In the book the editors bring together the expertise of different stakeholders to illustrate the complexities of the accreditation system and to map the critical issues that must be navigated goind forward

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

Quality accreditation in higher education institutions (HEIs) is currently a buzzword. The need to maintain high-quality education standards is a critical requirement for HEIs to remain competitive in the market and for government and regulatory bodies to ensure the quality standards of programs offered. From being an implicit requirement that is internally addressed, quality assurance activities become an explicit requirement that is regularly audited and appraised by national and international accreditation agencies. HEIs are voluntarily integrating quality management systems (QMS), institutional and program-specific, in response to the political and competitive environment in which it exists. Through its higher education department or by creating non-profitable accreditation bodies, many governments have implemented a quality framework for licensing HEIs and invigilates its adherence based on which accreditation statuses are granted for HEIs. Global Perspectives on Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education Institutions provides a comprehensive framework for HEIs to address quality assurance and quality accreditation requirements and serves as a practical tool to develop and deploy well-defined quality management systems in higher education. The book focuses on the critical aspects of quality assurance; the need to develop a concise and agile vision, mission, values, and graduate attributes; and to develop a system that effectively aligns the various activities of the HEI to the attainment of the strategic priorities listed in the institutional plans. The chapters each cover the various facets of the quality assurance framework and accreditation agencies' requirements with practical examples of each. This book is useful for HEI administrators, quality assurance specialists in HEIs, heads of academic departments, internal auditors, external auditors, and other practitioners of quality, along with stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students interested in quality assurance and accreditation in higher education.

Co-published with “While assessment may feel to constituents like an activity of accountability simply for accreditors, it is most appropriate to approach assessment as an activity of accountability for students. Assessment results that improve institutional effectiveness, heighten student learning, and better align resources serve to make institutions stronger for the benefit of their students, and those results also serve the institution or program well during the holistic evaluation required through accreditation.” – from the foreword by Heather Perfetti, President of the Middle States Commission on Higher EducationColleges and universities struggle to understand precisely what is being asked for by accreditors, and this book answers that question by sharing examples of success reported by schools specifically recommended by accreditors. This compendium gathers examples of assessment practice in twenty-four higher education institutions: twenty-three in the U.S. and one in Australia. All institutions represented in this book were suggested by their accreditor as having an effective assessment approach in one or more of the following assessment focused areas: assessment in the disciplines, co-curricular, course/program/institutional assessment, equity and inclusion, general education, online learning, program review, scholarship of teaching and learning, student learning, or technology. These examples recommended by accrediting agencies makes this a unique contribution to the assessment literature.The book is organized in four parts. Part One is focused on student learning and assessment and includes ten chapters. The primary focus for Part Two is student learning assessment from a disciplinary perspective and includes four chapters. Part Three has a faculty engagement and assessment focus, and Part Four includes four chapters on institutional effectiveness and assessment, with a focus on strategic planning.This book is a publication of the Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education (AALHE), an organization of practitioners interested in using effective assessment practice to document and improve student learning.

The United States is rapidly transforming into one of the most racially and ethnically diverse nations in the world. Groups commonly referred to as minorities-including Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, and Alaska Natives-are the fastest growing segments of the population and emerging as the nation's majority. Despite the rapid growth of racial and ethnic minority groups, their representation among the nation's health professionals has grown only modestly in the past 25 years. This alarming disparity has prompted the recent creation of initiatives to increase diversity in health professions. In the Nation's Compelling Interest considers the benefits of greater racial and ethnic diversity, and identifies institutional and policy-level mechanisms to garner broad support among health professions leaders, community members, and other key stakeholders to implement these strategies. Assessing the potential benefits of greater racial and ethnic diversity among health professionals will improve the access to and quality of healthcare for all Americans.

This volume presents a rich account of the development of accreditation and evaluation in 20 European countries. It shows how accreditation is becoming a main mechanism in the steering of higher education across Europe. The book is unique in its analysis of forces driving towards the spread of different models of accreditation in the emerging European Higher Education area.

Innovation in higher education is a process of institutional adaptation to changes in the environment that enables higher education institutions to improve their existing practice and to be innovative at different levels and in different forms. Moreover, innovativeness is also related to internal characteristics of higher education institutions. Innovation in higher education can be observed as a result of the changing contexts in which higher education institutions function. Adjacently, a comprehensive approach to considering innovativeness is needed in order to enable the examination of different elements of innovativeness in higher education, that is, to identify the key factors that (de)stimulate innovations and affect their interactions with other relevant stakeholders at the national level and beyond. The Handbook of Research on Enhancing Innovation in Higher Education Institutions is a critical scholarly book that examines innovativeness in higher education and its complications and diversity. Starting from the view that higher education is currently confronted by global forces that require new research ideas, the publication suggests that comprehensive understanding of innovativeness is imperative for higher education’s institutions in the 21st century. Analyzing the recognized trends within the publication and concluding which aspects should be taken to improve innovativeness in higher education, this reference book outlines quality and innovation in teaching, innovative university-business cooperation, institutional framework and governance of higher education institutions, knowledge management, and leadership and organizational culture. It is ideal for curriculum designers, administrators, researchers, policymakers, academicians, professionals, and students.

Today a college degree is needed to ensure an avenue to a decent standard of living. The workplace demands lifelong learning, since most workers will change careers several times before retiring. Meanwhile, attaining a degree is becoming more difficult both in terms of the time required and money. This affects not only individuals but encourages lawmakers to seek alternatives. This book examines higher education programs designed for and delivered to working adult students under a unique for-profit model, one that benefits both taxpayer and student.

This reference presents information about quality benchmarks of Indian higher education institute (HEI) accreditation bodies namely, the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and the National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF). The objective of the book is to enlighten stakeholders working in Indian HEIs on the recently revised accreditation and ranking processes, which are crucial to the career prospects of students. The contributors of each chapter include experienced NAAC assessors and educationalists. The authors present their own experiences in the light of the accreditation process and suggestions for the improvement of rankings in their institutes. Topics such as the student feedback system, student perception on private and public universities, student mentoring system, usage of ICT methods in teaching learning process, and integration of life skills into curriculum are discussed in this book. The information is presented in a simple, structured manner and is an informative resource for personnel involved in administrative and policy making roles in higher educational settings, with a focus on the Indian higher education system.