Analyzes four issues related to accreditation reform: (1) making institutional improvement a clear expectation of accreditation; (2) assisting students and the public to discriminate among institutions; (3) assisting the public in understanding what assessment can and cannot do; and (4) maintaining the meaning of accreditation in spite of…

Offers excerpts from a guide developed for accreditation visit team members to help the team focus on substantive aspects of the school. Lists evaluation standards, characteristics and practices of good schools and districts, and questions for various subcommittees of the visiting team. (DMM)

Describes a hospital-based multidisciplinary team designed to assess and respond to cases of suspected abuse or neglect of elders from both institutional and community settings. Presence of the team has increased the hospital staff's awareness of elder abuse and neglect, as well as their willingness to refer suspected cases for further assessment.…

Advancing the effectiveness of independent colleges and universities has long been central to the mission of the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC). CIC offers its members an exceptionally broad range of initiatives to improve the quality of education and strengthen institutional resources. The number of programs and services being offered has…

This publication provides a closer look at data reported annually by South Carolina's public institutions of higher education as part of institutional effectiveness reporting and as part of the process of performance funding. Prior to the January 2000 edition, this document was entitled "Minding Our P's and Q's: Indications of Productivity…

This report presents tables of results on 10 overall quality indicators/performance measures of institutions of higher education in Colorado. The 10 indicators are: (1) graduation rates; (2) faculty teaching workload; (3) freshman retention in the same institution; (4) performance of recent graduates; (5) institutional support expenditures per FTE…

This document reports on an NCLIS (National Commission on Libraries and Information Science) study of the proposal to close NTIS (National Technical Information Service) and shift its paper, microfiche, digital archives, and bibliographic database to the Library of Congress. The report documents the results of research, interviews, public…

Helps external reviewers of academic departments draw on the experience of those who have learned by trial and error. Outlines the steps taken by an external reviewer. Considers the particular task for an external reviewer and presents some notes on self-preservation for the external reviewer. Discusses the external reviewer's responsibility of…

Difficulty in using the comparative value added approach to institutional accountability, in which student achievement is measured by comparison of student entry and exit criteria in relation to some preestablished national standard, is illustrated through an analysis of data on British higher education. The measure is seen as unempirical. (MSE)

Asserts that the advantages of accreditation for communications programs outweighs the disadvantages. Lists 12 frequently listed benefits of accreditation. Argues that accreditation has been and will continue to be a positive force for journalism and mass communication education in the United States. (PRA)

Argues against accreditation in communication education. Asserts that curriculum, policy, and personal matters should be the responsibility of the academic faculty. Adds that the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications should not accredit programs in communication fields other than journalism. (PRA)

Presents two approaches to assessing learning organizations: (1) Focus, Will, Capability, Performance System and (2) organizations as energies. Describes ways in which behavior change is measured in each approach. (SK)

Analyzed the relationship between university research and teaching, determining the extent to which this relationship can support the idea that teaching and research should be analyzed together from an institutional evaluation viewpoint. Data from interviews with researchers at Spanish universities and from the Spanish National Program for the…

This paper presents a number of citations for research concerning community college institutional effectiveness. These references were selected for the breadth and depth of information they provide on diverse approaches to the assessment of effectiveness. In addition to describing practical strategies for developing and implementing assessment …

To be a valuable partner at the strategic level, human resources can and should contribute to both institutional effectiveness measurement and workforce metrics. In this article, the author examines how to link HR initiatives with key institutional strategies, clarifies essential HR responsibilities for workforce results, explores return on human…