An analysis of increases in federal regulation of student financial aid since 1959 looks at changes in both volume and substance of the regulations, and the costs of implementing them. Federal initiatives to form partnerships with institutions in managing student aid are noted, including quality assurance efforts and innovative experiments in…

The financial component of Spain's effort to reform higher education is outlined, particularly as it is designed to accomplish changes in program design and manage educational quality. Proposals for financing public universities include a new financial structure for universities, a new resource allocation model, and a program of student grants and…

Summarizes proceedings from a 1995 conference in Georgia on the Health Education Profession in the 21st century. The 24 participants developed goals intended to provide direction for the profession, identify actions needed to move the profession into a significant role, and create an action plan to identify who will do what. (SM)

Presents criteria for making decisions about the use of videotapes in Continuous Quality Improvement training in academic media centers: use of case studies; clear objectives and concepts; race/gender sensitivity; balance of simplicity and complexity; clarity of sound and visibility; graphics quality; content relevance; humor; length; variety in…

Recent experiences of manufacturing and commercial service industries provide insights to college facilities managers for combining downsizing with quality improvement. The Service Excellence Model emphasizes creation of shared responsibility, focus on core service processes, empowerment of cross-functional process-improvement teams, performance…

Recently the Spanish higher education board launched a university evaluation program to institutionalize quality assessment as an extended, continuous, system-wide process. Self-study and external assessments are the program's cornerstones. The new quality assessment program and the experiences leading to it are explained. Potential problems and…

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…