This study explored quality assessment and accountability in Dutch university education using a case study approach. The Dutch national system of quality assurance is described, and developments since the mid-1980s are traced. The university case studies illustrate models which are being employed to implement the quality assurance system including…

Charter schools incorporate the focus of magnet schools but often go beyond their academic specialization to more social goals. They can operate at both elementary and secondary levels, although they are always quite small. The greatest difference, however, between charter schools and other public schools is their status as a bridge between public…

In each Canadian province, governments appear to be more and more intrusive into the day-to-day operations of their universities. Governments in such provinces as Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Alberta are concerned with making the universities more cost-effective and more "accountable" to the government and to the public at…

This report summarizes the views and attitudes toward higher education of 43 leaders from Detroit (Michigan), Memphis (Tennessee), Cherry Hill (New Jersey), and San Antonio (Texas). The study found that the leaders' views were nearly opposite of those held by the American public as reported in two related publications. These community leaders know…

This book describes transitions at Catholic colleges and universities by which governance was transferred from the founding religious communities to boards of mostly lay trustees. The book uses seven case studies from: (1) the College of New Rochelle (New York), (2) Saint Louis University (Missouri), (3) the University of Notre Dame (Indiana), (4)…

This document highlights the special challenges that Canada's higher education system faces due to its organizational structure that is, the relationship between the federal government and the provincial governments. Virtually all Canadian universities are publicly supported, but because the constitution clearly assigns responsibility for…

In 1994 the state of New Jersey deregulated the state higher education structure and created a new commission on higher education and a presidents' council. This report presents the findings of a 1998 survey that sought to determine the extent to which the goals of the deregulatory legislation had been achieved and whether the fears of the act's…

This collection of 12 essays addresses three themes related to the future of higher education: access, governance, and quality. The contributors represent teaching, research and management, universities, polytechnics, and colleges. The collected essays and their authors are as follows: "Reassessing the Future" (Tom Schuller);…

The principal of a pre-K to grade 5 school in Arizona talks of ways to create responsive programs for special needs children. The school offers a special education preschool program and a totally integrated cross-categorical program for kindergarten through grade 5 which utilizes collaborative delivery systems and a consultative model of special…

The extent to which school-based management actually altered influence relations between a district office and schools and between principals and teachers is examined in this report. Five innovative initiatives implemented in the Dade County Public Schools--peer evaluation, different teacher roles, block scheduling, school-within-a-school, and…

An evaluation is made of the extent to which Scandinavian higher education has been democratized, noting democratization includes the four elements of: subordination of university decision making to parliamentary democracy and to corporate representative bodies; decentralization of higher education regionally; equal access to higher education on…

This volume of the History of Higher Education Annual contains five articles. Alan Karp's essay, "John Calvin and the Geneva Academy: Roots of the Board of Trustees," discusses the reoganization and government of the Geneva Academy and Calvin's unsuccessful struggle to establish a church independent of lay control. Institutional…

Customized Contract Training (CCT), which involves contracting to design short term, non-credit courses and workshops to meet the training needs of specific employers, is the new buzz-word at community colleges. Though many assume this type of school-business partnership benefits everyone, the potential negative effects on community colleges as…

A study is presented to determine (1) where people influential in public university governance believe various typical decisions are being made and (2) where they believe those decisions should be made. The kinds of issues that bring about most disagreement as to proper authority in governance and administration are identified. Centralization of…

This paper focuses on the transition to military rule in Brazil (1964), Uruguay (1973), Chile (1973), and Argentina (1976) and examines the argument that the disciplines which lend themselves to analysis of the social order, such as the social sciences and humanities, are most often the target of political repression. Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile…