The German system for educating and certifying pharmacists is described, including national standards for curriculum content and design, licensing examinations, the structure of graduate study and specialization, and the availability of continuing professional education. (MSE)

Considers the relationship of the quality of images with the needs of users of digitized manuscripts. Highlights include goals of digitization; for whom to digitize; experiences of the National Library of the Czech Republic digitizing and providing electronic access to historical documents; preparation of manuscript descriptions; usability of…

Drawing on the experience of Oregon's new-teacher evaluation system, describes teacher work-sample methodology and evidence for its reliability and validity in evaluating the performance of prospective teachers. This is a methodology that responds to the challenge issued by the National Commission on Teaching and the America's Future challenge.…

Examines implications of quality assessment for distance education and other forms of materials-based learning. Suggests that materials-based teaching cannot properly be judged in quite the same terms as conventional, face-to-face teaching. Presents and discusses 20 questions for program evaluation. (Author/AEF)

In a study of the utility of classroom assessment techniques (CATs) for improving quality of college instruction, ten instructors were trained in CAT use, implemented those techniques, and discussed experiences with other faculty. Faculty found CATs particularly helpful in certain areas of instruction and planned further use. Students also…

To improve student performance on standardized tests, principals must evaluate the school's most recent scores, compile a simple statistical comparison of potential and actual performance on evaluated skills, and discuss results and improvement strategies with groups of teachers. Classroom observations, cooperative planning, and curriculum mapping…

Examines ways in which the demand for quality and changes affecting teaching and learning are intersecting in Australian higher education, and forecasts ways quality will be managed in the next century. Discusses the trend toward institutional diversity, the impact of communication and information technologies, rise of collaborative teaching on…

The Association of American Colleges and Universities' statement calling for a national dialog about effective higher education is presented. It examines the considerable task institutions face in educating a generation of students in an era of near-universal postsecondary education, fundamental choices to be made, mixed signals in public policy,…

Uses data from pilot year of Pre-school Education Initiative in Scotland to look at the impact of government-introduced voucher system intended to expand preschool provision. Identifies four changes in provision and for the culture: playroom activities, expectations for purpose/outcomes of program, parental roles, and requirements for quality…

This study evaluated the admissions process for a Master's in Business Administration Program using such quality improvement techniques as customer surveys, benchmarking, and gap analysis. Analysis revealed that student dissatisfaction with the admissions process may be a factor influencing declining enrollment. Cycle time and number of student…

Develops a model of the child-care environment, concentrating on how child-staff ratios, group size, and caregiver ability influence amount of time children spend on-task and intensity of caregiver-child interactions. The model clarifies these variables' roles and explains regulation's potential costs and benefits. Regulation alone cannot improve…

Outlines strategies used by one Australian university for systematic quality improvement, including development of a quality management plan, devolution of responsibility for quality advancement to faculties and schools, and improving documentation of quality-assurance procedures and outcomes. Topics discussed include leadership, committees,…

Discussion of the introduction of quality assurance into Spanish universities gives a brief recent history of the university system, describes first experiences in quality assessment during the 1990s and their results, and explains the structure and outcomes of the 1995 institutionalization of a national program for institutional evaluation.…

Entrepreneurial universities (nontraditional institutions that provide instructional services in alternative formats at multiple locations) face a variety of challenges as they attempt to incorporate quality assurance and improvement strategies. The development of these institutions; the resistance they face within academe; and the processes they…

Discusses the complexity facing South African researchers in higher education as they try to overcome the heritage of the old, fragmented higher education system. Necessary paradigm shifts are identified, as are focus areas for improving the quality of South African higher education research at both national and institutional levels. (DB)