Assessing Quality in Postsecondary Education

Assessing Quality in Postsecondary Education
Author: Harvey P. Weingarten
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
Total Pages: 217
Release: 2018-04-09
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1553395336

For many years the benefits conferred by a higher education went undisputed. But students, employers, governments, and taxpayers are now demanding evidence of educational quality and value. At the same time, fiscally strapped governments are raising questions about how institutions are funded and the role quality should play in setting funding levels. In the face of these mounting pressures, jurisdictions around the world are working toward designing meaningful indicators to measure the performance of postsecondary institutions that go beyond enrolment numbers, graduation rates, and ever-popular reputational rankings. Assessing Quality in Postsecondary Education: International Perspectives presents a collection of thought-provoking essays by world-renowned higher-education thinkers and policy experts that discuss ways of defining and measuring academic quality. The papers were presented at a conference convened by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario in May 2017 and provide valuable insight into this pressing issue and underscore the need for reform.

European Higher Education Area: The Impact of Past and Future Policies

European Higher Education Area: The Impact of Past and Future Policies
Author: Adrian Curaj
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 727
Release: 2018-07-03
Genre: Education
ISBN: 3319774077

This volume presents the major outcomes of the third edition of the Future of Higher Education – Bologna Process Researchers Conference (FOHE-BPRC 3) which was held on 27-29 November 2017. It acknowledges the importance of a continued dialogue between researchers and decision-makers and benefits from the experience already acquired, this way enabling the higher education community to bring its input into the 2018-2020 European Higher Education Area (EHEA) priorities. The Future of Higher Education – Bologna Process Researchers Conference (FOHE-BPRC) has already established itself as a landmark in the European higher education environment. The two previous editions (17-19 October 2011, 24-26 November 2014), with approximately 200 European and international participants each, covering more than 50 countries each, were organized prior to the Ministerial Conferences, thus encouraging a consistent dialogue between researchers and policy makers. The main conclusions of the FOHE Conferences were presented at the EHEA Ministerial Conferences (2012 and 2015), in order to make the voice of researchers better heard by European policy and decision makers. This volume is dedicated to continuing the collection of evidence and research-based policymaking and further narrowing the gap between policy and research within the EHEA and broader global contexts. It aims to identify the research areas that require more attention prior to the anniversary 2020 EHEA Ministerial Conference, with an emphasis on the new issues on rise in the academic and educational community. This book gives a platform for discussion on key issues between researchers, various direct higher education actors, decision-makers, and the wider public. This book is published under an open access CC BY license.

Improving Quality in American Higher Education

Improving Quality in American Higher Education
Author: Richard Arum
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2016-05-31
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1119268508

An ambitious, comprehensive reimagining of 21st century higher education Improving Quality in American Higher Education outlines the fundamental concepts and competencies society demands from today's college graduates, and provides a vision of the future for students, faculty, and administrators. Based on a national, multidisciplinary effort to define and measure learning outcomes—the Measuring College Learning project—this book identifies 'essential concepts and competencies' for six disciplines. These essential concepts and competencies represent efforts towards articulating a consensus among faculty in biology, business, communication, economics, history, and sociology—disciplines that account for nearly 40 percent of undergraduate majors in the United States. Contributions from thought leaders in higher education, including Ira Katznelson, George Kuh, and Carol Geary Schneider, offer expert perspectives and persuasive arguments for the need for greater clarity, intentionality, and quality in U.S. higher education. College faculty are our best resource for improving the quality of undergraduate education. This book offers a path forward based on faculty perspectives nationwide: Clarify program structure and aims Articulate high-quality learning goals Rigorously measure student progress Prioritize higher order competencies and disciplinarily grounded conceptual understandings A culmination of over two years of efforts by faculty and association leaders from six disciplines, this book distills the national conversation into a delineated set of fundamental ideas and practices, and advocates for the development and use of rigorous assessment tools that are valued by faculty, students, and society. Improving Quality in American Higher Education brings faculty voices to the fore of the conversation and offers an insightful look at the state of higher education, and a realistic strategy for better serving our students.

Learning and Performance Assessment: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications

Learning and Performance Assessment: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications
Author: Management Association, Information Resources
Publisher: IGI Global
Total Pages: 1792
Release: 2019-10-11
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1799804216

As teaching strategies continue to change and evolve, and technology use in classrooms continues to increase, it is imperative that their impact on student learning is monitored and assessed. New practices are being developed to enhance students’ participation, especially in their own assessment, be it through peer-review, reflective assessment, the introduction of new technologies, or other novel solutions. Educators must remain up-to-date on the latest methods of evaluation and performance measurement techniques to ensure that their students excel. Learning and Performance Assessment: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications is a vital reference source that examines emerging perspectives on the theoretical and practical aspects of learning and performance-based assessment techniques and applications within educational settings. Highlighting a range of topics such as learning outcomes, assessment design, and peer assessment, this multi-volume book is ideally designed for educators, administrative officials, principals, deans, instructional designers, school boards, academicians, researchers, and education students seeking coverage on an educator’s role in evaluation design and analyses of evaluation methods and outcomes.

