With digitisation and the rise of e-learning have come a range of computational tools and approaches that have allowed educators to better support the learners' experience in schools, colleges and universities. The move away from traditional paper-based course materials, registration, admissions and support services to the mobile, always-on and…

Three university ranking systems in vogue have been shown in the previous issue of "Higher Education Review" to be capable of modifications to make them more parsimonious by using only about half of the number of predictors currently in use. This makes some of the predictors "redundant" as they contributed little to the overall ranking. It is…

Higher education experts tout learning outcomes assessment as a vehicle for program improvement. To this end the authors share a rubric designed explicitly to evaluate the quality of assessment and how it leads to program improvement. The rubric contains six general assessment areas, which are further broken down into 14 elements. Embedded within…

The comprehensive model for evaluating nursing education programs is described in terms of what is evaluated; who conducts the evaluation; and why it is conducted. A structure for further action and decision making is also presented. (GDC)

In a recently published article, it was suggested that program evaluation in teacher education is unsophisticated and poorly conducted. Arguments are presented to show that the article presents a limited view of program evaluation efforts being conducted in schools of education. (JN)

Information use can be defined in many ways depending on a variety of organizational, personal, and presentational factors. The experience of evaluation researchers provides some guides for practice. (Author/MSE)

Describes a qualitative evaluation that analyzed the processes involved in the authoring of hypermedia applications for education by interviewing both researchers and lecturers from the University of Southampton involved in the development of hypermedia. Considers the quality characteristics of reusability of information, maintainability of…

Evaluators of basic units in higher education should be explicit about the motives, object, organization, criteria, methods, dissemination, and impacts of evaluation efforts to avoid being counterproductive. (Author/MSE)

Faculty evaluation guidelines, which have been in effect for five years at North Carolina State University's School of Education, are described. Outcomes of this system are summarized, as well as some of the problems associated with it. (GDC)

Guidelines are presented for the evaluation of college administrators: (1) purposes of the evaluation; (2) approaches to evaluation; (3) criteria for evaluation; (4) participants or evaluators in the process; and (5) evaluation results and use of results. (GDC)

The importance of evaluation for institutional development is discussed from the perspective of the manager. It is suggested that the higher education manager can use evaluation to obtain feedback about program effort, performance, and effects that will aid in the decision-making process. (Author/SF)

Each of the many methods or approaches to assessing student learning is based on a clear understanding of validity, reliability, course objectives, the advantages and disadvantages of different evaluation formats, and the ways assessment data will be used to improve instruction. (Author/MSE)

There are now established methods and models to assess critical thinking in any discipline. The approach selected will depend on how critical thinking is defined, whether national norms are needed, and how the results will be used. (Author)

The nation's educational accrediting agencies no longer serve the public interest; nonetheless they wield enormous powers over academic institutions. (Editor/IR)

Successful outcomes assessment programs have many common characteristics. Institutional researchers should examine these signs of success and use them as guides for developing their own campus programs. (Author/MSE)