Learning Resources

Abstract: To provide access to and retain both students of color and low-income students, community colleges must change to create environments in which all students can succeed. Change strategies must focus on the core mission of the institution and rely on data regarding the experiences of students at the institution. When student data are used to inform the planning and decision-making processes at a college, a "culture of evidence" is fostered. This article explores how colleges in the "Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count," a funded national initiative, use the Community College Inventory of: Persistence, Learning, and Attainment, to develop a culture of evidence.

Abstract: Born out of a belief that higher education must improve its delivery of service, the School of Education and Human Services at Oakland University initiated and implemented a quality system. To better respond to market need, this initiative focused on current behavior and the future needs of the students, faculty, and school-at-large. This article reports the steps taken, lessons learned, and recommendations developed for implementing a quality initiative process successfully within a university culture. The outcome of this process was the creation of a template that can be used by other units in higher education.

Abstract: This book provides insight on the higher education assessment process with an emphasis on planning and metrics. Using their extensive experience on the University of Delaware campus, the authors give numerous examples of the integrated nature of planning. Intended for anyone on campus who is involved with the planning or accrediting process.

Abstract: A fatal flaw in accountability programs is that they leave academic departments-the units most responsible for results-out of the performance loop. This article ties together institutional priorities and departmental performance through a limited list of common departmental indicators. It also links institutional aims and departmental aspirations through a planning process using institutional and departmental feedback loops, which convey performance information but also create new knowledge through dialogue on performance. This planning approach fixes a fatal flaw in accountability programs; a similar process at Florida International University shows it works in practice.

Abstract: Retaining students is a critical topic in higher education. Methodologies abound to gather attrition data as well as key variables important to retention. Using the theories of total quality management and focus groups, this case study gathers and reports data from current college students. Key results, suggestions for replication, and areas for future research are included.

Abstract: This article uses the results of a national study to propose several multidimensional planning models for institutional planners and researchers. It focuses on developing, supporting, and using a number of dimensions within six domains that the research study identified as important factors for inclusion in planning models. The domains are external influences on student assessment, institutional context (type, control, and size), institutional approach to student assessment, institution-wide support for student assessment, assessment management policies and practices, and uses and impacts of student assessment.

Abstract: Highlights reasons why faculty productivity has become such a central concern – rising costs and decreased funding, public demand for accountability, and pressure to restructure institutions to meet the needs of a high-tech society. Outlines the recent faculty productivity review at the University of Delaware, stresses elements integral to the success of such reviews, and compares the results to nationwide productivity data.

Abstract: Subtitles: Anatomy of benchmarking; The vital parts; How do colleges learn?; It's no one's responsibility; What's the corrective?; How does it work? Pull quotes: "Benchmarking is not a simple matter of visiting the finest competitors." "There are really two parts to benchmarking." "Universities can learn a great deal from the best non-educational enterprises." "It is most effective when performed by a team." "The first impression of a campus can have a powerful effect." "Faculty members tend to see money spent on campus grounds as a frivolous expenditure." "Newer campus plantings look like those around large suburban homes." "The campus landscape assessment is a different animal."F

Abstract: Consortia, their impact on cooperating institutions, and critical factors in inter-institutional planning were the subject of a recent study for the United States Office of Education, directed by Harold L. Hodgkinson of the Center for Research and Development in Higher Education at the University of California at Berkeley. The critical issues, according to the study findings, are problems of reciprocity and autonomy, coordination of programs among diverse institutions, and strategies for campus involvement and leadership. The following article, by three staff members of the New Hampshire College and University Council—one of the consortia in the Hodgkinson study—is devoted to a discussion of the process of consortium decision-making, touching on the three key issues. The authors are: Lynn G. Johnson, the Council's associate director in charge of academic programs; Dr. William W. Barnard, consultant and coordinator of a two-year Cooperative Curriculum Project, and Douglas W. Lyon, coordinator of January Term Programs and communications coordinator.