Discusses assessment with a focus on the speech communication discipline. Addresses the challenge communication administrators and educators continually face. (PA)

Policy statements of the Association of Departments of Foreign Languages are presented for administration of foreign language departments; use of outside reviewers; and statement of good practice: teaching, evaluation, and scholarship.(LB)

Points our the reasons speech communication is particularly fortunate among academic fields today. Reviews criteria that will ensure the preservation of college programs: (1) quality of research; (2) interrelationship with other disciplines; (3) a balance between competence instruction and theoretical instruction; and (4) a public constituency.…

An outside evaluator can help an institution open up dialogue and bring about change by focusing the attention of top administrators, faculty, and students on goals seen as important by groups within the institution. Bringing in an outside evaluator to colleges and universities, English departments and writing programs, can be a touchy, often…

Discusses the nature of the speech communication department and the possible benefits accreditation may bring to the department. (PD)

Discusses ways program administrators can do a better job of justifying their curricula in light of high costs and limited enrollments. Describes procedures used at Community College of Philadelphia for assessing new programs (the comprehensive feasibility study) and determining the success of existing programs (the academic audit). (DMM)

In this article, the authors advance 10 postulates describing what they believe to be true about collaboration in special education: (1) Collaboration in teacher education is possible; (2) Collaborative programs can be initiated from many departure points; (3) Collaboration requires real time for communication; (4) Supportive leadership is…

Discusses departmental program reviews and evaluations in terms of the growing body of information on quality assessment application. Suggests five essential operational and substantive characteristics for inclusion in a departmental handbook. (KEH)

A strategy is proposed for using student assessment to support the role of colleges and universities as learning-centered communities. It reframes the practice of formal, internal academic program review to focus on student learning and provides examples of data needed to support this process, some generated by the institutional researcher and…

Traces the historically optimistic view of college-secondary school cooperation. Asks why such optimism has faded in recent years. Considers how college-level departments of English can collaborate with high school English programs, such as in collaborative conferences. (HB)

Discusses state-mandated assessment at the university level, as experienced in one department of communication. Offers five recommendations to ensure integrity in a politically motivated process. (SR)

Considers how departments of English can evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum and teaching throughout the entire program. Outlines the way that the joint English department at the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University developed a full-scale assessment program for the undergraduate major. (HB)

This paper reviews the role played by the Title I (now Chapter 1) Evaluation Technical Assistance Centers in providing technical assistance to state and local agencies. It presents (1) a legistative history; (2) the Technical Assistance Center (TAC) activities under Title I; (3) an evaluation of the TACs; (4) the legislative changes enacted by the…

Program review is essential for long-range planning, financial accountability, and self-validation. One option for dealing with the limitations of many program review models is a mini-accreditation approach to assess the extent of goal attainment within a broad category of activities or outcomes. All members of the department being reviewed should…

Two issues in the Holtzman Project bear examination and reconsideration: (1) the recommendation for the use of field experiments as an exclusive "authorized" evaluation design, and (2) the focus on the needs of the federal client, and the apparent lack of concern for clients at the state and local levels. (GC)