Measuring the Value of a Postsecondary Education

Measuring the Value of a Postsecondary Education
Author: Ken Norrie
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2013-03-02
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1553395107

Measuring the Value of a Postsecondary Education is an insightful collection of essays that respond to current and pressing questions in the field of higher education: What do we mean by "quality" of education? What do courses and programs promise to deliver, and do they succeed? What do we know about improving learning outcomes, and is reform possible? Comprised of papers presented at a conference of experts convened by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario in 2011, the book begins by evaluating pioneering initiatives in Europe, and follows this with reports on efforts to measure and evaluate learning outcomes. Drawing on over two decades of work by international agencies, governments, and foundations in identifying and evaluating learning outcomes in higher education, Measuring the Value of a Postsecondary Education encourages educational institutions to draw on this evidence in revising course and program offerings. Bringing together international leaders and innovators in the field, this book is an important analysis of progress in enhancing learning quality and directions for future reform. Contributors include Jeana Abromeit (Alverno College), Roger Benjamin (Council for Aid to Education), Ken Dryden (Canadian politician), Michael Gallagher (Group of Eight), Virginia Hatchette (Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board), Jillian Kinzie (Indiana University), Diane Lalancette (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), Holiday Hart McKiernan (Lumina Foundation), Robert Wagenaar (University of Groningen), and Lorne A. Whitehead (University of British Columbia).

Handbook on Measurement, Assessment, and Evaluation in Higher Education

Handbook on Measurement, Assessment, and Evaluation in Higher Education
Author: Charles Secolsky
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 1112
Release: 2017-07-31
Genre: Education
ISBN: 131748553X

In this valuable resource, well-known scholars present a detailed understanding of contemporary theories and practices in the fields of measurement, assessment, and evaluation, with guidance on how to apply these ideas for the benefit of students and institutions. Bringing together terminology, analytical perspectives, and methodological advances, this second edition facilitates informed decision-making while connecting the latest thinking in these methodological areas with actual practice in higher education. This research handbook provides higher education administrators, student affairs personnel, institutional researchers, and faculty with an integrated volume of theory, method, and application.

Assessment Strategies for Online Learning

Assessment Strategies for Online Learning
Author: Dianne Conrad
Publisher: Athabasca University Press
Total Pages: 220
Release: 2018-07-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1771992328

Assessment has provided educational institutions with information about student learning outcomes and the quality of education for many decades. But has it informed practice and been fully incorporated into the learning cycle? Conrad and Openo argue that the potential inherent in many of the new learning environments being explored by educators and students has not been fully realized. In this investigation of a variety of assessment methods and learning approaches, the authors aim to discover the tools that engage learners and authentically evaluate education. They insist that moving to new learning environments, specifically those online and at a distance, afford opportunities for educators to adopt only the best practices of traditional face-to-face assessment while exploring evaluation tools made available by a digital learning environment in the hopes of arriving at methods that capture the widest set of learner skills and attributes.

Achieving Accountability in Higher Education

Achieving Accountability in Higher Education
Author: Joseph C. Burke
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Total Pages: 408
Release: 2005
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

With contributions from leading experts in the field, this comprehensive and timely book presents the principles and guidelines for effective accountability for states, colleges, and universities. Achieving Accountability in Higher Education clarifies the concept of accountability for both public and private colleges and universities and explores its reaches and limits. The book examines the most recent developments, offers current models for each of the major approaches to accountability, and analyzes their shortcomings.

Assessing the Online Learner

Assessing the Online Learner
Author: Rena M. Palloff
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2008-12-03
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0470460148

Written by Rena M. Palloff and Keith Pratt, experts in the field of online teaching and learning, this hands-on resource helps higher education professionals understand the fundamentals of effective online assessment. It offers guidance for designing and implementing creative assessment practices tied directly to course activities to measure student learning. The book is filled with illustrative case studies, authentic assessments based in real-life application of concepts, and collaborative activities that assess the quality of student learning rather than relying on the traditional methods of measuring the amount of information retained.

Measuring College Learning Responsibly

Measuring College Learning Responsibly
Author: Richard Shavelson
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2010
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0804761205

This book examines current practices in assessment of learning and accountability at a time when accrediting boards, the federal government and state legislatures are requiring higher education to account for such outcomes as student retention, graduation, and learning.