Discusses the role and position of an educational buffer agency, as exemplified by the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education, with references to: (1) accreditation; (2) quality audit; (3) support of academic leadership; and (4) internal quality enhancement. Concludes that change is best accomplished by emphasizing support in the early…

Describes the implementation of a Facilities Management Evaluation Program (FMEP) in one school district. Outlines how the district's maintenance department launched a comprehensive three-year facility management business plan, the department's decision to use a FMEP, the FMEP process and how it helped the district, and the decision to implement…

Scholars are finding that articles they have posted on the World Wide Web are subsequently being refused by journals. Policies among publishers vary widely on this issue. Journal editors fear posting on the Web will erode the system of peer review, and that important papers disseminated on the Internet will reduce scholars' need to read their…

States that in the debate on quality management the concept of the customer and the issue of social work being considered as part of the services sector play a crucial role. Argues that not enough attention is paid to the dangers inherent in the transfer to the customer concept. (CMK)

Reports on a student-based action research project in quality management within a postgraduate education program at Massey University (New Zealand). Finds the program to be complex, interconnected to the wider university system, with poorly defined processes, and unclear assignment of responsibilities. Considers the role of students and other…

Argues that the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education's (NCATE) intent to accredit only high quality programs is overly grandiose, suggesting that NCATE should instead focus on identifying weak programs. The article argues in support of this minimalist mission for NCATE and offers suggestions for moving NCATE toward a more…

Provides a literature review on project management related to corporate instructional design activities. Highlights include project integration, strategic planning, resource allocation, optimizing performance and quality, constructing a project team, generating a productive working climate, and implementation strategies. (LRW)

In this article, the author talks about evangelism and its relation to a sort of fancy--that is to say, to a certain level of operation of the imagination. He shares a short story concerning ways in which current regimes of quality control undermine the traditions of practice that are essential for the healthy development of disciplined and…

mmunications Systems, benefits from the high proportion of use of electronic communications, namely email, which allows fast turnaround of questions, yet is not intrusive. However, it is deemed essential that hard copy of all such correspondence is kept. Migration to other Internet support services, such as the World Wide Web, videoconferencing…

Even after more than a decade of experience, surprisingly little is understood about the entities responsible for authorizing and overseeing charter schools. In this article, the authors argue that the success of the charter school movement depends on the effectiveness of those authorizers. In order to find out how charter authorizers are doing…

Recent research suggests that multi-strand and interlinked interventions meet the requirements of early primary school intervention programmes more fully than single programmes. A set of quality indicators, which education authorities and schools can utilize to review and evaluate processes and outcomes of such interventions, is derived from the…

This chapter highlights some of the issues that need to be addressed when operating international campuses and provides a list of questions to help guide relevant institutional research. (Lists 8 online resources.)

The globalization of higher education has resulted in a number of British institutions applying for American accreditation. In 2002, the UK Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education admitted its first American member. All these institutions must therefore confront the need to satisfy two very different approaches to the assurance of quality…

As the principles and practices of quality assurance are further implanted in higher education, methodological questions about how to understand and manage quality become increasingly important. This paper argues that quality assurance determinations need to take account of how and to what extent students engage with activities that are likely to…

The South African Council on Higher Education (CHE) withdrew its accreditation of 15 Master of Business Administration (MBA) degrees in May 2004. MBAs for which accreditation was withdrawn include those offered in South Africa by Bond University (Australia) and De Montfort University (UK). CHEs decisions have significant implications for students,…