In today's accountability climate, regional accrediting bodies are requiring colleges and universities to develop and sustain a culture of evidence-based decision making and improvement. But two-thirds of college presidents in a 2011 "Inside Higher Ed" survey said their institutions are not particularly strong at using data for making decisions.…

This article utilized a bounded qualitative meta-study framework to examine the 214 dissertations listed by title only in Volume 31 of the "Community College Journal of Research and Practice" ("CCJRP"). Complete abstracts for these dissertations from 2004-2005 were obtained via Proquest Digital Database. The following was the overarching research…

The current landscape of higher education requires those in academe to be accountable to an array of constituents. With students, parents, and government seeking proof of a return on their investment and efficient management of fiscal and human resources, it is essential to have access to appropriate and useful data when researching the operation…

This study addresses a campus institutional effectiveness (IE) process and its influence on faculty and staff. Although a comprehensive, rational IE process appeals to campus leaders, this study found that it creates significant faculty and staff challenges. Campus leaders, faculty, and staff differ in their (a) knowledge and support of IE; (b)…

Over the past decade, institutions of higher education have come under increasing demands for accountability. Colleges and universities are expected to document student learning, beyond traditional course grades. The use of assessment as a tool to improve learning relies on the active involvement of faculty in planning, implementing, and refining…

While department and program quality rankings could be based on such factors as how well the faculty teach, advise students, and perform service roles, in practice most rankings measuring achievement in graduate departments have been based on faculty research performance of various kinds. (Author/MSE)

Many of the services, functions, and publications of Research and Planning at Nova Southeastern University, Florida, were studied. The evaluation was aimed at university improvement and to meet the requirements of the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools that each institution examine the effectiveness of its…

This self-assessment manual is intended to help institutions examine their academic management process to assess how they create and foster a climate that promotes undergraduate teaching and learning. It contains three instruments for self-administration. The "Institutional Case Study Guide" helps users analyze their institution's educational…

The contribution of high school guidance counselors during the information and inquiry stages of students' selection of a college was assessed. A statewide population survey of all high school counselors in New York yielded 660 usable responses (20 percent). Attention is focused on quality estimations of four criteria for 15 institutions. Quality…

This study aims to develop a strategic plan for Joliet Junior College (JJC) (Illinois), in order to address the needs and expectations of the college constituency. JJC is a public two-year college located 30 miles southwest of Chicago. Approximately 11,500 credit students and 17,000 non-credit students attend one of JJC's three campuses. Although…

A case study was done of a large, private, research university's in-house effort to engage in assessment of the quality of faculty worklife, and to describe the variety of political, logistical, fiscal and data base management issues which arose from the largely faculty-directed and volunteer effort. Prompted by learning of efforts to create a…

The conditions under which the effectiveness of a university grants operation is potentially maximized are described. The following topics are addressed: the attitudes to be adopted by university administrators in grants operations, the functions of the institutional grants office, and the qualities needed in a campus coordinator of research. The…

Assessment can be viewed as innovation to be adopted by the people in an institution. It is up to leaders in higher-education institutions to identify early-adopter and majority groups of faculty in schools, colleges, and departments and work with them to adapt assessment to local conditions in a way that overcomes any perceived disadvantages.…

The purpose of this report is to describe the development and field testing of a two-year college version of the National Center for Higher Education Management System's (NCHEMS) Institutional Performance Survey (IPS), an instrument designed to provide information on the perceptions of various groups about the overall functioning and performance…

The Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities (UECU) was developed as an alternative form of postsecondary education, fostering the development of university without walls programs at a number of institutions and initiating its own undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Its commitment is to personalized, self-directed, lifelong…