Quality Assurance in Higher Education

Quality has become a major international issue for the academy as higher education finds itself under increasing scrutiny from governments, the media, and consumers concerned about receiving greater value for their investments. This volume presents some of the best quality assurance policies, practices, and procedures found in five progressive countries. It offers an international set of resources-including Web sites and other electronic resources-to assist practitioners in achieving the goals of their own quality assurance frameworks. The contributors emphasize that the key to successful quality assurance programs lies in the professional commitment of the faculty to these efforts, and shows how this is being accomplished in the countries under review. This is the 99th issue of the quarterly journal New Directions for Institutional Research.

GERALD H. GAITHER is director of institutional effectiveness, research, and analysis at the Prairie View A&M University campus of the Texas A&M University System.