In recent years, governmental policy changes have exerted significant impact on the structural transformation, role diversity and commercialisation of national quality assurance agencies in many nations. Due to policy change, ongoing structural transformation and emerging roles, four national quality assurance agencies in Australia, Japan,…

The Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA; P.L. 89-329, as amended) authorizes programs and activities that make federal financial assistance available to individuals who are pursuing a postsecondary education and to institutions of higher education (IHEs). It also authorizes a number of other activities and functions related to postsecondary…

Education means all round development, this all round development means intellectual, social and emotional development. It is only education that can mould the behavior of an individual. READ (Rural Education and Development) Foundation is notfor-profit organization established in 1994 to address the dire need for education and literacy in…

Describes the system of external institutional evaluation in Netherlands universities, distinguishing between the organizations conducting the assessment itself and the follow-up. The primary assessing organization is a private one, funded and governed by the 14 universities, and uses discipline-based assessment teams. The follow-up assessment is…

Describes the college accreditation processes in the United States within the larger context of state, federal, and institutional accountability and reviews some of the continuing debates over ways to improve accreditation. Notes key issues (gathering evidence and using expert judgment) receiving attention by accrediting agencies in recent years.…

The history of the U.S. Office of Education's (OE) relationship with private accrediting agencies is traced. "Criteria for Nationally Recognized Accrediting Agencies and Associations" have been used to determine which accrediting agencies and associations are reliable authorities for identifying the quality of training offered by…

Controversies concerning the role of college accrediting agencies are identified, including such issues as student enrollment diversity, student loan defaults, and accountability. Recent actions of the Education Department, Congress, and specialized accrediting agencies are noted, as is controversy concerning linking accreditation by a regional…

Types of planning and evaluation information already being gathered by the Office for Student Affairs (OSA), University of Minnesota, and recommendations for new efforts in the measurement of the volume of OSA's activities, the costs of OSA services/functions, and quality of OSA programs are examined. It is suggested that planning information in…

Accountability has become an integral part of the accreditation process in higher education. The function has traditionally been performed by private agencies with the purpose of establishing common standards among colleges and universities. The function has recently expanded to include a concern for the welfare of society, and this has increased…

Eight public educational institutions serving three counties of Appalachian Maryland (Allegany, Garrett, Washington) have joined together to plan and develop public education on a regional basis in order to: (1) raise the overall quality of education; (2) broaden curricula to meet regional economic needs, especially at post-secondary level; (3)…

In 1998, Virginia's Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) was directed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicle's (DMV's) oversight of commercial driver training schools (CDTS) in Virginia. The evaluation included the following research activities: mail surveys of DMV CDTS oversight staff and CDTS…