Controversies concerning the role of college accrediting agencies are identified, including such issues as student enrollment diversity, student loan defaults, and accountability. Recent actions of the Education Department, Congress, and specialized accrediting agencies are noted, as is controversy concerning linking accreditation by a regional…

Describes the Academic Program Assessment Model adopted by Bethany College in 1990. The multidimensional model has provisions for curricular and cocurricular review, testing, surveys, faculty development, and curriculum monitoring strategies. (DMM)

Implications of using alternative assessments for accountability in a high-stakes testing environment (using tests to make impact decisions for students, schools, or teachers) are examined. The psychometric properties of standardized alternative assessments are discussed, and the consequences of their use are considered. (SLD)

The process and aims of university evaluation are discussed from the perspectives of the evaluation commission, university vice-chancellor, and dean of faculty of forestry at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, evaluated by the ministry of agriculture. Focus on the link between quality assessment and educational improvement is…

Argues that institutional effectiveness issues in community colleges are situation-specific and demand flexibility in assessment model design. Briefly describes 20 community colleges using exemplary assessment practices and models. Diagrams a comprehensive assessment model using internal and external effectiveness measures and offers eight…

Despite expansion in participation, Austrian higher education remains somewhat elitist. However, concepts of efficiency, strategic planning, deregulation, and performance evaluation are creating pressure for policy change. Inadequate admissions policies, overcrowding, and high dropout rates need to be addressed. (Author/MSE)

Presents results from a survey of state higher education agencies in the North Central Region regarding current requirements on assessment, the history of assessment requirements, definitions/terminology, communication of expectations, evaluation of effectiveness of the requirements, and state and accrediting agency cooperation. (DMM)

Analyzes nature and effects of public-management evaluation concepts on institutions of higher education, using as an example Tennessee's policy of monitoring performance of its institutions by linking performance indicators to public funding. Concludes that while policy has been successful overall, allowing a "firewall" between…

A number of small countries face similar problems while organising external assessment of higher education institutions: how to select proper experts, how to prepare them and maintain? How to avoid bias or interest conflict between experts who evaluate the institution and the institution being evaluated? How to reduce the financial costs of…

Whereas internationally the shift towards quality control of school systems started in the early 1980s, mainly promoted by transnational agencies, this development only began in Germany in the mid 1990s. However, a clear-cut change from an input-controlled and centralised to a more output-controlled, decentralised and deregulated supervision…

Over the past twenty years, the attention that colleges and universities have paid to students' first year experience has grown exponentially. The reasons for this phenomenon include changes in demographic characteristics of the students themselves, concerns about the high dropout rate that peaks between the first and second year, and recognition…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe a self-assessment project, the steps taken and the tools used, and above all, focus on the evaluation made after the decision to discontinue, learning and acquiring knowledge about self-assessment as a methodology in educational organizations. Design/methodology/approach: In order to investigate…

This publication presents the following nine articles: (1) ATE [Advanced Technological Education] Readies Technicians for International Competition; (2) Technicians in Demand Worldwide; (3) Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology Endorses International Protocols for Technicians; (4) Entrepreneurial Educator Creates InnovaBio to Meet…

This first evaluation in a Scottish national program of higher education quality assessment reports on evaluation of programs in the fields of economics and electrical and electronic engineering. Section 1 contains background information about legislation establishing the evaluation program, quality assessment and quality audit, the role of the…

In 1992, Dona Ana Branch Community College (DABCC) in Las Cruces, New Mexico, conducted a telephone survey of a random sample of Dona Ana County residents to examine community attitudes towards the college. In particular, the study examined barriers to student access; the reputation and visibility of DABCC; community awareness of programs,…