The study underlying this article investigates the factors under which European policy initiatives with respect to higher education (HE), such as the Bologna Process, lead to policy change at the national level. In theoretical terms, it uses institutionalist approaches to the Europeanization of public policy developed in the fields of comparative…

For every What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) review, reviewers will be asked to complete a Study Review Guide (SRG). A completed SRG should be a reviewer's independent assessment of the study, relative to the criteria specified in the review protocol and the WWC Procedures and Standards Handbook (Handbook). At the end of the review process, a Master…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) Capstone Assessment as Faculty Development (Rowanna L. Carpenter, Seanna M. Kerrigan, and Vicki L. Reitenauer); (2) Using a Doctoral Program Entrance Assessment: Reflections on a Pilot Program and the Admissions Process (Robyne Elder); (3) Highlights of the 2018 HEDS…

In this article, we focus on how neoliberal performance metrics impact on non-traditional students at a modern university in England. We argue that the introduction of 'quality assurance' measures, (such as the National Student Survey and the Teaching Excellence Framework) are driven by an ideology which purports to have student's best interests…

The country case studies are part of the empirical data collected for the "Promoting the Relevance of Higher Education" project. Before presenting the case studies, this introductory chapter describes how the 8 case studies were selected, the case study methodology, and provides an overview of the interviewed organisations and experts.…

This handbook, first published in 2014, aims at helping policy makers and social partners understand some of the ways in which learning in the workplace can be encouraged and how its quality can be improved. It is also intended to help them understand some of the ways that such learning can be organised in a structured manner so that it benefits…

Academic work-based learning (WBL) has an over a century-long history in Nigeria. The current WBL programs are the Students' Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) and the Graduate Internship (GI). They are sponsored by the federal government with the aim to improve employment outcomes. However, there is still a gross mismatch between the…

This article explores the issue of quality in online career mentoring. It builds on a previous evaluation of Brightside, an online mentoring system in the UK which is primarily aimed at supporting young people's transitions to further learning. The article notes that participants in Brightside's mentoring programmes reported satisfaction with…

This article analyses the discourse and practices of quality assurance and quality control through the lens of neo-liberal governing as expressed in economic rationalities such as new public management, total quality management, public choice and human capital. As an alternative to this form of governing, an ethico-aesthetic paradigm is enacted,…

This article maps out trends in distance education research and scholarship from 35 years of publications in the "Distance Education" journal. Titles and abstracts of 515 full papers were analyzed using the text-mining tool Leximancer™ to identify and describe themes in distance education research covered by these publications in the…

This paper reviews Participatory Action Research as an approach to teacher professional development. It maps the origins of Participatory Action Research (PAR) and discusses the benefits and challenges that have been identified by other researchers in utilizing PAR approaches in conducting research. It draws ideas of combining the features of…

The effectiveness of the higher education quality assessment system is essentially a matter of policy evaluation. On the macro level, such a system refers to external quality assessment, which includes government evaluation, quality certification, and university rankings. Depending on the degree of government intervention, the external quality…

This paper addresses if, and to what extent, the current working methods of the Dutch Inspectorate of Education affect the governance of school boards in schools for primary education. A key facet of the working method is the inspection meeting with the school board. Drawing upon a large quantitative study (n = 244) we are able to identify some…

This article integrates two frameworks, Quality Matters (QM) and tenants of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), in the development and implementation of online learning courses. Both of these frameworks are described. This report highlights guidelines and presents an example for creating quality online courses with a combined emphasis on course…

This paper suggests that, although the Bologna process officially began in the late 1990s, the conditions that made it possible had already been created in the previous decade through the growing practice of international academic cooperation, mainly triggered by EU inter-institutional programmes. As the need for structural reforms in some higher…