of performance-based funding in public colleges, and…

A survey of the broad policy community rates the governor, Democratic and Republican lawmakers, mayor, Chicago Board of Education, district central office, and the Chicago Teachers union in their work of Chicago school governance before and after the July 1995 restructuring. Preliminary results suggest improvement in school governance following…

Reports on the development and validation of a universal inventory that equips health professionals and medical educators with a diagnostic tool to measure the state of their school's teaching and learning climate. Contains 25 references. (DDR)