A recently released National Research Council (NRC) report, "Learning and Understanding: Improving Advanced Study of Mathematics and Science in U.S. High Schools", evaluated and recommended changes in the Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and other advanced secondary school science programs. As part of this study,…

During the last few years, a national quality assessment system for evaluation of the core activities of universities has been established in Sweden. Beyond participating in these national efforts, Lund University has also participated in the European benchmarking programme managed by ESMU (European Centre for Strategic Management of…

The "Fiscal Year 2008 Illinois Community College System's Performance Report" contains summary information about state and common institutional outcome indicators. External comparative benchmarks are cited whenever possible using the latest available data--national reporting typically trails what is available at the state level.…

Since 2005, the landscape of online teaching and learning has changed as well as the landscape of the academy, and continues to transform before our eyes. These changes are not only a product of technological innovation, but also a result of new and reconceptualized "values" of higher education, and so we must reexamine what changes to…

The paper seeks to accomplish four objectives. The first is to examine the need for e-learning in Africa's institutions of higher learning. The second is to discuss the policy, institutional, pedagogical, copyright, and quality assurance issues that need to be addressed. The third is to critically examine the advantages and disadvantages of…

The Universal Basic education (UBE) Programme could not have been introduced at a better time than now that the nation is in dire need of all round national Development. The major objective of the UBE programme is to provide free, universal and compulsory basic education for every Nigerian child aged 6-15 years. However, for the Universal Basic…

Assessing student perceptions and opinions of their university education is now standard in quality assurance processes for learning and teaching. In Australia, the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) has been institutionalised as a national survey of graduand opinion and is used as the key indicator of tertiary teaching quality. A little-used…

This study reports on the Hong Kong education quality assurance and school monitoring system. Three research questions were addressed: (1) Who controls the quality of school education in Hong Kong? (2) What strategies are used in the Hong Kong school education quality assurance process? (3) Agenda for Future Research on quality assurance and…

Many students find it difficult to learn the kinds of knowledge and thinking required by college or high school courses in mathematics, science, or other complex domains. Thus they often emerge with significant misconceptions, fragmented knowledge, and inadequate problem-solving skills. Most instructors or textbook authors approach their teaching…

This guide to self-evaluation and improvement builds upon the advice given in the publication "A Guide to Evaluating Services for Children and Young People Using Quality Indicators" (HMIE, 2006) (A summary of the quality indicators is reproduced in Appendix I). Local authorities, agencies and professionals who have responsibilities for…

We compare three control charts for monitoring data from student evaluations of teaching (SET) with the goal of improving student satisfaction with teaching performance. The two charts that we propose are a modified "p" chart and a z-score chart. We show that these charts overcome some of the shortcomings of the more traditional charts…

This article is the product of the writer's deliberations about the impact of Poland's 1990 Bill on Schools of Higher Education using an information technology theoretical model consisting of three parts: (1) participation; (2) feedback; and (3) partnership. The main findings of the investigation revealed that: (1) there is wide participation in…

Multiple jurisdictions engender variegated governance procedures for improving quality in the universities of Canada.

In this article, the author describes how the California's lowest-achieving schools are routinely visited by inspectors on the lookout for, among other things, inadequate textbook supplies, dirty drinking water, and evidence of vermin. Following the settlement from the case "Williams v. California," the laws known as the "Williams…

Using a patented drug during clinical trials is not infringement [35 U.S.C. 271(e)(1)]. Merck v Integra enlarged this "safe harbour" to accommodate preclinical use of drugs and patented "research tools" if "reasonably related" to FDA approval. The decision allowed lower courts, should they wish, to find any use of a research tool, except for…