Presents a model of quality assurance for colleges and universities, distilled from key concepts in the literature about quality assurance and higher education culture and practice. The model has continuous quality improvement in student learning at its center, and includes elements of institutional values, faculty evaluation and development,…

Describes the evolution of a model, developed by student affairs officials, which outlines a planning process for implementing Total Quality Management. Presents step-by-step instructions for the model's deployment and discusses such issues as transitions, planning forms, goals, and professional and personal growth needs. (RJM)

Describes the Juvenile Justice Educational Enhancement Program's implementation of an evaluation research-driven quality assurance process for Florida's juvenile justice educational programs. Reviews the literature on juvenile justice educational practices and describes the educational quality assurance standards and annual modifications that draw…

Discusses the evaluation of library reference service; examines problems with past evaluations, including the lack of long-term planning and a systems perspective; and suggests a method for continuously monitoring and improving reference service using quality improvement tools such as checklists, cause and effect diagrams, Pareto charts, and…

Examination of the history of use of performance indicators in three European national higher education systems (Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom) suggests that their role at the national level is declining at the same time that institutions are moving toward more broad-based quality assessment strategies. (Author/MSE)

A survey of 160 colleges and universities at various stages of total quality management implementation found 5 key challenges to successful implementation: changes in organizational culture, obtaining senior leadership commitment, gaining faculty support, finding implementation time in already busy schedules, and cost and time required for staff…

Four essays discuss Internet use in schools and focuses on censorship of online information. Highlights include legal cases that may set a precedent for future litigation involving liability and electronic access; descriptions of two schools' experiences with online access; and advice from librarians, including a draft interpretation of the…

Examines some of the basic issues involved in creating a warm and safe day-care environment for infants and toddlers, one that supports and promotes development and learning. Describing policies that were generated from everyday classroom experience, discusses the issues of security and trust, separation anxiety, group size, exploration and…

Argues that, as library roles change, providing access to information resources is becoming more important than acquisition of library resources and that libraries should be evaluated based upon what they actually do. Access and performance measures are proposed to supplement the statistics collected by the Association of Research Libraries. (30…

Outlines the development of a strategy that applies quality management techniques to a training development program based on experiences at Lloyds Bank (United Kingdom). Topics discussed include computer-based training and software development; environmental influences affecting standards development; quality control; assessment against the…

Describes the processes required for ensuring a successful transition to Total Quality Management (TQM) methods of assessment, suggesting that a campuswide assessment terminology must replace the different assessment terminologies used by faculty and administration. Indicates that TQM provides an overarching philosophy about work and providing…

The commonly held idea that quality assessment in higher education must be consistent with academic values concerning self-regulation (e.g., autonomy, academic freedom) is questioned. A fundamental tension between quality assurance systems and professional, discipline-based standards is seen to preclude use of the former in the university as we…

Presents a model for evaluating performance-based instruction that is intended for use by human resource development/performance technology professionals. Highlights include goal setting; program design and implementation; evaluating the use and impact of training; instructional tasks, including sequencing; quality of student products; and…

The market environment for higher education is being shaped by developments in technology, business practices, partnerships between education and industry, and adoption of Total Quality Management principles. Shrewd college administrators will combine competitiveness and cooperation to maintain or enhance their institutions' distinctiveness in the…

At Rio Salado Community College (Arizona), project documentation is the final step in the continuous improvement cycle. This stage is very important because it assists others in understanding the work the team has done and documents in detail when, where, how, and why process changes were made. (MSE)