Addresses the unforeseen impact of accountability standards on students of colour and the institutions that disproportionately serve them. The book describes how federal policies can worsen existing racial inequalities in higher education and offers alternative solutions aimed to protect and advance civil rights for low-income and minority students and their colleges.

In Accountability in American Higher Education prominent academics, entrepreneurs, and journalists assess the obstacles to, and potential opportunities for, accountability in higher education in America. Providing analysis that can be used to engage institutions of higher education in the difficult but necessary conversation of accountability.

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.

The evolving societal, political and economic landscape has led to increased demands on higher education institutions to make their contribution and benefits to society more visible, and in many cases with fewer public resources. This book contributes to the understanding of the responsibilities of Higher Education and the challenges posed to the production and circulation of knowledge. It raises questions about the role of higher education in society, its responsibility towards students and staff, and regarding its intended impact. The book brings together a range of topical papers, and a diversity of perspectives: scientific investigations of reputed scholars, critical evidence-based papers of third space professionals, and policymakers’ perspectives on the daily practice and management of higher education institutions and systems. The variety of both content and contributors elevates the richness of the book and its relevance for a large audience. Contributors are: Victor M. H. Borden, Lex Borghans, Bruno Broucker, Hamish Coates, Gwilym Croucher, Lisa Davidson, Mark Engberg, Philipp Friedrich, Martina Gaisch, Solomon Gebreyohans Gebru, Ton Kallenberg, Kathi A. Ketcheson, Lu Liu, Alfredo Marra, Clare Milsom, Kenneth Moore, Roberto Moscati, Marjolein Muskens, Daniela Nömeyer, Attila Pausits, Svetlana Shenderova, Wafa Singh, Chuanyi Wang, Denyse Webbstock, Gregory Wolniak, and Jiale Yang. See inside the book.

Affordability, access, and accountability have long been among the central challenges facing higher education—and they remain so today. Here, Donald E. Heller and other higher education scholars and practitioners explore the current debates surrounding these key issues. As students and their families struggle to meet rising tuition prices, and as state funding for higher education dwindles, policymakers confront issues of affordability within state and institutional budgets. Changing demographics and challenges to affirmative action complicate the admissions process even as colleges and universities seek to diversify enrollments. And issues of institutional accountability have forced the restructuring of higher education governing boards and a reexamination of the role of public trustees in governance. This collection analyzes how issues of affordability, access, and accountability influence the way in which state governments approach, monitor, and set public higher education policy. The contributors examine the latest research on pressing challenges, explore how states are coping with these challenges, and consider what the future holds for public postsecondary education in the United States.

The latest volume in the Routledge International Studies in Higher Education series, Accountability in Higher Education takes an in-depth look at accountability initiatives around the world. Various evaluations, reporting schemes, and indicator systems have been initiated both to inform the public about higher education performance and to help transform universities and colleges and improve their functioning. This edited collection provides a comparative analysis of the promises, perils and paradoxes of accountability, and the potential effect on power structures and higher education autonomy, trust and the legitimacy of the sector. Part I describes how accountability is perceived and understood in different regions of the world, identifies some of the most common elements in established accountability initiatives, especially related to quality assurance, and provides direction for possible future development. Part II focuses on responses to new demands for accountability at institutional, national and international levels, and provides practical guidance for handling accountability going forward, emphasizing the dynamic relationship between international development, government strategies and organizational change. This volume is a must-have resource for HE managers, administrators, policy makers, researchers, HE graduate students and those interested or involved with HE accountability practices.

Beginning with the earliest efforts to regulate schools, the author reveals the rationale behind accountability and outlines the historical development of how US federal and state policies, accreditation practices, private-sector interests, and internal requirements have become so important to institutional success and survival

The growing impact of university rankings on public policy and on students choices has stirred controversy worldwide. This unique volume brings together the architects of university rankings and their critics to debate the uses and misuses of existing rankings. With voices from five continents, it provides a comprehensive overview of current thinking on the subject and sets out alternative approaches and complementary tools for a new era of transparent and informed use of higher education ranking tables.

By mandating high standards for all students, the No Child Left Behind Act has promised to close the achievement gap and bring all students up to proficient levels by 2014. The challenge is in connecting the goals of NCLB legislation with the realities of change in the classroom.