Yong Zhao is Foundations Distinguished Professor in the School of Education with an appointment in the School of Business at the University of Kansas. Prior to joining KU, he served as the Presidential Chair, Director of the Institute for Global and Online Education, and Associate Dean in the College of Education, University of Oregon, where he…

The essay describes how a task team of Drexel EdD faculty worked as a community of practice (Wenger, 1998) to conduct a crosswalk to align program principles, known as the Keystones, with national and university standards including the six Guiding Principles for Program Design contained in the CPED Framework (Carnegie Project on the Education…

This research demonstrates that cooperative inquiry (CI) offers authentic opportunities for academics to transform their teaching, paving the way for additional collaborative practices in higher education across a range of disciplines. Using data from cycles of action and reflection, a multidisciplinary group of seven tertiary teachers committed…

In this paper, we explore the work life of a scholar new to academia in her methods of leading informally. We discuss five vignettes that offer moments of learning and reflection, including reducing performance anxiety, privileging financial accountability, the rise of the virtual world, the impact of silence, and the potential for confrontation…

Systematic changes to higher education curriculum typically occur within the extended timeframes of formal curriculum review processes. Programmes need to be reviewed periodically for internal and external accountability or to determine whether the curriculum has lost its coherence due to the accumulative effect of continual small-scale changes.…

This article describes how community colleges take on major changes as they undergo complete organizational redesign and streamlining of programming and services in the face of multiple challenges.

This study examined the influence of media framing on attitudes toward charter school reform. Participants in an Internet-based experiment were presented, at random, with one of three manipulated news articles framing charter school reform as (a) supportive of values such as freedom, choice, and innovation; (b) conflicting with values such as…

This Accountability Report shows the status and progression of the University of West Florida (UWF) from one year to the next. The Executive Summary is divided into the following sections: (1) Dashboard; (2) Performance Funding Metrics; (3) Key Achievements; and (4) Narrative. Data tables on UWF's financial resources, personnel, enrollment,…

The accountability versus improvement debate is an old one. Although being traditionally considered dichotomous purposes of higher education quality assessment, some authors defend the need of balancing both in quality assessment systems. This article goes a step further and contends that not only they should be balanced but also that other…

Information Resource Management - State University System of Florida (IRM-SUS) is the primary collector and provider of data concerning state universities that is used to make sound education policy decisions. The office provides technical assistance to those using the information, state and federal reporting support, those supplying information,…

This dissertation explores and explains the organizational responses of Mexican public state universities to an ambitious incentive-based policy created by the federal government in 2001: "The Integral Program for Institutional Strengthening" ("PIFI"). Drawing upon literature on organizational-environmental relationships and on…

Purpose: Multiculturalism and diversity are both evident and encouraged in the UK. However, this paper highlights evidence pointing towards the passive and sporadic transmission of unifying values--especially prevalent when interacting with individuals across cultures, or in culturally diverse settings. The aim is to stimulate debate surrounding…

Miami-Dade County voters sent a strong message on November 4, 2014, in a rare (as per public university practices) referendum on their public university's role in their community. The voters made it clear that they want Florida International University (FIU) to expand--to provide more and better educational opportunities for their community, by a…

During 2013-14, national rankings continued to affirm the quality and reputation of New College of Florida's academic program. Princeton Review, Kiplinger's, U.S. News & World Report, Washington Monthly, Forbes, and Fiske Guide to Colleges each placed New College of Florida in their top rankings. Adding to their reputation, the percentage of…

This statistical report provides data tables on Florida Gulf Coast University's (FGCU's) financial resources, personnel, enrollment, undergraduate education, graduate education, and research & economic development. Highlighted data include: (1) Recent results (fall 2013) of FGCU's participation in the National Survey of Student Engagement…