American public higher education systems include the largest and most impactful colleges and universities in the nation, including 75 percent of the nation's public sector students. While their impact is enormous, they are largely neglected as an area of study and underutilized as an instrument for the improvement of postsecondary outcomes.…

No country can afford mass access and high quality-it will never happen (Altbatch, 2012). Massification has characterized global higher education since the mid-1940s starting in the United States, spreading to Europe and East Asia in the 20th Century, before expanding to Sub-Sahara Africa. Various scholars have linked massification, and the…

Problem Statement: With the increasing importance of information and research, the importance of education and training has also increased. Especially in higher education institutions, educators have started to instruct students in accordance with the requirements of the modern era, and universities have influenced the international and national…

Current higher education assessment practices and goals of additional assessment are discussed in testimony before the National Governors Association Task Force on College Quality. Ways to improve the assessment process are also suggested by the chair-elect of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. In addition to student…

Public higher education stands as one of the true success stories in our nation's history. It is a story of transformation-for students, main streets, communities, and states-from the Industrial Age to the Space Age and now to the Information Age. For nearly a century and a half, the American people have looked to state colleges and…

Developments in the assessment movement are summarized, with educational guesses made about the impact these developments could have at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD). Information is presented as follows: national concerns; national and federal developments; western regional developments: assessment and accreditation;…

One of the working papers in the final report of the Arizona Board of Regents' Task Force on Excellence, Efficiency and Competitiveness, this document presents statistical data on the transition of Arizona's universities, consolidating many ad hoc analyses. It lists selected data that helped identify and develop Task Force issues and describes the…

One of the working papers in the final report of the Arizona Board of Regents' Task Force on Excellence, Efficiency and Competitiveness, this document focuses on the normal and documented activities that could be described as leading to strategic choices and implementation efforts in the Arizona universities. The strategic planning literature is…

The financial component of Spain's effort to reform higher education is outlined, particularly as it is designed to accomplish changes in program design and manage educational quality. Proposals for financing public universities include a new financial structure for universities, a new resource allocation model, and a program of student grants and…

An overview of Michigan State University's (MSU) Refocusing, Rebalancing, and Refining (R3) process is presented. R3 is a concerted effort to assure that MSU is doing the right things at the right time, addressing the changes which are exerting powerful influences on MSU's future. It is also a document describing the strategic planning process.…

As one in a series of working papers in the final report of the Arizona Board of Regents' (ABOR) Task Force on Excellence, Efficiency and Competitiveness, this document presents data on an anlaysis undertaken to determine how Arizona's universities emphasize new or expanded programs. Areas of institutional focus are identified to help develop…

As one of the working papers in the final report of the Arizona Board of Regents' Task Force on Excellence, Efficiency and Competitiveness, this document makes a comparison between Arizona's system of higher education and those of other states, in order to place Arizona's higher education efforts in perspective. The number of universities and…

This report presents a plan for improving higher education within Virginia focusing on controlling costs, improving educational quality, and increasing productivity. The report's three sections: (1) review the price higher education has paid in absorbing massive budgetary reductions and discuss Virginia's current standing among the states in…

The report of the Independent Commission on the Future of the State University of New York is presented, based on public hearings, review of staff studies, visits to the 18 campuses, and interviews with personnel at the State University of New York (SUNY), other colleges, and state officials. Major findings include: SUNY is the most overregulated…

The University of Amsterdam (Netherlands) uses self-study and peer review to enhance its required, periodic external quality assessments. Lessons learned include these: change must be tailored to the discipline; mutual trust, respect, understanding of the principles, and involvement among all parties is crucial to success; and management…