For accreditation and programmatic decision making, education school administrators use inter-rater reliability analyses to judge credibility of student-teacher assessments. Although weak levels of agreement between university-appointed supervisors and cooperating teachers are usually interpreted to indicate that the process is not being…

As one component of a program improvement grant provided by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEPs), the authors' teacher preparation program (TPP) underwent substantial program redesign. In this article, the authors provide a detailed overview of the process they undertook to revamp their program based on the fundamental question,…

Effective classroom management skills are essential for teachers. Unfortunately, many teachers do not receive adequate classroom management training prior to beginning their teaching careers and feel unprepared for the demands of managing student behaviors in their classrooms. In this article, we describe (a) the number of states with state policy…

Drawing on insights from literary critic and theorist Kenneth Burke, this rhetorical analysis of "Preparing Teachers" (2010), a publication of the National Research Council, reveals then critiques' key assumptions that are shaping policies and current reform efforts in teacher education, including changes in U.S. teacher…

A framework to assess the impact of complying with college accreditation mandates is developed based on North's (1996) concepts of transaction costs, property rights, and institutions; Clayton's (1999) Systems Alignment Model; and the educational production function described by Hanushek (2007). The framework demonstrates how sought…

Online learning is rapidly becoming one of the most prevalent delivery methods of learning in institutions of higher education. It provides college students, especially adult students, an alternative, convenient, and cost-efficient method to earn their credentials, upgrade their skills and knowledge, and keep or upgrade their employment. But at…

Colleges and universities are being asked by numerous sources to provide assurance of learning assessments of their students and programs. Colleges of business have responded by using a plethora of assessment tools, including the Major Field Test in Business. In this article, the authors show that the use of the Major Field Test in Business for…

The author compares the efficacy of commercially available and internally developed standardized tests and evaluates their strengths and weakness in assessing student learning outcomes. The author shares the experience of a regional school in developing a standardized test to assess business knowledge. Data from a sample of 268 students were used…

The authors offer a classification technique to make a quantitative skills rubric more operational, with the groupings of multiple-choice questions to match the student learning levels in knowledge, calculation, quantitative reasoning, and analysis. The authors applied this classification technique to the mid-term exams of an introductory finance…

The AACSB accreditation process reflects basic quality principles, providing standards and a process for feedback for continuous improvement. However, implementation can lead to unintended negative consequences. The literature shows that while institutionalism and critical theory have been used as a theoretical base for evaluating accreditation,…

In 2003, accreditation standards were revised to require coverage of management science (MS) after previously removing it in 1991. Meanwhile, increasing awareness of the value of business analytics stimulated a renewed interest in MS. To examine its present status in undergraduate core business curricula, the authors conducted two studies to…

The need for twenty-first century information skills in engineering practice, combined with the importance for engineering programmes to meet accreditation requirements, suggests that it may be worthwhile to explore the potential for closer alignment between librarians and their work with information literacy competencies to assist in meeting…

Social work education is engaged in a significant evolutionary phase of its development, spearheaded by the Council on Social Work Education and the 2008 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS). This article suggests that an organizational change--anchored focus is a little discussed but ultimately important set of theories and…

Urban legends circulate throughout society, including higher education and social work education. Some academic mythologies take on the status of a tradition--no matter the evidence or lack thereof--and continue to thrive, to influence thinking, and to shape norms, which, in turn, direct behaviors. As with urban legends, academic myths are able to…

Professional and Community Engagement (PACE) at Macquarie University offers undergraduate students experiential learning opportunities with local, regional, and international partners. In PACE projects, students work toward meeting the partner's organizational goals while they develop their capabilities, learn through the process of…