This "What Works Clearinghouse Procedures and Standards Handbook (Version 3.0)" provides a detailed description of the standards and procedures of the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC). The remaining chapters of this Handbook are organized to take the reader through the basic steps that the WWC uses to develop a review protocol, identify…

With its critical assessments of scientific evidence on the effectiveness of education programs, policies, and practices (referred to as "interventions"), and a range of products summarizing this evidence, the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) is an important part of the Institute of Education Sciences' strategy to use rigorous and relevant…

Highlights points to consider when choosing an Internet Service Provider. Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP) and Point to Point Protocol (PPP) are compared regarding price, performance, bandwidth, speed, and technical support. Obtaining access via local, national, consumer online, and telephone-company providers is discussed. A pricing chart and…

One problem with the outcome-based measures used in higher education is that they measure quantity but not quality. Benchmarking, or the use of some external standard of quality to measure tasks, processes, and outputs, is partially solving that difficulty. Benchmarking allows for the establishment of a systematic process to indicate if outputs…

This article suggests that benchmarking, the process of comparing one's own operation with the very best, can be used to make improvements in colleges and universities. Six steps are outlined: determining what to benchmark, forming a team, discovering who to benchmark, collecting and analyzing data, using the data to redesign one's own operation,…

This study compared five popular instruments for assessing the quality of family child care: the Child Development Associate Competency Standards (CDA); the National Association for Family Day Care Assessment Profile (NAFDC); the Child Care Partnership of Dallas Family Day Care Home Observation Instrument; the Louise Child Care Scale for…

Nine Canadian health libraries participated in a pilot test of the Benchmarking Tool Kit between January and April, 1998. Although the Tool Kit was designed specifically for health libraries, the content and approach are useful to other types of libraries as well. Used to its full potential, benchmarking can provide a common measuring stick to…

Concerns about published comparisons of colleges and universities are organized into a framework to guide further research. A systematic method for addressing specific issues about the guides is presented, and the environment in which the guides are used is examined. Research needed to assure that the guides make a valued contribution and are fair…

Results of a study of the monitoring requirements of off-campus programs are presented. Summaries are provided of the monitoring requirements for off-campus, military base, and study abroad programs of member institutions of the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation. After defining types of off-campus programs, a conceptual plan is presented for…

This data providers' guide, the first volume of the revised "Higher Education Finance Manual," comprehensively describes national financial reporting standards, including those prescribed for the Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS) reports, and includes the information needed to comply with those standards. General…

The second volume of the revised "Higher Education Finance Manual" (HEFM), this data users' guide is oriented to the nonaccountant and describes the kinds of information about postsecondary education that can be derived from institutional financial data. Contents include: a description of fund accounting for higher education, a…

The results of a 1977 assessment of the value of uniform financial data for the Oregon community college system are described. The utility of both programmatic data and auditable accounting data is also addressed. Business managers, presidents, and governing board chairmen at four community colleges and representatives of six different state…