This paper analyzes the routes of the evaluation of higher education in Brazil, from 1995 until 2010. In 1995, during Fernando Henrique Cardoso's administration, higher education began a process of expansion through private enterprise. At that time, evaluation had a key role. The focus was the evaluation of courses conducted by the Ministry of…

In order to obtain an accreditation, the university management must implement a quality assurance system and be able to document that quality policy and procedures are followed and acted upon as appropriate. One element in this system is monitoring students' satisfaction. In this paper, we describe a method of acquiring the necessary information…

For colleges seeking to improve student outcomes, new technologies often appear to hold the promise of transformative change. Across the country, colleges are using technological tools to enhance reform efforts related to how they teach, how they provide supports to students, and how they guide students through programs of study. In order for…

Over the last few decades, college admission rates for Latinos have increased. However, the achievement gap between Latino students and other ethnic groups remains wide. Peer mentorship programs have shared in some degree of success in promoting the academic success of diverse and underrepresented student populations. Despite the growing…

This article seeks to evaluate universities against an ideal and finds the modern university gravely wanting in terms of its governance, staff and student relationships, and in the way it delivers its teaching and research. It is corrupted by power relationships, the lack of real accountability of SMTs, the failure to recognise the disciplines and…

This article examines multiple inventory methods and findings from the inventory processes at the University of Mississippi Libraries. In an attempt to reduce user frustration from not being able to locate materials, the University of Mississippi Libraries conducted an inventory process beginning with a pilot inventory of a branch library and a…

Decades of research in survey methodology and psychology have yielded important insights about how to create effective and valid survey instruments. As Porter (in press) has argued convincingly, college student surveys often fall well short of these standards by placing unrealistic demands on students' memory and by assuming that students readily…

Multilevel modeling (MLM), also referred to as hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) or mixed models, provides a powerful analytical framework through which to study colleges and universities and their impact on students. Due to the natural hierarchical structure of data obtained from students or faculty in colleges and universities, MLM offers many…

In this paper we analyze the relationship between charter school authorizers and student achievement. We perform this analysis using a 10-year panel dataset from Minnesota, a state that permits four distinct types of authorizers--local school boards, postsecondary institutions, nonprofit organizations, and the Minnesota Department of Education.…

Over the past two decades, public higher education has become widely recognized for its contribution to socio-economic adjustment. This paper probes its evolution in two large and affluent democracies, the United States and Germany, whose higher education systems represent distinct ideal types. The analysis argues that public authorities in both…

This research overview provides the key messages arising from two related projects investigating tertiary education institutions that have recently begun to offer tertiary programs outside the sector of their initial establishment and the sector of the majority of their enrolments. These are TAFE institutes offering higher education programs,…

Establishing institutional effectiveness has beleaguered U.S. higher education institutions for thirty years. One key element of institutional effectiveness is the ability of an organization to use data for effective decision-making. This study provides new insight into this critical component of institutional effectiveness by examining the…

Quality assurance of higher education is made up of two parts: internal quality assurance (IQA) and external quality assurance (EQA). Both belong to a union of the coexistence and balance of yin and yang. But in reality there exists a paradox of "confusion of quality assurance (QA) subject consciousness, singularity of social QA and lack of QA…

The malaria center is at the heart of the kind of work Michigan State University's (MSU) African Studies Center has been engaged in on the African continent since it was founded half a century ago. The university is marking the center's 50th anniversary this year with a series of events that include large photo exhibits at one of the university's…

The article addresses the opportunities and drawbacks of institutional research as a particular form of higher education research in Europe and its relationship to institutional-level policymaking. Through emphasis on institutional research on student matters, and student experience and engagement in particular, we offer suggestions for future…